Helene Elliott’s NHL rankings

NHL rankings.

Through Monday’s games

Rank Team Record Comment (previous week)

1. Chicago 29-10-3 The Blackhawks have won nine of their last 11 and look better and better by the day. (1)

2. San Jose 27-9-7 Sharks’ 6-2 loss to Kings ends win streak at eight games. Dany Heatley-Joe Thornton-Patrick Marleau line should pretend Olympics aren’t the playoffs. (5)

3. New Jersey 29-10-1 Jamie Langenbrunner’s name was misspelled on his U.S. Olympic jersey, but it was right in the box score Saturday when he had a hat trick. (2)

4. Buffalo 26-11-4 Goalie Ryan Miller (.934 save percentage, 2.02 goals-against average, five shutouts) will have to be this good at the Olympics for the U.S. to win a medal. (7)

5. Kings 25-15-3 The Kings followed a four-game losing streak with gritty wins over the Wild and Capitals and a statement win over the Sharks. Ryan Smyth, Wayne Simmonds regaining their timing after injuries. (10)

6. Phoenix 25-14-4 Leading scorer Scottie Upshall suffered an upper-body injury, testing this young team’s resilience. Home win streak ended at 10 by San Jose. (6)

7. Colorado 24-13-6 Avalanche has won seven of 10. Youngsters are progressing rapidly (8)

8. Washington 24-11-6 Midseason blahs might be hitting Capitals, who have lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season. (3)

9. Vancouver 25-16-1 Canucks got seven of eight points on tough trip to Calgary, Phoenix, St. Louis and Dallas. They’re on a 9-2-1 surge. (9)

10. Pittsburgh 26-16-1 The Penguins have lost five straight. Defending scoring champion Evgeni Malkin has only four points in his last eight games. (4)

11. Calgary 24-12-5 Eight of the Flames’ last 15 games have ended 2-1. They’re 4-4 in those games. Defenseman Dion Phaneuf left Saturday’s game with undisclosed injury. (16)

12. Nashville 25-14-3 Remember this name during the Olympics: Shea Weber. The defenseman with the booming shot will be a key player for Canada. (12)

13. Detroit 21-14-6 A reborn Todd Bertuzzi is carrying the Red Wings closer to the top eight in the West with 12 goals and 25 points. And they’re getting injured players back. (13)

14. Boston 21-13-7 Nice job playing host to the Winter Classic. Poor Patrice Bergeron, who injured his hand Monday, shortly after being selected to Canadian Olympic team. (11)

15. Ottawa 22-16-4 Alexei Kovalev had four goals and an assist against the Flyers Sunday -- and he couldn’t even make the Russian Olympic team. (15)

16. Dallas 18-12-11 Stars are staying close to the West leaders. Think of where they might be if they’d won a few of those overtime losses and shootouts. (18)

17. N.Y. Rangers 20-17-5 Marian Gaborik, with 27 goals, has scored 24.3% of his team’s 111 goals. Nice for him. Not so nice for his teammates. (21)

18. Montreal 21-20-3 Canadiens have lost four straight at home, dropping to 9-10-2 at the Bell Centre. Sacre bleu! (17)

19. Tampa Bay 16-15-10 Martin St. Louis has a seven-game scoring streak -- but he was left off the Canadian Olympic team. Lightning is 5-1-1 in its last seven. (27)

20. Minnesota 20-19-3 Wild’s loss to former coach Jacques Lemaire and the Devils was its third in a row. Playoff hopes aren’t looking great. (14)

21. N.Y. Islanders 17-18-8 Chugging along nicely with a recent 4-1-1 surge that’s keeping them in playoff contention. (24)

22. Florida 17-18-7 David Booth’s season might be over. He’s not ready to return from the concussion he suffered Oct. 24 on Mike Richards’ hit. (20)

23. Philadelphia 19-19-3 Mike Richards and Jeff Carter played their way off Canada’s Olympic team. The Flyers are playing their way out of a playoff spot. (23)

24. Atlanta 18-17-6 Thrashers have only one win in their last 10 games. Contract talks with Ilya Kovalchuk might be coming to a head soon. (22)

25. St. Louis 17-18-6 Blues fire Andy Murray a few months after he was a finalist for coach of the year honors. He’s inflexible, but he didn’t get stupid. Did they? (19)

26. Carolina 11-23-7 Hurricanes have won two in a row on the road. Not much to brag about but better than their season-opening 13-game road winless streak. (28)

27. Ducks 16-19-7 Their season is all but over with a three-game losing streak and 12-point gap to the last playoff spot. (25)

28. Toronto 14-19-9 Maple Leafs in a 2-5-2 slump. Bad time to lose Mikhail Grabovski and Wayne Primeau to injuries (26)

29. Columbus 15-19-9 Blue Jackets still stumbling with one win in their last 10 games. How much longer can Ken Hitchcock hold on as coach? (30)

30. Edmonton 16-22-4 Oilers are 1-9 in their last 10. Dustin Penner has vanished again. So has the team’s defense. Pat Quinn doesn’t need this aggravation. (29)