NHL Teams Are Struggling To Stay Healthy Down the Stretch

Injuries are the story across the National Hockey League, with some of the league's brightest stars missing significant time in the season's second half. Some clubs — like the Red Wings and Sabres — have man aged to survive the absences of key contributors. But for the teams packed into the tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race, in juries will be the determining factor in which teams do — and don't — reach the postseason.

And nowhere do injuries play a big ger factor than in goal. It's no coinci dence that the Montreal Canadiens (ranked as high as fifth in The New York Sun's Power Rankings as re cently as January 4) have fallen pre cipitously following the season-ending hamstring injury to starting net minder Cristobal Huet.

The Islanders may have dodged a bullet on Tuesday night; though netminder Rick DiPietro is listed as "questionable" for tonight's game against Ottawa, the head/neck injury he suffered following a collision with Canadiens forward Steve Begin could have easily been far more severe.

And in Raleigh, a deep leg lacera tion suffered by Conn Smythe Tro phy-winning netminder Cam Ward may well be the death knell for the Hurricanes. Backup John Grahame struggled mightily as the Lightning's starter last season, and unless he's able to string together a series of strong performances for the ‘Canes Ward's injury puts a serious damper on their playoff aspirations.

So here's how the teams line up this week. Statistically, teams are measured from left to right by games played, W-L-OTL, standings points goals scored, goals allowed, power play success, and penalty-killing success. Please note that the data are up to and including games played on Tuesday night, and that our statistics for special teams effectiveness also take shorthanded goals into account Each team's ranking from last week appears in parentheses.

1 DETROIT RED WINGS (2): Incredibly, the Wings have surged to the top of the Power Rankings despite playing the last seven games without their leading goal-scorer, Henrik Zetterberg (inflamed disk in his back). 70 44–17–9 97 223 175 14.8%85.9%

2 NASHVILLE PREDATORS (3): Without Peter Forsberg for five games and counting entering last night's bout with the Wings, the Preds suffered another huge blow when it was announced that underrated forward Martin Erat will miss four weeks with a knee sprain. 71 46–19–6 98 244 186 17.3% 87.5%

3 BUFFALO SABRES (1): Winless in their last four games, the Sabres will look to get back on track tonight in Florida. But the good news in Buffalo is that two of their walking wounded — Jaroslav Spacek and Ales Kotalik — will soon return to the lineup. 69 44–19–6 94 260 205 14.0%82.8%

4 ANAHEIM DUCKS (4): Team toughness remains a playoff virtue in the post-lockout NHL, so look for the Ducks to be a postseason force. Their 61 fighting majors are most in the league, 21 more than their next-closest competitors (Edmonton and Phoenix). 70 42–17–11 95 224 178 21.0%86.0%

5 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (5): The hardworking Devils have done a very nice job of closing ground in the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Entering last night's game against the Penguins, they were only two points behind firstplace Buffalo. 69 42–19–8 92 186 167 14.3%86.4%

6 DALLAS STARS (7): With only four points (and a minus-six rating) in 13 games with the Stars, predeadline acquisition Ladislav Nagy has been an enormous disappointment. Giving up a first-round pick to acquire him is looking like a huge mistake. 69 41–23–5 87 183 166 16.6%85.3%

7 VANCOUVER CANUCKS (6): Roberto Luongo's strong save percentage when the Canucks are shorthanded (.907) carries their penalty killing. But the fourth mostpenalized team in the NHL must cut down on the infractions if it's to succeed in the postseason. 70 41–23–6 88 188 176 14.9%88.4%

8 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (9): After many months of handwringing, the Pens finally consummated a deal for a new arena with the local government, ensuring that they'll remain in the Steel City for at least another 30 seasons. 69 38–21–10 86 237 217 17.0%85.0%

9 SAN JOSE SHARKS (10): It took seven games, but power forward Bill Guerin appears finally to be getting used to his new teal jersey. On Tuesday night, the Sharks — powered by a Guerin hat trick — trounced the Blackhawks by a lopsided 7-1 score. 70 42–25–3 87 211 172 21.1% 86.0%

10 OTTAWA SENATORS (11): Ranger-killer Dany Heatley struck again on Tuesday night, tallying two assists in the Sens' come-frombehind 3–2 win over the Blueshirts. Heatley has scored 28 points in 19 career games against the Rangers. 70 40–23–7 87 241 193 15.3%89.4%

11 MINNESOTA WILD (12): With two straight overtime game-winning goals, Brent Burns is emerging as a prime-time performer for the Wild. Drafted as a forward in 2003, the converted rearguard is excelling now that he's been given a regular spot in the lineup. 71 40–24–7 87 203 176 15.5% 89.1%

12 CALGARY FLAMES (8): This can officially be termed a breakout season for Kristian Huselius (30 goals, 69 points, plus-19 rating). He has blossomed into one of the Flames' most consistent performers, meaningfully easing the burden on captain Jarome Iginla. 69 37–22–10 84 225 189 17.0%84.2%

