ESPN.com users sound off on Power Rankings of Oct. 29:

Why hype Dallas so much? They haven't beaten one team with more than 10 points. I know they look good on paper, but I'm not impressed yet.

Andrew Gonzales
Champaign, Ill.

Has anyone noticed that Mike Modano has quietly climbed into second in the league in scoring and third in assists? Who are the two guys above Modano in assists? Mario Lemieux and Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov. I'd say since the Stars have two of the top three players in assists, and the most balanced scoring they've had in a long time, and two goalies who have been great when they've needed to be, and a great defense with three right shots from the point, the Stars are my pick to dethrone the Red Wings.

Adam Eisen
Ft. Benning, Ga.

I'm glad you mentioned Peter Forsberg in your comment about the Avs. I was wondering if he was still in the league! He'd better get used to flying under the radar, because he is now the third best Swedish export, and dropping fast. No. 1, of course, is Victoria Silvstedt. And the new No. 2, not a household name yet, but he soon will be...Henrik Zetterberg.

Leon Cadeau
Canton, Mich.

"Face it. They can smoke anyone in the league ... when they're in the mood." ... or when Sergei is in the mood.... Now where did Anna get to...?

Mark Kirkland
Champaign, Ill.

Come on guys, the Lightning got beat by a solid defensive effort from the Devils last Saturday night. The Lightning came in flat and never recovered. The Washington game the night before took its toll. However, the Devils are one of the best teams in the NHL (see Power Rankings). The flip side is that the Lightning soundly beat the teams they should have beaten. Sometimes young and inexperienced is not always a bad thing. They believe they can win, and winning breeds confidence. Stop waiting for the wheels to fall off the Ning's Zamboni and enjoy the ride. I'm riding this baby all the way to the playoffs. Need a lift?

Rob Wagner
Orlando, Fla.

OK, Tampa loses one game to Jersey -- a team that was ranked fifth in Power Rankings and is now fourth. I certainly think 36 goals in nine games is a sign of an improved offensive attack (or a healthy attack) and only one defeat while playing against Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Washington and the Stanley Cup finalist Hurricanes begs some respect. Nikolai Khabibulin is still undefeated for the season with the stellar Kevin Hodson taking the loss at Jersey. Where's the love!!!! Remember these are the Bad News Bears of hockey here!!! I'd only be more pissed off at the rankings if I was a Wild fan...

Chris R.
Tampa, Fla.

One reason why the Wild should be ranked higher: Manny Fernandez, who is 6-0-0, and the only goalie in the NHL unbeaten AND untied.

Pierre
Bloomington, Minn.

I love the Wild, but would you rank them higher if they were called the Fighting Pike or the Iceholes? Just wondering.

Mark O'Byrne
Rochester, Minn.

Methinks that ranking the Blues fourth might be a bit on the flattering side. However, I agreed with Panger when he said that everyone would underestimate the Blues at the start of the season, and I stand by it. I'm surprised that nobody seemed to pick up on the fact that new rule enforcement schedules would affect the NHL hierarchy, not just individual players. I told anyone that would listen that the Blues had the perfect team for the new rules: a bunch of slippery flyweights fired up by years of abuse under the clutch and grab nonsense. Now I just want to know if this team was put together with insider knowledge, or whether money-saving measures accidentally gave them a good team.

Erik Nolte
Houston

How can you do this to my Flyers... and my city? Please do not rank them high, because every year the Flyers end up getting ranked so high, and us fans get so up on them we just end up losing to some seventh or eighth seed in the first round of the playoffs. If you didn't rank them high, maybe if they "showed up" at the end it would be a pleasant surprise. Thank you.

David Lewis
Philadelphia

You should lower the rank of the Flyers just because their jerseys are so ugly... and because I'm a Pens fan.

Eric Pipkin
Collegeville, Pa.

Wow, Flyers at No. 1 for two weeks in a row. You should lower them just so us Flyers fans have something to complain about. It's difficult to complain that they should be ranked "0."

Doug Campbell
Philadelphia

Ken Hitchcock is my shepherd; I shall not want ... anything less than the Stanley Cup.

Michael McLaughlin
Wilmington, Del.

I pretty much agree with this weeks rankings, but I think the Lightning got unfairly dropped to No. 9. Granted, they got smoked by the Devils, but it was Khabibulin's night off. They certainly deserve a higher spot than the Penguins. The Penguins are winning all on the strength of their power play. If they play a disciplined team with a good checking line, they're toast. And now, as distasteful as this is for me as a Devils fan, I'm going to congratulate Mike Richter on win No. 300. Considering the defensive help (if you can even call it help) he's gotten in his career it's quite an accomplishment. Consider this: Cujo couldn't win a Cup in Toronto and he got more help defensively (although, not much more) than the Rangers give Richter on any given night. Maybe if your general managers stopped trading away the developing young talent (York, Sundstrom, Amonte and Weight, just to name a few) and invested in a defenseman or two who actually think their purpose on the ice is to PLAY DEFENSE (what a novel concept) you'd have a shot against the legitimate contenders in the East (i.e. Philly and New Jersey). I don't think Patrick Roy himself could win the Cup with this team.

Josh
Binghamton, N.Y.

Nabokov is back and San Jose is still losing, Hey! Let's blame Stuart now.

Tade Gerischer
Illinois

Woo-woo?

Ron Crow
Paola, Kan.