NHL teams
Katie Strang, ESPN.com 9y

Canadiens, Rangers rising in the Eastern Conference; Maple Leafs continue to slide

Trending up

  • Montreal Canadiens -- The Habs have won four straight and now find themselves perched atop the Eastern Conference with 87 points. General manager Marc Bergevin was rumored to be one of the most aggressive in scouring the market in the weeks leading up to the deadline, and he was able to snag one of the top rental defenseman, acquiring Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers on Monday in exchange for a pair of picks.

  • Florida Panthers -- The Cats continue to challenge the Boston Bruins for the last wild-card spot in the East, pulling within two points following Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Also, how fun is it to see Jaromir Jagr in a Florida sweater? That certainly adds some extra buzz to South Florida.

  • New York Rangers -- Make no mistake, Rangers general manager Glen Sather is not looking toward the future. He is going all-in with the Eastern Conference wide-open this season. Sather pulled the trigger on a massive deal Sunday, acquiring veteran defenseman Keith Yandle in a multi-player swap that included picks going both ways as well. Yandle fulfills a long-standing need for the Rangers, who clearly see their window to win limited with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in his prime.

Trending down

  • Toronto Maple Leafs -- The Leafs are in full-on sell mode, with just about everyone on their roster being made available, including the likes of captain Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. All three have to be attractive options to contending teams, but there are other matters to consider. Lupul is talented but injury-prone, while both Phaneuf's and Kessel’s cap hits will be prohibitive for some teams. Odds are that those deals get done in the offseason instead, but if Toronto was willing to retain some salary, that could help facilitate a move.

  • Columbus Blue Jackets -- The Jackets have dropped four straight games, most recently a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night. With the Blue Jackets out of the playoff picture, forward Cam Atkinson and defenseman James Wisniewski could be on the move, though the latter has a limited no-trade clause that he is willing to exercise to stay.

Injury report

  • The Boston Bruins gained some needed cap space in placing both David Krejci and Kevan Miller on long-term injured reserve. Both players are expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, although there is a possibility Krejci could return sooner.

  • Trying to keep the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, the New York Islanders are battling a couple of key injuries up front with Mikhail Grabovski, Casey Cizikas and Kyle Okposo all on injured reserve.

What to watch for

  • Isles rivalry -- Considering the type of acquisition the Rangers made Sunday, significantly upgrading their blue line, it will be interesting to see if Islanders general manager Garth Snow feels an increasing sense of pressure with other contending teams in the Metropolitan Division adding to their rosters. At the very least, the Islanders could stand to add some help on the penalty kill.

  • Detroit sniffing around -- The Detroit Red Wings made a late move Sunday night to acquire veteran forward Erik Cole, and you have to wonder if general manager Ken Holland might still have a few tricks up his sleeve. According to multiple reports, the Wings have expressed some interest in Phaneuf, though Detroit would need Toronto to eat some of his salary to pull off a deal.

  • Cats coming close -- Trailing the Bruins by two points in the standings, the Panthers are clawing hard to pull within the top eight teams and knock Boston out of the mix. Helping matters is the fact that Florida has four straight home games coming up.

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