Inside Hockey has released their power rankings for the National Hockey League for the past week. Here’s an excerpt of the top ten, with the rest after the jump.

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1. Buffalo Sabres (1): Three Sabres� Daniel Briere, Ryan Miller, and Brian Campbell�were deservedly voted to start in the All-Star Game, a crystal-clear sign that Sabre-mania has struck in Buffalo, the NHL�s smallest US TV market.

2. Anaheim Ducks (2): The injury-ravaged Ducks put up a good fight against the hard-charging Predators in Nashville on Tuesday night, coming up just short in a 5-4 overtime loss. But on Thursday night, the Ducks caught fire, trouncing Dallas 5-1 on the strength of a Teemu Selanne hat trick, his first in nearly six years.

3. Nashville Predators (4): Finally healthy, the Predators are a clear-cut Cup contender. In Tuesday night�s win over the Ducks, Steve Sullivan and Kimmo Timonen teamed up for a brilliant goal in overtime. Tonight they will look to extend their winning streak to four when they host the Blue Jackets.

4. San Jose Sharks (6): Silicon Valley�s tech-savvy hockey fans voted both Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo into the All-Star Game, but only �Jumbo Joe� deserves the honor. With only 13 goals and a minus-10 rating, Cheechoo has slipped badly this year.

5. Detroit Red Wings (3): Henrik Zetterberg scored twice in regulation, and again in the shootout, to lead Detroit to victory over the Avalanche on Tuesday night. And last night, Tomas Holmstrom’s hat trick powered Detroit to a 5-1 win over Phoenix, ending the Coyotes’ seven-game winning streak.

	Patrik Elias � 2007 Getty Images

6. New Jersey Devils (9): After an atrocious start, captain Patrik Elias has returned to All-Star form. In his last 11 games, the Devils� captain has tallied 14 points and a very impressive plus-10 rating. But if the Devils are to make any noise in the playoffs, they’ll need to give Martin Brodeur some well-deserved rest.

7. Atlanta Thrashers (7): Injuries caused Kari Lehtonen�s NHL career to get off to a rocky start, but the fabulous Finnish netminder has settled nicely into the starting role in Atlanta (.911 SV%, 2.83 GAA) to lead the Thrashers to the top of the Southeast Division.

8. Montreal Canadiens (5): Hard-hitting blueliner Sheldon Souray has improved by leaps and bounds in the defensive zone, and his point shot on the Habs� power play is one of the NHL�s most-feared weapons. He is a deserving All-Star Game starter.

9. Dallas Stars (8): Strong play from defensemen Philippe Boucher and Sergei Zubov, and of course, goaltender Marty Turco, has helped the plucky Stars stay close on the Sharks� heels. But last night’s ugly loss to the Ducks is a sign that the Stars just don�t have the firepower to compete with the West’s elite teams.

10. Calgary Flames (11): Kristian Huselius recently completed a four-game stretch during which he tallied eight points. And last night, he tallied three points (and a plus-four rating) in the Flames� 7-3 win over the Avalanche. If he can start putting together consistent nightly efforts, he will emerge as a top-tier NHLer.

11. Vancouver Canucks (14): Perhaps they underestimated the Wild. The Canucks spent most of last night’s game against Minnesota on their heels, ultimately falling by a 5-2 score. The loss ended Vancouver’s seven-game winning streak and bumped them from the top of the Northwest Division.

12. Ottawa Senators (15): Andrej Meszaros�s play has improved dramatically in recent weeks; a plus-one in his last 10 games (a minus-14 in the 35 that preceded it), he is slowly growing into the increased responsibilities created by Zdeno Chara�s departure.

13. Carolina Hurricanes (13): Ever so quietly, veteran winger Ray Whitney has become one of the �Canes� most reliable scoring threats. With 49 points in 46 games, he�s well on his way to a career-best season and is a key reason why Carolina is now only four points behind Atlanta in the Southeast.

14. New York Rangers (16): The Rangers were read the riot act by head coach Tom Renney after Tuesday night�s distasteful loss to the rival Islanders. And after falling behind the Sens by a 5-0 score in last night�s game, they finally showed some heart, battling back to 5-4 in the third period before falling 6-4.

