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POWER RANKINGS

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 24, 2008

1. STARS: They might only be at the top for a week, but Detroit looks awfully vulnerable all of a sudden.

2. RED WINGS: Losing Niklas Lidstrom now is bad, but at least they can expect him back for when it matters in April and May.

3. DEVILS: Finally! Someone is threatening to overtake the Senators at the top of the Eastern Conference.

4. DUCKS: With the Wings clipped and the Stars' penchant for underachieving, Anaheim might be the team beat in the West again.

5. SENATORS: How bad is it? They're leading the Eastern Conference, and the owner still had to issue a public "vote of confidence."

6. WILD: They head into a Southeast Division road swing this week with a chance to cement their lead in the Northwest Division.

7. SHARKS: It'll be tough to catch the Stars at this point in the Pacific Division, but the Sharks are still within reach.

8. PENGUINS: Could it be that Evgeni Malkin, not Sidney Crosby, is this team's best player? It's starting to look that way.

9. SABRES: This is starting to look like a team that no one will want to face in the Stanley Cup playoffs. G Ryan Miller makes them a threat.

10. CANADIENS: To overcome a five-goal deficit and win this past week against the Rangers was exactly the kind of lift this team needed heading into the final weeks.

11. PREDATORS: Obviously, they can't catch Detroit in the Central Division. But they have proven they are the second-best team in a competitive division.

12. ISLANDERS: They're winning with virtually all of their top blue-liners out with injuries. Thank you, G Rick DiPietro.

13. FLAMES: They're doing all they can to keep Minnesota within striking distance at the top of the Northwest Division. But watch out below for Vancouver.

14. HURRICANES: It would be fitting for this flawed team to win the extremely flawed Southeast Division, but there's still a long way to go.

15. BRUINS: They're not in Montreal's or Ottawa's class, but they are good enough to take advantage of the extra playoff spots available because of the Southeast's demise.

16. CAPITALS: There really is no excuse for Washington not to overtake the Hurricanes in the Southeast, other than Washington is still Washington.

17. RANGERS: Embrace the history, Rangers fans. It's not every day you see your team blow a five-goal lead and lose in OT.

18. CANUCKS: After a precipitous plunge down the standings in the West, they've begun to right the ship thanks to G Roberto Luongo.

19. FLYERS: Captain Jason Smith said a nine-game winless string was "rock bottom," and he'd better hope he's right.

20. AVALANCHE: It's beginning to look like all the injuries are finally catching up to Colorado, which is sinking in the West standings.

21. COYOTES: There's still time for Wayne Gretzky's boys to make some noise in the West race, but they'll need some trade deadline help to do it this year.

22. BLUES: Any final playoff gasp was sucked away by a 5-1 loss to the woeful Kings this past week.

23. BLUE JACKETS: The pieces are in place for Columbus to make a serious push for the playoffs next year, as long as G Pascal Leclaire can be as good as he was this year.

24. THRASHERS: This team without Marian Hossa is a team without a playoff prayer.

25. PANTHERS: Here's a prediction (and it's not exactly a long shot) - Tampa Bay still will finish ahead of Florida in the Southeast Division.

26. BLACKHAWKS: Jonathan Toews comes back and look what happens; Chicago starts to win again (5-1-1).

27. OILERS: Only Atlanta, at 14-4, has a better OT/shootout record than Edmonton's 13-5.

28. LIGHTNING: Whatever happens before the trade deadline, it feels like the end of an era for Tampa Bay.

29. MAPLE LEAFS: Only Carolina, at 74.0 percent, has been worse than Toronto at home against the power play (75.5 percent).

30. KINGS: They actually have a winning record (4-3-1) against the Eastern Conference, and they don't even get to play against the Southeast Division this year.

Carter Gaddis

POWER RANKINGS

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