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 Monday, February 21
Oilers jump seven spots
 


 Feb. 14, 2000

Are the Devils going to follow a familiar pattern of brilliant regular season, followed by a miserable postseason? Who knows, but one thing is clear: There's no better team right now. As for the rest, Detroit and St. Louis continue their two step, and watch out for Edmonton. The Oilers are looking mighty slick, especially after making the Flyers look like they skate knee deep in sludge.

ESPN.com's secret formula has taken it all into account for this week's rankings. To right any wrongs in these rankings, click here and give us a few Rank Comments of your own.

Team PVS W-L-T-RT ESPN.com says
1.   Devils 2 35-15-6-4 Now, if they can only get Mark Messier. They could win the Cup and embarrass the Rangers.
2.   Wings 1 33-17-6-1 Like any two-game split, the last one is the one most memorable. And the Wings doused St. Louis on the back end, then dumped the Avs.
3.   Blues 3 35-15-6-0 When MacInnis went out with back spasms vs. Detroit, it became clear how much this team needs him and Pierre Turgeon.
4.   Stars 5 31-20-5-2 Ken Hitchcock and Ed Belfour get credit for making Dallas a favorite again. Stars have allowed second fewest goals (121) in the league.
5.   Flyers 4 28-16-10-1 Another softy let in by the Beezer vs. Edmonton has people grumbling. But Oilers exposed another weakness: Team speed.
6.   Panthers 9 32-19-4-3 All the Pavel Bure talk overshadows a solid sophomore season for Mark Parrish, who is just three points shy of last year's totals.
7.   Capitals 10 27-19-9-1 From the future "I told you so department": Joe Murphy isn't the answer.
8.   Kings 14 25-22-7-3 Gettin' Ziggy wid it. Kings movin' up like George and Weezy.
9.   Oilers 16 20-22-15-7 Roman Hamrlik and Tom Poti are great on the power play, with Hamrlik leading the team with 22 power-play points.
10. Leafs 7 30-20-6-3 Slumps are one thing, but a home loss to the Canucks? The Leafs got a nice look at Messier, who many think may don a Toronto uniform before long.
11. 'Yotes 8 30-19-6-1 This is the usual swoon time for Phoenix. Check out this Friday's game in Dallas. ... It's gonna be a good one.
12. Avalanche 6 27-22-8-1 You can't help but ask why these guys aren't winning more. Peter Forsberg better be back soon because the team needs to gel.
13. Senators 13 26-20-9-2 Ottawa's 141 goals against is only 38 less than last season with 27 games left. Team defense and goaltending have slipped.
14. Sabres 12 23-26-8-2 No matter what anyone says, no one wants these guys in the playoffs if Dominik Hasek is around, which is far from definite.
15. Sharks 19 24-29-7-7 This bunch hasn't beaten a team over .500 since a 3-2 win over the Kings on Jan. 15.
16. Penguins 11 24-26-5-5 From the dream-on trade department: Hasek joining his Czech mates in Pittsburgh.
17. Rangers 17 24-25-8-3 At. No. 17, the Rangers are what they always seem to be, namely a bubble team. No need to discuss home loss to Isles.
18. 'Canes 20 23-25-8-0 Four games in six days this week. A 3-1 run could put them back in the playoff hunt.
19. Ducks 18 23-26-8-1 Yes, it's true. The Ducks may have decided they can't be good with Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya ... and no one else. Kariya's untouchable; Selanne isn't.
20. Islanders 25 16-34-6-1 A 3-1 week and a road win over the Rangers. If Eric Cairns didn't blindside Matthew Barnaby through a curtain, you might even think things were returning to normal.
21. Flames 15 23-27-6-3 From the easy but relevant pun department: Could the Flames finally be running out of gas?
22. Canucks 26 17-27-10-6 Don't let Toronto game fool you. This team isn't good. Dump Messier and start geting the Sedin twins in the weight room.
23. 'Hawks 24 19-28-6-2 This is Power Rankings and not a trade rumor mill, but Doug Gilmour could be on the move again.
24. Canadiens 23 19-28-7-3 Why not keep on truckin' on the rumor road ... Now that journeyman Eric Fichaud is on board, look for Jeff Hackett to be shopped.
25. Predators 22 20-30-6-5 Losers of three straight and have major problems scoring goals.
26. Lightning 27 12-36-6-6 He may not be enjoying Tampa's suffering, but Jacques Demers must be thinking, "See, it ain't so easy."
27. Thrashers 28 11-38-6-4 Not one player has a plus-minus above zero.
28. Bruins 21 18-24-15-4 This is not a joke. Repeat, this is not a joke. This is no way to say goodbye to an all-time great like Ray Bourque.
 



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