THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

Lonnie White’s NHL rankings and comments:

1 DETROIT

(23-8-2-1) Does Hull need more shots to start scoring?

2 TORONTO

(20-8-2-3) Gaining confidence with each victory.

3 COLORADO

(19-13-3-0) Hartley is a better coach than credited.

4 EDMONTON

(19-10-4-2) Gutsy victory at Philadelphia impressive.

5 SAN JOSE

(17-7-5-3) Defense and goaltending sparked recent run.

6 CALGARY

(16-10-6-2) Iginla can’t do all the scoring.

7 DALLAS

(14-10-6-3) On a roll with return to their disciplined style.

8 NY RANGERS

(19-13-2-2) Messier quietly keeps on scoring.

9 NY ISLANDERS

(16-9-5-2) Learning how to win on tough nights.

10 CHICAGO

(17-11-8-0) Struggling, now that defense has gone down.

11 ST. LOUIS

(15-9-6-2) Chicago feeling heat from the Blues’ run.

12 CAROLINA

(16-12-4-4) Funny how players respond to job threats.

13 BOSTON

(16-10-3-3) Murray and Stumpel bolster offense.

14 PHILADELPHIA

(15-10-5-1) Flyers depend on LeClair’s goal scoring.

15 NEW JERSEY

(14-12-3-2) Not all that far back in conference standings.

16 PHOENIX

(13-12-5-3) Have they suffered from Gretzky’s Olympic role?

17 OTTAWA

(16-11-4-0) Offense prolific one night, shut out the next.

18 MONTREAL

(14-13-5-1) Theodore gives them a chance every night.

19 MINNESOTA

(12-12-5-3) Defense giving up way too many goals.

20 WASHINGTON

(14-14-5-0) Good news for offense: Jagr heating up.

21 KINGS

(12-14-5-2) Goaltending is suddenly a strength.

22 BUFFALO

(14-17-2-1) Scoring needed from other than Barnes’ line.

23 PITTSBURGH

(13-14-4-2) They need Lemieux more than Canadian Oly team.

24 VANCOUVER

(14-18-4-0) Cloutier starting to find his rhythm.

25 DUCKS

(9-18-4-3) Overtime losses turning Murray’s hair white.

26 TAMPA BAY

(13-16-3-1) St. Louis getting the job done despite his size.

27 NASHVILLE

(12-15-5-0) Dunham is as good a goalie as there is.

28 FLORIDA

(9-18-2-3) Luongo will be a Keenan fan by season’s end.

29 COLUMBUS

(9-20-5-1) Played well in split with Ducks and Kings.

30 ATLANTA

(6-20-4-2) Heatley, Kovalchuk score but don’t defend.