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Team (record): Comment (last week’s position)
1. Pittsburgh (29-16-10): There’s “D” in Pittsburgh
2. Detroit (30-14-11): Role players doing jobs.
3. Dallas (34-13-8): Hitchcock needs to open it up.
4. New Jersey (32-16-6): Few goals in 2-1-3 mini-slide.
5. Colorado (27-13-16): No competition in Pacific.
6. Philadelphia (28-15-9): They’re Philly Frauds.
7. Washington (26-18-10): Wilson can’t beat Detroit.
8. St. Louis (28-20-8): Welcome back, Brett Hull.
9. Montreal (28-19-7): Surprise of Eastern Conference.
10. Kings (23-20-9): Surprise of Western Conference.
11. Phoenix (24-20-10): Tkachuk leading Coyotes.
12. Boston (23-20-10): Pat Burns coach of year.
13. Chicago (21-23-9): Thuggery backfires against Ducks.
14. Ottawa (22-24-9): Remain in solid playoff spot.
15. Buffalo (21-21-10): No talent, only victories.
16. San Jose (20-26-7): Riding youth movement.
17. Edmonton (19-25-10): Surge after trades over?
18. N.Y. Rangers (17-22-15): Gretzky back in Southland.
19. Ducks (18-27-9): Wanted: goon.
20. Florida (18-26-11): Best in the state anyway.
21. Toronto (17-28-7): Only worth watching Sundin.
22. Carolina (20-29-6): Lots could be finer.
23. N.Y. Islanders (19-28-8): A deal with Vancouver?
24. Calgary (14-29-11): No talent equals no future.
25. Vancouver (14-33-8): Even trade won’t help much.
26. Tampa Bay (9-36-8): What’s another word for brutal?
Game of the Week
When--Saturday. Time--Noon.
TV--Channel 11.
Storyline--In the absence of a better Southern California rivalry (sorry, UCLA owns USC these days), we’ll take a King-Duck game any day. This is the last game for both teams before the 17-day Olympic break and it’s no stretch to think they both could be in playoff positions. The Kings and Ducks have played twice. Both games have gone to overtime. Both games have been intense. Both have featured strong goaltending and third-period comebacks. The Kings rallied to win the first game, 3-2. The Ducks rallied to tie the second, 3-3. Left wing Paul Kariya’s return after suffering a concussion Sunday could be pivotal for the Ducks.
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