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 Thursday, December 9
Top three can't be swayed from top
 
 Dec. 6, 1999

Unhappy that the Flyers, Coyotes and Blues all stayed in the same order at the top? The logical question is, "Who should supplant them?" The Flyers didn't lose; the 'Yotes ended a long winning streak but remain solid; and the Blues' only loss was to Philly. Two big movers -- and teams to really watch out for -- are the Stars and Maple Leafs. It looks like Dallas may have finally shaken its post-Cup hangover and is ready to climb out of the Pacific Division's logjam.

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.   Flyers 1 16-8-4-1 Excerpt from the cynical Philly file (It's a rather big one): Don't peak too early.
2.   'Yotes 2 18-7-3-0 Streak is over. Now, if they start another one, we'll be really impressed.
3.   Blues 3 17-9-2-0 Tied for the league lead in victories. Win in Philly would have made recent stretch almost too good.
4.   Leafs 9 16-9-4-2 With a five-point lead, the Leafs are beginning to distance themselves from the Northeast Division.
5.   Wings 4 16-8-3-1 Blues no longer in rear-view mirror. Detroit's prospects aren't as bright without Sergei Fedorov.
6.   Kings 5 14-7-6-1 Luc Robitaille is back. Kings hope guys like Glen Murray don't slack off now that some pressure is off.
7.   Stars 18 13-12-3-1 Stars have won four straight by a margin of 12-6. Just enough offense and stingy defense means Dallas is back on track.
8.   Panthers 6 14-9-2-2 From the solid goalie department: Trevor Kidd has allowed two goals or less in seven of his last eight games. The Panthers won six of those.
9.   Avalanche 10 13-12-3-1 Question: Who are the two leading scorers for the Avs? Answer: Milan Hejduk and Chris Drury (26 points). Sophomore slump?
10. Devils 13 14-9-3-2 Losing to the lowly Flames isn't going to help them keep pace with the Flyers.
11.Sharks 11 15-13-4-2 Sick of the negative "played-too-many-games" rap? OK, here's a positive: The Sharks are No. 2 in the league with 24 power-play goals.
12. Bruins 7 11-9-7-0 The Bruins allowed as many goals on Saturday (nine) as they did the previous five games. Think coach Pat Burns went to church on Sunday to confess all the cuss words he used the day before?
13. Senators 8 14-11-2-1 All of a sudden, winning without Alexei Yashin isn't so easy.
14. Ducks 17 13-12-3-1 Win in Phoenix shows they can play with the big boys, but nobody knows why they can't do it more consistently.
15. 'Canes 12 12-9-7-0 The Canes average 2.37 goals for and 2.48 goals against. To catch Florida, that needs to change.
16. Canucks 14 11-11-6-1 Steve Kariya is a smaller version of Paul? Perhaps, the Canucks are a smaller version of the Western Conference's elite teams?
17. Flames 22 10-15-3-1 Management should change the team's schedule and play all their games in the New York/New Jersey area.
18. Oilers 25 8-13-6-4 If they didn't stink in overtime, they'd be atop the Northwest Division.
19. Rangers 24 9-14-4-1 Definition of a Rangers hot streak: Going 1-0-1 in the last two games. Calgary will be a big (wink, wink) test.
20. Sabres 16 11-14-3-0 Home isn't where the wins are. The Sabres went 0-2-1 in Buffalo last week.
21. Penguins 19 8-14-3-4 Kevin Constantine may coach the Minnesota Wild next year. For now, he still needs to help save hockey in Pittsburgh.
22. Capitals 15 10-11-5-1 No one on this team averages a point per game. Adam Oates (18 in 25 games) comes the closest -- if that's considered close.
23. Lightning 21 9-14-4-2 Last season, Tampa Bay didn't win game No. 9 until Dec. 29. The Lightning have three weeks to officially be ahead of last year's pace.
24. Thrashers 28 7-16-2-2 The Thrashers have won two in a row for the first time in franchise history.
25. Predators 26 9-16-1-2 How can a win over Detroit only move them up one spot? Good question, but the Preds lost seven straight before that win.
26. 'Hawks 27 7-16-4-2 Nine goals in Boston was impressive, but how long will it last? Enthusiasm can only offset lack of talent for so long.
27. Canadiens 20 9-17-2-1 The Habs have lost three straight, all by one goal. That pretty much sums up their season.
28. Islanders 23 6-15-3-0 The Isles like being banished to an island as much as Napolean did. The Isles lost three at home this past week by a combined 11-4.