Pacific Division

Anaheim - Chris Pronger's injury is, thankfully, now just a memory, but the difference in how the Ducks play and the emotional jolt they get from their hulking defenseman is obvious. Anaheim can beat you in so many ways, it's almost criminal. One night it'll be Bryzgalov or Giguere. On another night it will be because the opposition is ground down by the defensive physical game. Offensive blitz? Dial up any one of the top three lines for contributions. They can even win the tugs-of-war and the hot opposing goaltender nights, evidenced by Wednesday's 2-1 win over Phoenix with a two-goal burst in just over one minute in the third period. Nashville may have kicked it into high gear recently to overtake the Ducks for first place in the Western Conference, but I give the edge to Anaheim since they have done it with the same group of players the whole year, unlike Nashville which, even when not hit by key injuries, keeps the line open between the Music City and their AHL team in Milwaukee. Teemu Selanne's continued success under the Southern California sun proves two things: that European players, for better or worse, are all about comfort with their surroundings; and that Selanne doesn't need Paul Kariya to be a menace coming into the offensive zone. They should be one year wiser, and if they somehow don't finish with that top seed, they'll be a very dangerous two.

San Jose - It's been used to death, but the Sharks literally are lurking just beneath the surface waiting to bite some playoff hopefuls down the stretch and then cause trouble in the postseason. Because the Ducks have been so good, the Sharks are looking at a four-seed and only one round of home-ice advantage, but that really should not be a daunting task for this club. Losing Nils Ekman, Tom Preissing and Niko Dimitrakos, all important role players, has done nothing to take the edge away. Cynics might look at the stat sheet and see that Thornton, Marleau, Cheechoo will all post less points this year than last; don't be fooled, it's because goals are down across the board this season and the West is particularly more hard-nosed than the East. If Ryane Clowe, Joe Pavelski, Matt Carle and Steve Bernier continue their excellent years, that youth will serve the Sharks well when they need some young lungs and enthusiasm to push through. Right now, they are the five-seed and Detroit is the four: that's one hell of a series in anybody's book - and even if the final 30 games of the year do nothing more than to either swap those teams or keep them where they are, the Wings may have their third-straight first-round upset on their conscience.

Dallas - Ever hanging on as Dave Tippett has become one of those coaching renegades who insists on squeezing points beyond the game's first 60 minutes. Someone's gotta remind Jussi Jokinen that the playoffs don't have shootouts, and the likelihood of him having an uncontested breakaway in a postseason contest are infinitesimally small. The Stars are not in danger of missing out on the postseason, six-seed that they are, but they will not surprise anyone with their game plan, and it is not likely they'll advance past the first round - as Calgary, a carbon-copy squad in third position, has more weapons offensively and are not afraid to use them. Marty Turco is a pleasure to watch on any given night, but he may just not have it in him to be the goaltender who can take the rest of the team on his back and carry the Stars deep into the playoffs - which is not a knock, but in the goaltending-rich Western Conference, that will be a major factor in separating pretenders from contenders.

Phoenix - Somebody's gotta float to the bottom in the Pacific, and the Coyotes will be frantically pushing down on the collective necks of the Kings to avoid the abyss. This team is another in the Penguins-Blues mold, where the gameplan for winning is based around a yearly merry-go-round of formerly-proven, slightly-over-the-hill players. It's a thrill to read all the names on paper, but the puzzle pieces don't often fit. That burst around the turn of the New Year, not surprisingly while on the road, saved this club from a much worse fate. Trading away the rumored whiner Mike Comrie to Ottawa seems like a wise move right now, since The Great One's team does not need malcontents as they try to stay above the waterline. They're 10 points out of eighth in the West, and although they might feel like there's a legitimate shot to make a run, there are too many teams waiting to step on them on their way to the top. Even though the veterans are what helped pull the club out of their horrid start, Gretz should use the remaining time to rest some of his older goats in favor of the young talent (Roche, Sjostrom, Saprykin, et al.) and see who's for real and who could be dangled for bait in the offseason.

Los Angeles - Perhaps the only struggling team in the entire NHL that looks like they're sticking to their guns about the rebuilding process. Nobody I've read or heard seems to understand that the Rob Blake signing was little more than a token gesture, which will give the kids the benefit of a Cup-winning veteran's perspective, plus provide Blake an easy transition when he decided to hang up the skates. It's a paradox, I know, but Alex Frolov, Anze Kopitar, Mike Cammalleri and the rest of the young cast will develop so much quicker, and so much for the better out in LA, where they're not bound to be recognized or bothered either by fans or by the press. That is, unless Sean Avery goes and does something very stupid in his relationship with Elisha Cuthbert...but I digress. The goaltending situation is about as horrendously unfortunate as any we've seen in years - and exposed just how far the netminders in the Kings' system have to go before they're NHL-ready. Sean Burke may not even be a guy to steal you a couple points anymore, but the Kings aren't going to be a team who will play spoiler as the Stars, Sharks and Ducks all jockey for playoff position down the stretch. If, at least, the defensive corps stays intact for the remainder of the schedule, LA won't be blown out of many games for the rest of the season, and the skilled players will throw in a thrill or three for the Staples Center faithful. Marc Crawford should have virtually free reign to mold his team to his winning philosophy, and almost all the time and space in the world to do it.