Helene Elliott’s NHL rankings

(Through Monday’s games)

Rank Team Record (ranking before the Olympics)

1. Washington 44-13-9 Alexander Ovechkin ends six-game goal scoring drought with two on Monday, but home win streak ends at 13 with shootout loss to Dallas. (1)

2. Pittsburgh 40-22-4 Not a bad week for Sidney Crosby: he scores golden goal for Canada and returns to temporarily take NHL goal scoring lead. And he got help at trade deadline with acquisition of Jordan Leopold and Alex Ponikarovsky. (10)

3. San Jose 42-14-9 Sharks need late rallies to beat Montreal and Columbus, but they come through. Scott Nichol will miss about a week after bruising hit by Maxim Lapierre. (3)

4. Chicago 43-17-5 The Blackhawks didn’t add a goalie at the trade deadline. Will that haunt them come playoff time? Cristobal Huet was yanked Sunday in a 5-4 loss to Detroit. (4)

5. Vancouver 40-23-2 Canucks’ rally at Nashville on Sunday was their league-leading ninth victory in a game they had trailed after two periods. (5)

6. Phoenix 39-22-5 Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov sets a franchise record with his 34th victory. He’s a good chunk of the reason for their surprising success. (8)

7. Colorado 37-22-6 Chris Stewart’s hat trick against the Blues Saturday was the Avalanche’s first in 199 games. New acquisition Peter Mueller looks good with Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk. (6)

8. Kings 39-22-4 The old Kings would have let back-to-back losses trigger a long swoon. The new Kings didn’t let that happen, trouncing Columbus on Monday. (2)

9. Ottawa 36-25-5 Deadline-day trade for big defenseman Andy Sutton is a winner, even though Senators are 0-2-1 since returning from the Olympic break. (7)

10. Nashville 35-25-5 Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov, forward Dustin Boyd were good deadline-day acquisitions for the Predators, who somehow keep winning. (15)

11. Buffalo 35-20-9 Sabres end eight-game road losing streak Sunday thanks to Ryan Miller’s 35-save performance in 2-1 overtime win over the Rangers. (11)

12. New Jersey 38-23-3 Devils have won only two of their last 13 road games, including a shutout loss at Edmonton on Sunday. (9)

13. Detroit 31-22-12 The Red Wings had lost three straight to the Blackhawks before beating them, 5-4, on Sunday. Nicklas Lidstrom looked old at the Olympics but seems rejuvenated. (14)

14. Calgary 32-34-9 Vesa Toskala wins his first game in more than a month, before he was traded from Toronto to Anaheim and then to the Flames, in beating the Wild, 5-2. (12)

15. Philadelphia 34-26-4 The Flyers are 6-1-1 in their last eight. But will they regret their decision not to acquire a goalie and go with Michael (four times waived) Leighton? (20)

16. Montreal 32-29-6 Canadiens climb back into top eight in the East after beating the Kings and rallying to topple the Ducks in a shootout. A bon voyage for les Habitants. (18)

17. Boston 29-24-11 Bruins are waiting to see if Marc Savard will be out long-term after suffering a concussion Sunday on a Matt Cooke hit. (27)

18. Tampa Bay 27-26-11 The Lightning gave new owner Jeff Vinik a victory Saturday fueled by a penalty shot from -- sorry Kings fans -- Teddy Purcell. (17)

19. St. Louis 30-26-9 With 18 road wins the Blues have matched their total for last season. And they have nine chances to exceed that. (21)

20. Minnesota 31-28-5 Wild’s home sellout streak hit 400 on Sunday. Those fans deserve a playoff team but probably won’t get one this season. (16)

21. N.Y. Rangers 29-28-9 They still go through stretches where they can’t buy a goal. Though they’ve certainly tried every summer. (23)

22. Dallas 29-24-12 The Stars were outscored, 17-5, in their first three games after the Olympic break. That made their shootout win at Washington on Monday a real stunner. (13)

23. Carolina 27-31-7 Hurricanes have won eight of their last nine. Probably too late for a playoff push, but they’re keeping it interesting in the East. (24)

24. Ducks 30-27-8 The lost weekend: shut out at Phoenix, overtaken at home by Canadiens in 4-3 shootout loss. They’re all but done. (19)

25. Atlanta 28-26-10 Odd stat of the week: the Thrashers are 0-17-0 against Tampa Bay goalie Antero Niittymaki, including a loss Saturday at Tampa. (22)

26. Florida 26-28-10 Back-to-back wins over the Flyers and Hurricanes have the Panthers dreaming of a playoff run, but that’s all it’s likely to be -- dreaming. (25)

27. N.Y. Islanders 26-31-8 No goals in 17 games for rookie John Tavares. Welcome to the NHL, kid. (28)

28. Columbus 25-30-11 Blue Jackets are struggling under interim coach Claude Noel. Trading Raffi Torres didn’t help an already weak offense. (26)

29. Toronto 20-33-12 Jonas Gustavsson helps Maple Leafs end 0-3-1 streak by beating flu-depleted Senators in a shootout. (29)

30. Edmonton 21-38-6 The Oilers, who have lost more than 370 man games, have won only six of their last 33 games. Ouch. (30)

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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