Everyone in the NHL has now played more than ten games and in the next few weeks we should start to see some separation between the Stanley Cup contenders and pretenders. But as of right now most teams are tightly bunched and 21 of the 30 teams have records of .500 or better. However, that doesn’t mean there has been no trends. Here are some notes about who is moving up and who is striving to be the NHL’s Detroit Lions.

Three Up:

1.San Jose Sharks: The Sharks have been the hottest team in the NHL of late, and have the league lead in points to show for it. Forward Patrick Marleau is playing up to the level he was at two years ago and has 16 points. San Jose’s offense in general has been prolific: 54 goals through Tuesday were tops in the NHL. The only weak link on the team is starting goalie Evegeni Nabokov, who has been injured. Once he gets healthy expect the Sharks to put some distance between themselves and the second place Anaheim Ducks.

2.Chicago Blackhawks: A fellow hockey fan asked me if I would consider Chicago for this week’s article, and I realized that the Hawks had flown beneath my radar the past couple weeks, just like they had for almost everybody else in the league. Whether people realize it or not though, this team has gotten its act together. The Blackhawks demolished Calgary 6-1 on Sunday, and everybody from Patrick Kane (18 points) to defenseman Aaron Johnson (plus 11 on the season) is stepping up. Even perennially underperforming winger Martin Havlat is skating well (at least until he gets injured). If the Hawks continue their success Chicago will turn back into the hockey city it has always been and the United Center will become an extremely tough place to play.

3.Boston Bruins: With the Patriots and Celtics in action, the Bruins get little coverage in the Boston media. That might change soon. After beating a strong Sabres team on Saturday, the Bruins stand tied with Buffalo atop the Eastern Conference’s Northeast Division. The Bruins have been buoyed by the superb play of goalie Tim Thomas, who is making an early case for the Vezina Trophy with a 1.85 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. Young Phil Kessel of Madison, Wisconsin is finally coming into his own on the offensive end of the ice, and defenseman Zdeno Chara remains one of the NHL’s toughest defenders. For now at least, it seems that Boston, a low playoff seed last year, has set its sights on a division championship.

Three Down:

1.New York Islanders: The Isles have dropped eight of their last ten games, and now own the worst record in the NHL, having accumulated only ten points to date. Nothing seems to be going right for this team: Franchise goalie Rick DiPietro is out with a knee injury, forward Mike Comrie is not producing points at the level he normally does, and their special teams have been middling. Playing in a tough Atlantic Division does not really help either.

2.Calgary Flames: For a team laden with stars on offense, defense, and in net, the Flames have been unimpressive in a weak Northwest Division. As usual, captain Jarome Iginla has picked up the slack and practically carried the offense by himself, and it is time for the rest of his teammates to start contributing. In the past week Calgary lost to both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Phoenix Coyotes. This is not to say that Calgary probably won’t make the playoffs, but it needs to start acting like a contender soon. Otherwise, it will be a long cold winter until rodeo season.

3.New York Rangers: The denizens of Madison Square Garden gave up five goals to Toronto in one period last week and have lost four out of their last five, including a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the rival Islanders. Pittsburgh has closed the Rangers’ division lead to just six points and if the slide continues don’t expect the New York press to cut the team any slack.