| Ranking (previous) | Team | Commentary | Record |
| 1 (8) |  | The fourth team to get to number one this week and the most impressive jump into first place in Sports Kid Rankings history. The Sharks are getting great goaltending, their captain Patrick Marleau has started to come around, and Joe Thornton is still one of the best in the world. I like the Sharks to jump the Stars in the division and the Red Wings for the President's Cup. They only have four tough games left for the rest of the season, so they could win 10 or even 11 more games. | 40-21-8 |
| 2 (1) |  | The Stars drop a spot and it couldn't be to a worse team. The Sharks jumping Dallas in the Rankings, and soon in the real standings, is the worst scenario because it will send the Stars from playing the 8th or 7th seed into having to play the Ducks in the first round. | 42-25-5 |
| 3 (2) |  | The Devils still own the top spot in the Eastern Conference and still are the best team in the East. The Devils schedule is absolutely killer the rest of the way, they only get to play two games against non-playoff teams, both being their division rival the Islanders. This does not bode well for them as I expect them to drop to 2 or 4 by the end of the season. | 40-23-6 |
| 4 (4) |  | The Ducks are 4th in the rankings and 5th in the Western Conference standings right now. I have talked about the Southwest and the Atlantic as some of the best races but how about 3 of the top 4 teams in the NHL being from Pacific. | 39-25-7 |
| 5 (5) |  | The Canadians need to look to take advantage of the Pens and Devils getting the crap kicked out of them by their division opponents and make a run at home ice in the East. | 38-23-9 |
| 6 (3) |  | The Pens drop three spaces even though they are playing really good hockey. Unfortunately for them they aren't as good as the Devils in my mind and the Canadians have the advantage of an easier schedule. The Pens might be a super talented team and they might have their starting goalie back but it is going to be very tough to come out of the East from the 4 spot. | 39-24-7 |
| 7 (7) |  | The Red Wings stay put at the 7 spot this week as they continue to play mediocre hockey, but they do have the best defenseman in the NHL back in the lineup and that is something. They are already pretty much guaranteed a 1 or 2 seed in the playoffs so they can take solace in that even if they are struggling right now. | 45-18-6 |
| 8 (12) |  | The Rangers make a solid four game jump as they are absolutely red hot and they are finally in the top 10 for the first time since the early weeks of the season. The Rangers need to be careful though, because getting the 6 seed is a better situation than getting the 5 in the East right now. The Rangers don't want to jump the Sens, which will happen by next week unfortunately for them. | 37-24-9 |
| 9 (10) |  | The Flames are sitting comfortably atop the Southwest and have themselves in the 3 seed. Unfortunately for them either the Wild, Avs, or Cancucks get hot to end out the season they could drop from 3 to 8 very quickly. | 36-23-10 |
| 10 (13) |  | Good week for the Canucks as they are in the best striking distance with the Flames right now, they are just two points back from the top spot but the Flames don't have any games in hand on them. It should be a fun race to the finish. | 35-24-10 |
| 11 (11) |  | The Avalanche are still right there even if the addition of Peter Forsberg didn't do anything for them yet. The Avs have gotten points in 8 of their last 10 games and have gone from out of the playoffs to a great shot at the 3 seed. | 37-27-6 |
| 12 (9) | | The Wild drop three spots this week. After having the lead in the division they dropped from the top to the bottom of the top 4 because with games in hand and total points into consideration, the Wild are in position of the 8th seed by the end of the season. | 37-26-7 |
| 13 (6) |  | The Senators drop a lot this week but for them it actually isn't that bad of a thing. Now they can avoid playing the Pens in the first round and get a breezy series against the Hurricanes before having to play a real opponent while the Rangers and Penguins beat the hell out of each other. | 38-25-7 |
| 14 (17) |  | The Flyers are getting a little bit of heat back as they are starting to string together some good performances going into a home and home against a terrible Maple Leafs squad before they get Mike Richards and Joffry Lupul back for their tough stretch to the end of the season. They need to get away from playing the Devils in the first round at all costs though. | 35-26-8 |
