NHL TOP TO BOTTOM

Team (Record): Comment

1. Detroit (41-20-15): Wings fight together, win together.

2. New Jersey (46-21-9): Devils crack 100-point mark.

3. St. Louis (41-26-8): Five consecutive victories, 11 of 15.

4. Pittsburgh (37-22-17): Only one goal in last seven for Jagr.

5. Philadelphia (39-25-11): Still sloppy defensively.

6. Colorado (37-25-16): Forsberg (groin pull) is missed.

7. Dallas (44-21-11): Gut-check time during 2-5 slide.

8. Washington (36-28-12): Bondra gets hot, so do Capitals.

9. Buffalo (33-27-15): Dominator does his thing.

10. Boston (34-28-13): Burns might be coach of the year.

11. Montreal (35-30-11): Offense not consistent enough.

12. Kings (35-30-11): Can’t let season go down the drain.

13. Ottawa (30-31-14): Guts aplenty in 2-0-2 run.

14. Phoenix (30-33-12): Guts AWOL in 4-5 see-saw.

15. Carolina (32-35-8): It’s a Kidd’s game.

16. San Jose (31-37-8): Sharks swim through 4-1-1 trip.

17. Edmonton (31-36-10): Underachieving, as usual.

18. Chicago (30-35-12): Looking bad in 1-4 slide.

19. Calgary (25-36-14): Staying alive with 3-1-1 push.

20. N.Y. Islanders (27-38-10): Quiet spring on Lawn Guyland.

21. Vancouver (24-40-13): Bure, Keenan butt heads.

22. N.Y. Rangers (23-36-18): No playoffs for Gretzky.

23. Florida (23-40-12): A little late for 5-1 surge.

24. Ducks (24-40-12): Two points from elimination.

25. Toronto (26-41-9): Dreary 2-8-1 skid, dreary season.

26. Tampa Bay (17-50-9): Looking forward to entry draft.

Game of the Week

ST. LOUIS AT DETROIT

* When--Today. * Time--4:30 PDT. * TV--ESPN.

* Story line--These are two of the few elite teams playing well down the stretch. The Blues, who lead the NHL with 12 double-figure goal scorers, have a five-game winning streak. Goalie Grant Fuhr is 4-1 since returning from knee surgery, and Geoff Courtnall has six goals in his last six games, having passed Brett Hull for the team lead with 30. The Red Wings, whose power play was boosted by the acquisition of Dmitri Mironov from the Ducks, have won three in a row and are 6-1-2 in their last nine. Nicklas Lidstrom leads NHL defensemen in scoring with 17 goals and 57 points, and teammate Larry Murphy is fourth with 10 goals and 50 points.