Helene Elliott’s NHL rankings

(Through Monday‘s games)

Rank; Team; Record; (previous ranking)

1. Vancouver; 25-8-5; Canucks have won six straight and have no regulation losses in their last 13. Most of Canada, however, is riveted to world junior championships. (3)

2. Philadelphia; 24-10-5; Flyers won at Detroit on Sunday for first time since 1988. They were 0-14-2 in that span. On Monday they waived goalie Michael Leighton, who got them to the Cup finals. (2)

3. Tampa Bay; 23-11-5; Lightning is 8-1-1 in its last 10, but has minus-1 goal differential (121 for, 122 against). Adding veteran Dwayne Roloson from the Islanders should steady their goaltending. (5)

4. Detroit; 24-10-5; Red Wings have played last two without winger Patrick Eaves (elbow injury). But Henrik Zetterberg (4-7-11) and Nicklas Lidstrom each have seven-game point streaks. (6)

5. Pittsburgh; 25-12-3; Penguins were fine hosts of the Winter Classic, even allowing visiting Capitals to win. Best news for them: Injured center Jordan Staal returned. (1)

6. Washington; 23-12-5; Capitals celebrated their Winter Classic victory over Penguins as if it were the Stanley Cup finale. Save it for June, guys — if you get that far. (15)

7. San Jose; 21-14-5; Antti Niemi’s 1-0 shutout of Kings on Saturday got his goals-against average below 3.00, to 2.91. Still not much to brag about, but Sharks have won two of three. (8)

8. Dallas; 23-13-4; Stars extended their road winning streak to five with a third-period rally Sunday at St. Louis. Brad Richards has 45 points in 40 games. (4)

9. Boston; 21-11-6; Bruins’ line of Marc Savard, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton came up big against Toronto on Monday. (13)

10. Atlanta; 21-15-6; Dustin Byfuglien’s overtime goal at Montreal on Sunday was his 41st point — most among NHL defensemen — and sixth game-winner. (11)

11. St. Louis; 20-13-5; The Blues only recently regained all six defensemen who started the season with them. One or more had been hurt for a while. They’ve won five of six. (16)

12. Kings; 22-16-1; Four-game losing streak showed extremes defensively and offensively. Consistently balanced efforts remain elusive. (7)

13. N.Y. Rangers; 22-15-3; Their 3-0 loss at Florida on Saturday could be even bigger: Useful winger Ruslan Fedotenko bruised a hand blocking a shot and is day to day. (12)

14. Ducks; 21-17-4; Wins at Phoenix and at home over Flyers and Blackhawks were impressive, but they will be hard-pressed to keep that up while Ryan Getzlaf recovers from sinus fractures. (20)

15. Chicago; 21-17-3; Blackhawks brought their moms on trip to Anaheim and Los Angeles. Those moms should be happy after their boys got a win in Los Angeles. (9)

16. Nashville; 19-13-6; Predators had lost five in a row before bouncing back to beat Minnesota, Columbus and end a three-game home losing streak. (18)

17. Colorado; 20-14-5; Avalanche lost to Canucks on Sunday to fall to 0-4 against division rival. Productive offense was stymied by Roberto Luongo and scored only once. (10)

18. Montreal; 21-16-3; After losing five of seven on the road, Canadiens returned home for an overtime loss to Atlanta. They’re slumping at both ends of the ice. (14)

19. Phoenix; 17-13-8; The Coyotes have lost three of their last four games and have given up 16 goals in that span. They can’t afford to play run-and-gun. (17)

20. Carolina; 18-15-5; Hurricanes have points in four straight and eight of 11. Rookie Jeff Sinner (11 goals, 28 points) continues to excel. (21)

21. Minnesota; 18-15-5; Wild, booed off home ice after losing to Nashville, Friday, redeems itself with rally and overtime victory over the Coyotes on Sunday. (19)

22. Calgary; 18-19-3; New General Manager Jay Feaster has said Jarome Iginla won’t be traded. Fine, but how is Feaster going to rebuild? (24)

23. Columbus; 20-16-3; The Blue Jackets are reluctant visitors to Music City: Their loss to Predators on Sunday left them 0-10-5 in Nashville since April 2006. (26)

24. Florida; 18-17-2; The Panthers have only one regulation loss in their last eight games. They even took the tarp off the upper deck in their arena to accommodate extra fans. (22)

25. Buffalo; 16-18-4; Sabres’ six goals in a New Year’s Day rally past Boston was a week’s worth of production in one day. (27)

26. N.Y. Islanders; 12-19-6; Don’t look now, but the Isles have won three in a row and seven of their last 11. OK, you can look. If you must. (28)

27. Toronto; 14-20-4; Maple Leafs continue to spin their wheels. Rumors say they might be willing to trade Kris Versteeg, though waiting until the deadline would probably bring a better return. (29)

28. Ottawa; 16-19-5; Senators are winless in three after a 5-1 home loss to the Maple Leafs last Saturday. Speculation has begun over Coach Cory Clouston’s job security. (23)

29. Edmonton; 12-18-7; Growing pains return for young Oilers, who have won only two of their last 10 games. Ryan Whitney’s ankle injury takes mobility, points out of their lineup. (25)

30. New Jersey; 10-26-2; The Devils have given up 54 more goals than they’ve scored (68 for, 122 against). And they can’t make a major move because no one claimed Brian Rolston off waivers. (30)

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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