TOP TO BOTTOM / NHL

Team (Record): Comment

1. Colorado (38-26-9): Fleury, Hejduk shine.

2. Dallas (46-15-12): Stars slumping--kinda.

3. Ottawa (41-21-10): Hossa is a hoss.

4. New Jersey (39-22-11): Impressive in 8-2-4 stretch.

5. Detroit (37-30-6): Cheli’s chilling with Red Wings.

6. Buffalo (33-24-15): Hasek fine despite hernia.

7. Phoenix (36-26-12): Reichel helps flagging offense.

8. Toronto (39-28-6): Defense not consistent.

9. Mighty Ducks (33-28-11): Selanne, Kariya getting support.

10. Philadelphia (33-23-17): 3-1 since 0-8-4 skid ended.

11. Boston (32-27-13): Defense solid in 3-0-3 streak.

12. Pittsburgh (36-24-13): Will goaltending hold up?

13. San Jose (27-29-17): Shields fuels 5-1-3 push.

14. Florida (27-27-18): Dvorak, Whitney must stay hot.

15. St. Louis (31-31-11): Can’t solve scoring problems.

16. Carolina (31-28-15): 2-5-2 skid cuts Southeast lead.

17. Edmonton (28-34-11): Salo saves Oilers in 3-1-1 surge.

18. Calgary (28-34-11): Kids learning under pressure.

19. N.Y. Rangers (31-33-10): Playoff hopes not dead yet.

20. Chicago (22-40-12): Signs of life under Molleken.

21. Kings (27-40-5): Done like dinner.

22. Montreal (29-34-10): Habs’ luck running out.

23. Nashville (25-41-7): Nice try for first time out.

24. Washington (29-37-6): Rebuilding has begun.

25. Vancouver (22-41-11): Playing out the string.

26. Tampa Bay (17-49-6): Unloaded $6 million in salaries.

27. N.Y. Islanders (20-45-9): Lawn Guyland Follies.

GAME OF THE WEEK

COLORADO AVALANCHE AT SAN JOSE SHARKS

When--Wednesday. Time--7:30. TV--ESPN2.

* Story line--A preview of a possible first-round playoff matchup. Colorado’s trade for Theo Fleury set off a series of deals by West rivals, but the Avalanche may still have the best balance, depth and speed. Fleury has at least one point in all six games he has played for Colorado and has seven goals and 13 points in that span. The Sharks’ deadline-day acquisition, center Vincent Damphousse, has four goals and four points in two games. A 5-1-3 surge has pushed them into seventh in the West and they’re only two points behind St. Louis, but they’re also only four points ahead of Calgary.

THE NUMBERS GAME

Top rookie scorer Brendan Morrison of the New Jersey Devils played college hockey at Michigan, which was eliminated from the NCAA men’s hockey tournament last weekend. Four of this season’s six rookie scoring leaders have college backgrounds:

*--*

Player, NHL team (College) GP G-A--Pts Brendan Morrison, New Jersey (Michigan) 66 13-27--40 Milan Hejduk, Colorado (None) 73 12-28--40 Chris Drury, Colorado (Boston U.) 70 19-20--39 Jan Hrdina, Pittsburgh (None) 73 12-25--37 Bill Muckalt, Vancouver (Michigan) 74 16-20--36 Mark Parrish, Florida (St. Cloud State) 63 20-13--33

*--*