THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

GAME OF THE WEEK

MONTREAL AT PHILADELPHIA, TODAY

*--* Rk. Team (Rec.) Comment 1 OTTAWA (24-12-7-3) Loss to Islanders Monday only second in 17 games (11-2-4-0). 2 SAN JOSE (21-11-11-4) Strong defense in 11-2-1-1 roll. Ron Wilson’s a genius -- just ask him. 3 DETROIT (27-14-5-2) Draper (19 goals) finds range while Hull goes scoreless in 19. 4 COLORADO (26-11-7-2) Groin pull forces Forsberg out of lineup again. 5 NEW JERSEY (22-11-10-1) Best goals-against (1.82), penalty killing (88%) tell the story. 6 BOSTON (21-12-10-4) Rookie Bergeron, healthy Samsonov energize offense. 7 VANCOUVER (25-14-7-2) Sedin twins blossoming, but Bertuzzi is slumbering. 8 PHILADELPHIA (22-10-10-5) Were 0-4-1-1 before winning two from Toronto. 9 TORONTO (24-12-8-3) Shut out by Devils, Flyers in losing four of last five. 10 NASHVILLE (23-16-6-2) Plucky Preds beat some heavyweights in 7-2-2 playoff push. 11 ST. LOUIS (25-13-6-1) Pronger (10 goals) appears to have put wrist problems behind him. 12 MONTREAL (23-16-6-2) Theodore closer to MVP form. Relatively soft schedule helps. 13 CALGARY (23-15-4-3) McLennan fills in admirably for injured Kiprusoff. 14 TAMPA BAY (21-16-6-2) Goaltending generally holding up, though offense sputters. 15 N.Y. ISLANDERS (22-19-4-1) Ronning a good short-term pickup with three goals in two games. 16 PHOENIX (16-14-13-2) Boucher comes back to earth after shutout streak. 17 DALLAS (21-19-8-0) Arnott could be trade bait if Stars don’t start winning soon. 18 N.Y. RANGERS (18-17-7-4) Might be shopping to replace injured defenseman De Vries. 19 KINGS (17-14-10-5) Hanging in, despite injuries and 1-3-9-2 slide. 20 FLORIDA (15-19-10-3) Losing Bouwmeester (fractured foot) hurts second-half hopes. 21 BUFFALO (18-23-5-1) Won only two of last eight, but big ones: Ottawa and Philadelphia. 22 EDMONTON (18-20-8-1) Worst power play (10.4%) and near-bottom in penalty killing (78.6%). 23 MINNESOTA (16-18-14-0) Still waiting for Gaborik to regain last season’s dominance. 24 ATLANTA (20-21-4-2) Early-season darlings struggling in 1-7-1-1 slump. 25 DUCKS (14-21-7-5) If they’re going to make a move, now’s the time. 26 CAROLINA (15-20-9-2) League-worst offense puts too much pressure on goalies. 27 COLUMBUS (12-24-7-3) Nash (28 goals) and Zherdev offer optimism for future. 28 WASHINGTON (14-26-5-2) Lang, Jagr remain only bright spots. 29 CHICAGO (11-24-7-5) Lockout can’t come soon enough. They’re awful. 30 PITTSBURGH (11-28-5-3) Will Canadian media let Fleury forget world junior gaffe?

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General Manager Bob Gainey has done a fine job remolding the Canadiens. He jettisoned veterans and backed defenseman Patrice Brisebois in the face of criticism from fans and media, boosting Brisebois’ turnaround. Defenseman Sheldon Souray (14 goals, 32 points) is having a career season. The Flyers swept a home-and-home series from the Maple Leafs last weekend but might need help on defense. They lost Eric Desjardins for eight weeks after teammate Jeremy Roenick accidentally slammed him into the boards and broke Desjardins’ arm, and spare defenseman Dennis Seidenberg broke his leg in practice last week.