THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

HELENE ELLIOTT’S NHL RANKINGS, COMMENTS:

*--* Rank Team (Rec) Comment 1 TORONTO (21-7-7-3) Streak ended with points in 16 straight games. Time to start another. 2 NEW JERSEY (19-7-8-1) Brodeur and Schwab have nine shutouts. OK, eight are Brodeur’s. 3 PHILADELPHIA (18-6-9-4) The scoring has cooled but the goaltending is holding up. 4 ST. LOUIS (21-8-4-1) Quenneville one short of 300 coaching wins in nearly seven years. 5 OTTAWA (17-10-5-3) Senators beat teams they should beat in 4-0-2 streak. 6 COLORADO (17-8-7-1) Forsberg returns, but Kariya (wrist) a week or more away. 7 CALGARY (19-10-3-3) Miikka Kiprusoff tough to spell, even tougher to beat. 8 DETROIT (22-12-4-1) League-leading offense blanked twice in four games. 9 VANCOUVER (20-9-6-2) Sedin twins combine for disappointing five goals. 10 SAN JOSE (14-9-11-3) Sharks rule California: 3-0-1 vs. Kings, Ducks in one week. 11 N.Y. ISLANDERS (18-15-2-1) Giant killers beat Flyers, Devils (twice), Maple Leafs in succession. 12 DALLAS (17-16-5-0) Modano perking up in 6-1-2 surge, but still minus-16. 13 KINGS (16-12-5-3) Might be losing steam (1-2-4), but they won’t go quietly. 14 MINNESOTA (14-14-9-0) Inching back into playoff race with 4-0-4 streak. 15 NASHVILLE (16-14-4-2) Treading water (2-4-3-2) and could lose top-eight spot. 16 ATLANTA (19-16-3-1) Streaky is Thrashers’ middle name: Win 4, lose 3, win 3, lose 2. 17 N.Y. RANGERS (14-13-5-3) Holik might be NHL’s best defensive center. 18 MONTREAL (17-15-4-2) Rookie Ryder proving he belongs in “the show.” 19 BOSTON (14-10-9-4) GM O’Connell could be gone before 2-6-5 slide ends. 20 TAMPA BAY (15-13-5-1) Four short-handed goals by Martin St. Louis top league. 21 CAROLINA (12-14-8-2) League’s worst offense hampers Laviolette’s turnaround plans. 22 BUFFALO (14-19-3-1) Satan still slumping. Ruff, GM Regier still on shaky ground. 23 CHICAGO (9-19-7-3) Light at end of tunnel: Leighton shuts out Blues, Red Wings. 24 FLORIDA (12-16-8-2) Jokinen still carrying team but needs help. 25 EDMONTON (13-17-6-0) Feeble special teams contribute to 2-5-3 skid. 26 PHOENIX (11-12-11-2) New arena, same old scoring woes. 27 DUCKS (12-15-4-5) Not what they were quacked up to be. 28 WASHINGTON (11-22-3-1) Lang, Bondra scoring, but defense, goaltending erratic. 29 COLUMBUS (9-20-4-3) Nash on pace for 50-plus goals, and he’s still only 19. 30 PITTSBURGH (9-19-5-3) Mario’s not talking -- or playing. Lockout can’t come soon enough.

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