The St. Louis Blues celebrated the arrival of goaltender Ryan Miller by winning five consecutive games, the first four with Miller in net.
They resumed their bid for the President's Trophy by winning games at Phoenix, Nashville, Colorado and Minnesota during that stretch. They stayed atop the Central Division by running their record against their immediate rivals to 18-0-1.
"I think playing well and getting the highest seed possible is really important, because if you're the third seed, there's a collision course," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "If you look at the playoffs right now, there's going to be an awful lot of good teams not get to the second round."
This has driven the Blues back to the top of our rankings. Here is how the NHL pecking order shakes out:
1. Blues 44-14 -7 --
2. Ducks 43-16 -7 --
3. Blackhawks 38-14 -14 --
4. Bruins 43-17 -5 +1
5. Penguins 44-17 -4 -1
6. Avalanche 43-18 -5 --
7. Sharks 42-17 -7 --
8. Kings 38-22 -6 +3
9. Canadiens 35-25 -7 +4
10. Rangers 35-27 -4 -1
11. Flyers 33-25 -7 +4
12. Wild 34-22 -9 +2
13. Lightning 34-24 -7 -5
14. Maple Leafs 35-24 -8 -4
15. Stars 32-23 -10 +2
16. Blue Jackets 34-26 -5 -4
17. Coyotes 31-24 -11 -1
18. Capitals 30-27 -10 +2
19. Red Wings 29-23 -13 --
20. Senators 28-25 -12 +2
21. Devils 29-24 -13 +4
22. Jets 30-28 -9 -1
23. Canucks 30-28 -10 -5
24. Predators 28-28 -10 -1
25. Hurricanes 28-28 -9 -1
26. Flames 26-33 -7 --
27. Islanders 25-33 -9 --
28. Panthers 24-34 -7 --
29. Oilers 23-35 -8 --
30. Sabres 19-38 -8 --