15 (14) |  | The Bruins are getting their butts kicked game in and game out losing 4 of their last 5 games including giving up 10 goals to the Capitols and than 8 to the Maple Leafs. The Bruins don't look like a team that deserves to be in the playoffs right now. | 36-25-8 | | 16 (15) |  | The Preds have nothing to be ashamed of if they miss the playoffs this year. They are without a doubt in my mind the best team not to make the playoffs and for a team with no expectations coming into this season, I would hang my head up high and come back next year with high hopes. | 35-27-8 |
| 17 (18) |  | The Canes can't wait for the season to be done because the Capitols are a better team than them, but the Hurricanes will be the one with the 3 seed and they need to take the offseason to seriously look at what happened this year and thank God that they got into the playoffs with a weak record. | 37-29-5 |
| 18 (22) |  | The Caps had a serious chance at taking down the Pens this week but a stupid rookie error by usually brilliant rookie Niklas Backstrom ruined the game. There is a lot of young talent on this team and the best player in the NHL. There is no doubt the Capitols are right on the brink of being a serious threat. | 32-30-8 |
| 19 (16) |  | After the refs gave the Sabres a victory over the Flyers, the Sabres blew their chances of jumping the Orange and Black by playing absolutely terrible hockey this week. That is a real opportunity missed by the young Sabres. | 32-27-11 |
| 20 (19) |  | Phoenix was right there for awhile but they have finally slipped back into the bottom 10 where they belong. This team is in a rebuilding phase and there are some bright spots but they are not ready yet. | 34-30-5 |
21 (20) |  | Get this team was consistent goaltending and you have a young team that is playoff bound. I can't imagine what would have happened if the Flyers got the number 1 pick like they deserved in the off season and had Patrick Kane on the squad. He just gets better and better. | 33-29-7 | 22 (23) |  | I really want the Blue Jackets to make the playoffs next year so more people will recognize Rick Nash in the same level that Malkin, Ovecheckin, and Kovalchuk get talked about, because he is there. He just doesn't have the talent around him but the Blue Jackets continue to climb in the right direction. | 31-28-11 | 23 (25) |  | Really Edmonton? Really? You guys are going to get hot at the end of the season and finish light years out of the playoffs but still not be able to get a top 5 draft pick? Hopefully they get lucky enough to find a steal like Sam Gagner in the middle of the draft. | 33-31-5 | 24 (27) |  | The Panthers are playing with pride right now which is a great thing because they have a goaltender that can get them wins over some of the top teams in the NHL. Florida is 4-0 in the March with wins over the Pens and Bruins and Tomas Vokoun is well on his way to being the MVP of March by getting the weak offensive squad those wins. | 32-31-8 | 25 (21) |  | The Islanders are dropping fast right now because the bastard son of the Atlantic division is finally playing that way. They are getting their butts kicked by their division opponents night in and night out. | 32-31-7 | 26 (26) |  | It is up to the Flyers to finally put the Maple Leafs out their misery and make sure they don't have the confidence to continue to spoil teams. If they can take 1 or even 2 from the Flyers in their current home and home showdown than they will make a run for that 8th seed, even if it is a 1-1000 shot. | 30-30-10 | 27 (24) |  | The Blues were all over the NHL rankings this season due to the fact they always had so many games in hand on the other teams but now the games in hand are gone and they are in the bottom 4 of the NHL where they belong. | 29-30-10 | 28 (30) |  | The Kings have their young talent and a former Flyer Alex Picard (who tried to make out with a good friend of mine at a bar once) is fitting in nicely on the power play but they still have that goaltender issue to take care of. Let's see if they address it in the offseason or let the great young player waste away on this team another year. | 27-38-6 | 29 (28) |  | I can't really see a bright spot for this teams future right now and though I think they are the worst team in the NHL, they still are above one oddly enough. | 30-32-8 | 30 (29) |  | The Lightning are not getting the immediate impact from Mike Smith that they expected and I did for that matter. He still looks like a kid in net but give him time to mature and he should be a top player soon enough. | 26-35-8 |