15. Boston Bruins (10): Losers of five of their last six games, the Bruins are in serious danger of letting their season slip away from them. Last night, the Bruins coughed up numerous opportunities to put the Islanders away, ultimately losing 5-4 in a shootout. Games in hand mean nothing if the Bruins don�t win them.

16. Colorado Avalanche (19): The New Year has been kind to struggling forward Milan Hejduk. He has scored points in each of the Avs� first five games in January, a sign that he might finally be rounding back into top-line form.

17. Pittsburgh Penguins (17): The youngest-ever player to be voted into the All-Star Game as a starter, Sidney Crosby is putting together a magnificent sophomore campaign. Only twice has he gone two consecutive games without a point, and never more.

18. Edmonton Oilers (20): With 21 goals in just 33 games, gritty winger Ryan Smyth should crack the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career, if he can stay healthy.

19. Minnesota Wild (12): A very different team with Marian Gaborik in the lineup, the Wild stormed into Vancouver on Thursday night and came away with a decisive 5-2 victory, ending the Canucks’ seven-game winning streak and putting the Wild just three points behind division-leading Calgary.

20. Washington Capitals (23): The longer the Caps remain in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the more imperative it�ll be for GM George McPhee to use some of his substantial cap room to bring in reinforcements for the defense and second line.

	Jason Blake � 2007 Getty Images

21. New York Islanders (18): Isles GM Garth Snow must decide whether or not Jason Blake�s career season is attributable to the fact that he�s in a contract year. And if it�s not, he must figure out how much to offer the gritty 33-year-old winger. A tough call indeed�

22. Tampa Bay Lightning (24): If the Lightning fall out of the playoff picture, look for GM Jay Feaster to get the boot. Building his team around three expensive forwards was an ill-advised approach that has left the Lightning cap-strapped for the foreseeable future.

23. Phoenix Coyotes (25): The surging Coyotes have made up considerable ground in the standings over the past few weeks, but their seven-game winning streak was snapped in a 5-1 loss to the Red Wings last night. Can Wayne Gretzky�s hard-charging Desert Dogs rise into playoff contention?

24. Toronto Maple Leafs (21): The Leafs have been astonishingly inconsistent this season. Last night�s 4-2 victory over the Sabres was quite impressive, but Toronto will need to put together a string of solid performances in order to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

25. Chicago Blackhawks (22): Injury-plagued forward Martin Havlat is the key to the �Hawks� success. He is due to return to the lineup on Saturday night after recovering from his latest ailment, a groin strain, and his presence should give Chicago�s offense a much-needed kick-start.

	Olli Jokinen � 2007 Getty Images

26. Florida Panthers (26): Powered by an Olli Jokinen hat trick, the Panthers smoked the Penguins on Wednesday night. But after taking a 3-0 lead over the Hurricanes last night, Florida absolutely collapsed, surrendering six third-period goals in a demoralizing 6-4 defeat.

27. Los Angeles Kings (28): Konstantin Pushkarev scored his first NHL goal against the Oilers on Monday night, and tallied an assist in last night’s 5-2 loss to the Sharks. Boasting a plethora of top-notch prospects, the Kings� current struggles will soon be behind them. But in the meantime, head coach Marc Crawford is none too pleased with his team.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets (27): Journeyman netminder Fredrik Norrena has cooled off considerably after a red-hot start. And so the Blue Jackets find themselves waiting impatiently for Pascal Leclaire�s return from knee surgery, still about 4-5 weeks away.

29. St. Louis Blues (29): They went 8-2-1 in their last 11 games, but gained precious little ground in the playoff race. Though Blues fans might not want to give up on the season just yet, an early fire sale should yield huge dividends for 2007-08 and beyond, especially if the Coyotes remain in the playoff hunt.

30. Philadelphia Flyers (30): Injury-plagued center Peter Forsberg returned to action last night, tallying an assist in the Flyers� 4-2 loss to the Canadiens. If he�s able to remain healthy�and if the Flyers choose to deal him�the free agent-to-be should be a very hot commodity as the trade deadline approaches.