THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

HELENE ELLIOTT’S NHL RANKINGS, COMMENTS:

*--* Rk Team (Rec.) Comment 1 DETROIT (2-0-0-0) Hasek hasn’t missed a beat. Neither has Yzerman (two goals). 2 NEW JERSEY (1-0-1-0) Larionov, 42, has three assists and shares team scoring lead. 3 OTTAWA ( 1-0-0-1) Havlat signed and might play this week. Strong team gets stronger. 4 VANCOUVER (2-1-0-0) Hedberg upgrades goaltending, pushes Cloutier. 5 DALLAS (2-1-0-0) Balanced offense, goaltending are Stars’ best assets. 6 COLORADO (1-1-0-0) GM Lacroix earns extension for building, sustaining contender. 7 ATLANTA (2-0-0-0) Class and grit during week that included burying crash victim Snyder. 8 PHOENIX (2-0-0-0) Building confidence by winning first two tight games. 9 KINGS (2-1-0-0) Good start, despite missing Allison, Deadmarsh and Miller. 10 ST. LOUIS (1-0-0-1) Tkachuk scores ‘em, Osgood stops ‘em. 11 FLORIDA (1-0-2-0) So far, so good for Luongo, power play. 12 COLUMBUS (2-1-0-0) Sydor a good pickup for team with potential. 13 TAMPA BAY (1-0-0-0) Tillman (two goals) could be valuable contributor. 14 MONTREAL (1-1-0-0) Theodore shuts out Leafs at Toronto in gut-check game. 15 PHILADELPHIA (1-0-1-0) Shouldn’t have squandered three-goal lead in tie with Penguins. 16 WASHINGTON (1-1-1-0) Bondra, power play have been solid so far. 17 NASHVILLE (1-1-0-0) More heart than size or scoring talent. 18 SAN JOSE (1-2-0-0) Play next five in friendly Shark Tank, starting Thursday. 19 N.Y. ISLANDERS (1-1-0-0) Routed in opener but then do same to Sabres. 20 PITTSBURGH (0-1-1-0) Fleury the latest Quebec goalie gem. 21 BOSTON (0-1-2-0) Potvin yanked from first start, but Raycroft is OK. 22 MINNESOTA (1-2-0-0) Desperate enough to play Daigle, who’s with his sixth NHL team. 23 EDMONTON (1-1-0-0) Outplayed by Vancouver. Must capitalize on speed. 24 CALGARY (1-1-0-0) Flames yelling for Yelle (one goal, two points). 25 CHICAGO (1-2-0-0) Thibault will get little help and see lots of shots. 26 BUFFALO (1-2-0-0) Win over Dallas on Monday is four years too late. 27 TORONTO (0-1-1-0) Winless at home, local media panicking. 28 CAROLINA (0-2-1-0) Goals are scarce and defense only so-so. 29 MIGHTY DUCKS (0-3-0-0) Early to write off West champs, but lack of cohesion is a problem. 30 N.Y. RANGERS (0-2-0-0) Overpaid, under-exerting and clueless defensively. Again.

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