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Team (Record) Comment

1. Dallas (42-12-11): Deep and disciplined.

2. New Jersey (37-21-8): Defense solid in 6-1-1 push.

3. Ottawa (38-20-8): Clinging to East lead by two.

4. Pittsburgh (34-22-9): Jagr a one-man highlight film.

5. Colorado (34-25-8): Pieces there for Cup run.

6. Detroit (33-28-6): Third straight Cup looks iffy.

7. Toronto (37-25-5): Career year for Berezin (27 goals).

8. Carolina (30-24-14): Needs goals from power play.

9. Buffalo (31-23-13): Sabres 5-4-3 without Hasek (groin).

10. Calgary (25-31-10): In playoff spot on 10-4-6 surge.

11. San Jose (25-28-14): Kids lead 5-1 push.

12. Phoenix (32-24-11): Slump not over yet.

13. Ducks (30-27-10): Dallas, Phoenix losses lessons.

14. Kings (26-36-5): Where was this energy before?

15. N.Y. Rangers (29-30-9): Malhotra, Graves sub for Gretzky.

16. Montreal (27-31-9): Hanging close in East.

17. Nashville (24-37-6): Plugging away respectably.

18. Boston (29-27-10): Offense dragging them down.

19. Florida (25-24-17): Winning 3 of 4 keeps them alive.

20. St. Louis (28-28-10): Trying for Fuhr-ious comeback.

21. Philadelphia (30-21-17): No excuses for 0-7-4 slide.

22. Vancouver (20-37-11): Some talent, but not enough.

23. Edmonton (25-32-10): Defense, goaltending a mess.

24. Washington (27-34-6): Fading out of playoff hunt.

25. Chicago (19-39-9): Amonte perks up, team doesn’t.

26. Tampa Bay (16-45-5): Wait till next millennium.

27. N.Y. Islanders (19-41-9): Let the fire sale begin.

GAME OF THE WEEK

DALLAS STARS AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS When--Today. Time--4:30 PST. TV--ESPN2.

Story line--The top defensive team faces scoring leader Jaromir Jagr and the NHL’s second-most productive offense. Losing Darryl Sydor (knee) and Brett Hull (hamstring) has had little adverse effect on the Stars, who are headed for their second consecutive Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the team with the best regular-season record. The Penguins have been hit hard by injuries to goalie Tom Barrasso (broken hand) and Kevin Hatcher (broken foot), but General Manager Craig Patrick made a shrewd trade last week in acquiring feisty forward Matthew Barnaby from Buffalo for Stu Barnes. The Penguins have lots of finesse up front and needed Barnaby’s toughness and ability to annoy opponents.

THE NUMBERS GAME

The Ottawa Senators can become only the second club in NHL history to improve their regular-season winning percentage for six consecutive seasons after their inaugural season. The New York Islanders were the first.

OTTAWA SENATORS *--*

Season OP W L T Pct. ‘92-93 84 10 70 4 .143 ‘93-94 84 14 61 9 .220 ‘94-95 48 9 34 5 .240 ‘95-96 82 18 59 5 .250 ‘96-97 82 31 36 15 .470 ‘97-98 82 34 33 15 .506 ‘98-99* 58 33 17 8 .646

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Season Playoffs ‘92-93 Out of playoffs ‘93-94 Out of playoffs ‘94-95 Out of playoffs ‘95-96 Out of playoffs ‘96-97 Lost conf. quarterfinal ‘97-98 Lost conf. semifinal ‘98-99* (*Through Sunday)

*--*

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (1972-73 through 1978-79)*--*

Season GP W L T Pct. ‘72-73 78 12 60 6 .192 ‘73-74 78 19 41 18 .359 ‘74-75 80 33 25 22 .550 ‘75-76 80 42 21 17 .631 ‘76-77 80 47 21 12 .663 ‘77-78 80 48 17 15 .694 ‘78-79 80 51 15 14 .725

*--*

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (1972-73 through 1978-79)*--*

Season Playoff ‘72-73 Out of playoffs ‘73-74 Out of playoffs ‘74-75 Lost semifinal ‘75-76 Lost semifinal ‘76-77 Lost semifinal ‘77-78 Lost quarterfinal ‘78-79 Lost semifinal

*--*

The Islanders’ streak ended in 1979-80, when they posted a .569 winning percentage in the regular season (39-28-13), but went on to win the first of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships. Winning percentage is points gained divided by possible points.