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 Thursday, February 3
No Lindros spells doom in Philly
 
 Jan. 17, 2000

Forget about the top for a minute. The Flyers finally lost at home, and also dropped one to arguably the league's worst team, the Thrashers. The Devils and Blues deserve their spots, and Detroit needs to win more on the road. But look below for some interesting storylines. You gotta pull for Freddie Brathwaite and the low-budget Flames. And are the Rangers finally going to make a run ... at .500?

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 27-13-5-3 All this with some unhappy campers? Goalie Martin Brodeur is just four wins shy of his fifth straight 30-plus season.
2.   Blues 3 27-12-6-0 At least they're out of Detroit's shadow ... for now. Credit GM Larry Pleau for helping build this team.
3.   Panthers 5 26-14-3-3 Pavel Bure on the ice gives this team confidence to beat anyone in the league. Ray Whitney, can you say All-Star snub?
4.   Flyers 1 25-13-6-1 Can't win 'em all. But you can't get shut out by Atlanta's Norm "yanked" Maracle who has a 3.58 GAA. Get healthy, Eric Lindros, but get better quick.
5.   Wings 4 27-13-5-1 From the beating a dead horse department: Wings are 9-8-3 on the road. Need road wins to get the Cup.
6.   Stars 6 23-17-5-2 Quietly and slowly getting a hold on the Pacific Division, all without team's pulse, Derian Hatcher.
7.   Avalanche 8 23-17-5-1 Avs (9-12-4) have more road problems than Detroit. Can Forsberg stay healthy long enough, so we can find out how good these guys can be?
8.   'Yotes 11 24-15-5-0 Jeremy Roenick: "The only difference between the Coyotes and 'Days of our Lives' is that nobody has been shot on our team yet."
9.   Leafs 9 26-16-4-3 Warning: Leafs aren't as close as they appear to Devils in conference standings. But two of three road wins last week wasn't bad.
10. Senators 7 23-15-6-2 Vaclav Prospal gets criticized for remarks, and now may be traded. But Sens probably need his offense.
11. Capitals 16 18-17-7-1 Announcers (kidding) and style of play (not kidding) aside, Caps are above .500 but still need to find more goals.
12. Flames 17 20-19-5-1 Another surprising team over .500. Coach Brian Sutter learned last year that competing for playoffs is much easier when you don't have to jump over five teams to qualify.
13. Sharks 15 21-21-5-3 Evgeni Nabokov, the least-known backup goalie in the NHL. He hasn't started a game yet, but his numbers: 1.18 GAA and .947 save pct. (51 minutes).
14. Rangers 20 16-20-7-3 After Tuesday's game with sub-.500 Carolina, Rangers hit the road for four games which could determine whether they'll ever get over .500 themselves.
15. Ducks 19 19-21-5-1 All of a sudden, if the season ended today, the Ducks would be making tee times. Message to GM Pierre Gauthier: Do something. Now.
16. Oilers 14 14-19-12-6 Big surprise, a few more OT games. Some dumb luck and untimely penalties are the difference with this fast, young club.
17. 'Canes 12 17-19-8-0 Tick, tick, tick ... that's either the clock on trading Keith Primeau or the time bomb the Canes' season might become.
18. Penguins 10 18-22-3-5 Someone forgot to tell Herb Brooks he's over 60. He put the fear of God into that T.V. guy, and he'll be watching from his own booth for a while.
19. Kings 13 18-18-7-3 Kings' 125 goals against is the most of any team .500 or better.
20. Canucks 18 14-21-8-4 Lost a tough one to Dallas, and it doesn't get easier this week with home games vs. Toronto and Detroit.
21. 'Hawks 23 15-24-6-2 Home woes may be over; Hawks have won last three at the house that Jordan built.
22. Canadiens 27 14-24-6-1 Shayne Corson may be traded. Same with Scott Thornton. So, what happens? Habs go 2-0-1 last week.
23. Predators 21 16-24-5-3 From the easy pun department: David Legwand's leg is feeling pretty wan; he's out about a month.
24. Sabres 22 17-21-6-1 From unsubstantiated rumor mill: There may be some wholesale changes in this lineup before long.
25. Bruins 24 14-19-12-2 The curse of Steve Kasper returns. Next thing you know, Ray Bourque will get benched.
26. Thrashers 25 11-27-4-3 Win over Philly a nice feather in the expansion cap. If only Maracle could show up a little more often.
27. Lightning 28 11-25-6-4 Dan Cloutier has a nasty streak, and it cost him four games. Kicking -- like biting and spitting -- doesn't pay.
28. Islanders 26 10-27-6-0 Don't be too deceived. With Vancouver trade, there's actually some decent young talent stockpiling on the Island.