13 ATLANTA THRASHERS (13): The red-hot Thrashers are 6–1 since the arrival of power forward Keith Tkachuk. And while GM Don Waddell may have mortgaged the future with his deadline dealings, it's clear that this year's Thrashers are dramatically improved. 71 37–24–10 84 219 218 13.7% 81.0%

14 TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (15): The Lightning play eight of their final 11 games at home, which might well give them a critical advantage over the Thrashers (six of 11) in the race for the Southeast Division crown. 71 39–28–4 82 223 219 16.7% 82.8%

15 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (14): The Isles learned the danger of relying too heavily on starting goaltender Rick DiPietro on Tuesday; coming in as an injury replacement, little-used backup Mike Dunham surrendered all five goals in the 5–3 loss to the Canadiens. 69 34–25–10 78 207 195 14.7% 82.7%

16 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (16): Michael Peca is battling his way back from a broken leg suffered in December; he has resumed skating, and expects to return to the lineup no later than the first round of the playoffs. … But will that be too late for the Leafs? 70 34–27–9 77 219 227 14.2%79.0%

17 CAROLINA HURRICANES (18): Acquired in exchange for a fifth-round pick at the trade deadline, two-time 30-goal scorer Anson Carter hasn't fit in at all with the ‘Canes, and has been a healthy scratch for the last three games. 71 35–28–8 78 206 212 12.8% 87.2%

18 NEW YORK RANGERS (17): The injuries are continuing to mount for the Rangers, who lost Karel Rachunek to a knee sprain Tuesday night. He will be out 3–4 weeks, and It will be interesting to see whether youngsters Thomas Pöck and Daniel Girardi can pick up the slack. 70 34–28–8 76 200 193 17.0%86.4%

19 COLORADO AVALANCHE (19): Despite some very hard battling, the Avalanche still found themselves 10 points behind eighthplace Calgary entering last night's games, and it's a fait accompli that they will miss the postseason for the first time since they moved to Denver in 1995. 69 34–29–6 74 225 216 18.6%82.8%

20 MONTREAL CANADIENS (20): The bizarre Alexei Kovalev saga took another twist for the bizarre on Wednesday; the enigmatic forward is out of the lineup with vertigo, and because it's not flu-related, he's now hoping that it's not career threatening. 71 35–30–6 76 208 223 20.3% 87.7%

21 BOSTON BRUINS (21): Last week's three-game losing streak all but put the kibosh on the Bruins' playoff hopes, and it'll take an exceptional finish for them to leapfrog four teams to earn a spot in the postseason. 69 33–31–5 71 198 241 13.4% 84.7%

22 FLORIDA PANTHERS (24): Much like last season, the Panthers' strong second-half play will probably be a case of too little, too late. And, unfortunately, the plan to correct things in 2007–08 appears murky at absolute best. 70 29–28–13 71 202 220 16.6%83.8%

23 ST. LOUIS BLUES (23): Swedish rearguard Christian Bäckman is quietly emerging as a go-to player on the Blues' back line. He has a team-best plus-14 rating, and is beginning to assert himself offensively as well. 69 29–29–11 69 183 212 10.9%83.6%

24 EDMONTON OILERS (22): The Oilers have lost seven straight games (by a combined score of 28–5) following the Ryan Smyth trade — a clear sign of just how important he was both on the ice and in the locker room. 70 30–34–6 66 177 210 14.0%86.0%

25 COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (26): The one bright spot in what has otherwise been a very ugly season for the Blue Jackets has been the play of creative forward David Vyborny (a team-leading 58 points to go along with a plus-five rating). 69 27–35–7 61 169 212 14.1% 81.9%

26 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (27): Tuesday night's 7–1 loss to the Sharks was ugly, but the Blackhawks have taken some very positive strides forward this season, this despite a seemingly endless rash of injuries to key players.
69 26–34–9 61 173 217 10.2%86.0%

27 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (25): Netminder Olaf Kolzig is expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Bruins; it'll be his first appearance since he suffered a knee injury in practice back on February 12.
70 24-34-12 60 203 251 13.6%84.2%

28 PHOENIX COYOTES (28): Wayne Gretzky may ultimately succeed as an NHL head coach, but this Coyotes team probably doesn't have the talent to turn things around under his stewardship. A more experienced teacher is required.
69 28–38–3 59 186 235 11.8% 79.7%

29 LOS ANGELES KINGS (29): The Kings are wisely taking a cautious approach with star rookie AnÏe Kopitar's back strain. He has missed seven games since suffering the injury at the end of practice on February 27 and may not return to action this season.
70 23–34–13 59 197 242 15.8% 78.7%

30 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (30): The Flyers inked GM Paul Holmgren a two-year contract extension, a wise move indeed. His maneuverings in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline accelerated the Flyers' rebuilding effort by at least two years.
70 19–40–11 49 185 262 10.1% 89.1%

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.