Teams are beginning to stumble while others are heating up. With the trade deadline approaching, the next few months of hockey is going to be fun to watch.

1. (3) Boston Bruins (38-8-6) — The Bruins have the best goalie tandem in the league in Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez. They also have two potential MVPs in Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara. Hockey has made a triumphant return to Beantown.

2. (1) San Jose Sharks (36-7-5) — While the Sharks are easily finding the net this season, they have also surrendered a measly 112 goals in 48 games this year, the least number of goals against in the NHL.

3. (8) New Jersey Devils (32-16-3) — Everyone knew that a goalie from Jersey would be nominated for the Vezina trophy at the end of the season, but no one knew it would be Scott Clemmensen, who is leading the league’s hottest team.

4. (2) Detroit Red Wings (33-11-7) — The best power play in the NHL since 2000 scored at 24.1 percent; that should put things in perspective for the Red Wings’ power play, which is scoring at just over 27 percent so far this season.

5. (10) Washington Capitals (33-15-4) — Alex Ovechkin’s fisherman’s hat and designer sunglasses must have really helped him because he has eight points in four games since the All-Star break.

6. (7) Chicago Blackhawks (28-13-8) — Brian Campbell, Martin Havlat, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg: If the Hawks can keep this young and talented group together, then a Stanley Cup is in their future.

7. (14) Calgary Flames (30-16-4) — Mike Cammalleri is trying to become the first player other than Jarome Iginla to lead the Flames in goal-scoring since 2000.

8. (5) Philadelphia Flyers (26-15-9) — The Flyers make up for leading the league in penalty minutes by having one of the NHL’s best penalty-killing units.

9. (9) New York Rangers (29-18-5) — The league’s best penalty-kill is going to have to keep it up because the Rangers have lost four of six and are 2-17 on the power play in that span.

10. (6) Montreal Canadiens (29-16-6) — Did Mike Komisarek deserve to make the All-Star team? No. Did Alexei Kovalev deserve to make the All-Star team? No. I don’t care if he was the MVP of the game, a five-year-old would have finished that scoring extravaganza with as many points as Kovalev.

11. (16) Buffalo Sabres (27-20-5) — The great playmaking of Derek Roy, Tim Connolly, Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek has sparked the Sabres. The four players have combined for 27 points in Buffalo’s last five games.

12. (11) Anaheim Ducks (26-23-5) — The Ducks have scored a power play goal in 14 of their last 16 games. A lot of that has to do with Scott Neidermayer, who was named one of the NHL’s three stars during the month of January. He finished the month with one goal and 16 assists.

13. (24) Dallas Stars (24-18-7) — Marty Turco is starting to look like his old self, and the Stars have won five straight games.

14. (25) Florida Panthers (24-18-8) — If Florida’s only All-Star, Jay Bouwmeester, gets traded, then the Panthers can kiss any chance at the playoffs goodbye.

15. (12) Minnesota Wild (26-21-3) — The Wild are one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL. So how are they in a playoff spot you might ask? Two words: Niklas Backstrom. With a 2.21 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage and six shutouts, Backstrom is a favorite for the Vezina trophy.

16. (17) Carolina Hurricanes (25-22-5) — Carolina is slowly but surely dropping out of the playoff race in the East. They have been outscored by 20 goals so far this season.

17. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins (25-23-5) — Since the beginning of December, the Penguins have gone 11-18-1 and have fallen out of a playoff spot. The Pens were heavily favored to win the East before the season started, but at this rate, they might miss the playoffs altogether.

18. (13) Vancouver Canucks (23-20-8) — At a time when they need to be on their game, the Canucks are slowly dropping down the Western Conference with just two wins in their last 12 games.

19. (18) Edmonton Oilers (25-22-3) — Another team that is starting to falter in the heat of the playoff race. Actually, I’m not sure if faltering describes a 10-2 loss to Buffalo.

20. (26) Columbus Blue Jackets (24-22-5) — Even though the Columbus power play is scoring at an abysmal 11.6 percent, the Jackets are still two games above .500 thanks to the brilliant goaltending of Steve Mason.

21. (23) Phoenix Coyotes (24-24-5) — The Coyotes have lost five straight games. At one point during the losing skid, Phoenix was held without a goal for nine straight periods.

22. (15) Nashville Predators (23-24-3) — The Preds have scored the second lowest number of goals in the league and are struggling even with Pekka Rinne playing great in goal.

23. (21) Los Angeles Kings (21-21-7) — The Kings might not have an amazing record or a standout player, but keep in mind they are the youngest team in the league.

24. (19) Colorado Avalanche (24-26-1) — Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny can’t come back soon enough for the Avalanche.

25. (22) St. Louis Blues (21-24-6) — For St. Louis it was a “Long December,” to quote Counting Crows. The Blues went 4-10-1 including a five-game losing streak where they allowed 25 goals.

26. (28) Toronto Maple Leafs (19-24-9) — The goalie situation in Toronto is just plain awful. They have the worst collective save percentage in the NHL and Vesa Toskala has proved that he is a backup goalie … at best.

27. (20) Ottawa Senators (17-25-7) — The “Pizza” line has gone stale in Ottawa. Corny line? I don’t care, but watch for the Jason Spezza trade rumors to begin.

28. (30) Tampa Bay Lightning (17-24-11) — Considering he’s 14-18-9 and on a team that couldn’t help him defensively if they tried, Mike Smith is putting up some very solid numbers in net this year for the Bolts.

29. (27) New York Islanders (16-29-5) — The Islanders are showing life and have won four straight games. But by winning, the Isles are losing their shot at soon-to-be first draft pick John Tavares, who just finished leading Canada to the World Juniors’ Championship.

30. (29) Atlanta Thrashers (18-29-5) — The Thrashers have let up at least five goals in a game 14 times this season …