Helene Elliott’s NHL rankings

Through Monday’s games

Rank Team Record Comment (previous week)

1. Chicago 34-11-4 Blackhawks’ shootout win Sunday at Detroit left them 2-0 to start an eight-game trip. Overall, they’ve won three straight. (1)

2. San Jose 32-10-8 To change his luck, slumping forward Devin Setoguchi shaved his head. He scored twice to help beat Edmonton on Saturday for the Sharks’ seventh win in 10 games. (4)

3. Buffalo 30-11-6 Sabres have earned points in each of their last 11 (8-0-3). The Eastern Conference co-leaders are making a seven-game trip that will include stops in Anaheim on Tuesday and L.A. on Thursday. (3)

4. Washington 30-12-6 Alexander Ovechkin converts first penalty shot in six tries as the Capitals beat the Flyers. He has 14 points in his last six games. (5)

5. New Jersey 32-14-1 Devils have lost three in a row. Patrik Elias rested Monday after being knocked out on a shoulder-to-chin hit by Colorado’s Ryan Wilson on Saturday. (2)

6. Vancouver 28-18-2 Henrik Sedin keeps NHL scoring lead with a three-point night against Pittsburgh. He has 67 points. (6)

7. Colorado 28-15-6 Veteran Milan Hejduk (15 goals, 30 points) to have arthroscopic knee surgery and miss two to four weeks. (7)

8. Nashville 29-17-3 Predators have won three of four and seven of their last 11 after sweeping a trip to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. (13)

9. Phoenix 28-17-5 Shane Doan scored in win over Minnesota on his bobblehead night. Solution for low-scoring teams: Have lots of bobblehead nights. (8)

10. Pittsburgh 30-19-1 Alex Pechurski, on a tryout deal, became Plan D in goal after Marc-Andre Fleury broke a finger, Brent Johnson had an undisclosed injury and John Curry was burned by Vancouver on Saturday. (9)

11. Kings 27-18-3 Good time for Dustin Brown (three goals in four games) and Anze Kopitar (three goals and seven points in his last seven) to awaken. (11)

12. Detroit 24-16-8 Red Wings had two chances to pass the Kings for eighth but lost two shootouts to stay a point back. And they trail the Kings in wins, the first tiebreaker. (12)

13. Ottawa 25-21-4 Daniel Alfredsson returns quickly from shoulder injury and has a goal and two assists against Montreal over the weekend. Senators hope Jason Spezza (knee) is a quick healer too. (22)

14. Calgary 26-18-6 Flames have lost five straight, the latest a 9-1 thumping by San Jose. (10)

15. Boston 23-17-8 Bruins scratch and claw while injuries take Patrice Bergeron (thumb), Marc Savard (knee) and Marco Sturm (leg) out of their lineup. (15)

16. N.Y. Rangers 23-19-7 Scoring slump ended when they scored six goals against the Canadiens on Sunday. (14)

17. N.Y. Islanders 22-19-8 Rick DiPietro returns from knee problems and records first shutout in 23 months in beating Devils on Monday. (21)

18. Philadelphia 23-21-3 Michael Leighton has been the best of a bad bunch of goaltenders for the Flyers. (16)

19. Ducks 22-20-7 They’re not done yet, winning six of seven despite injuries to Teemu Selanne (jaw) and Saku Koivu (knee) and Joffrey Lupul’s back infection. (19)

20. Minnesota 24-23-3 Wild leads the NHL with 17 regulation road losses, including losses in seven of their last nine away from home. (18)

21. Montreal 23-23-4 Lost weekend for the Canadiens in falling to the Senators and the Rangers and yielding 10 goals. (17)

22. St. Louis 21-20-7 Blues have won three in a row at home and four of five overall, encouraging signs for new Coach Davis Payne. (26)

23. Dallas 21-17-11 Coach Marc Crawford after beating Detroit on Saturday: “It’s a huge momentum boost for us. It would have been a huge momentum boost if we had beat the St. Mary’s School for the Blessed, Blind, Deaf and Dumb.” (20)

24. Florida 21-20-8 Czech forward Rostislav Olesz, slow to develop as a 2004 first-round pick, had a pair of two-goal games last week to keep Panthers close in the East. (25)

25. Atlanta 21-20-7 Thrashers are 3-5-3 in their last 11. If they’re going to trade Ilya Kovalchuk, they should do it soon. (28)

26. Tampa Bay 19-19-10 Antero Niittymaki says Lightning “needed a better goalie” Saturday. He should know: He was the goalie in a 5-2 loss to Florida. (23)

27. Carolina 14-27-7 Hurricanes followed a three-game winning streak with three straight losses. Their playoff chances are vanishing fast. (27)

28. Columbus 19-23-9 Blue Jackets scored five goals on Saturday for the first time since Nov. 30 but lost. They ended a three-game slide by beating St. Louis on Monday. (24)

29. Toronto 17-24-9 The Maple Leafs upset the Predators at Nashville on Monday, only their second win in their last 11 road games. (29)

30. Edmonton 16-27-5. Oilers have one win in their last 16 games. The only question is how soon GM Steve Tambellini starts cleaning house. (30)

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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