#5. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have had more injury trouble than any other team in the NHL. At one point in the season, they had nine of their 18 starters on the injured reserve. Needless to say, this forced a ton of players to be called up from Grand Rapids to fill in the holes.

With a team that is largely dominated by rookies, they are still in the playoff hunt. The rookies have played hard and Mike Babcock has done a great job coaching this team through some of the biggest hardships they’ve had in a while.

However, Jimmy Howard deserves a ton of credit as well. He’s been working hard with the Wings’ goalie coach and has developed into a solid net-minder.

#4. New York Rangers

I’ve said before that the Rangers have had the biggest roller coaster season in the NHL. It started out extremely well, but started getting dramatic in November and December.

I said a while ago, that if they wanted to win more games, everybody needed to work harder. They were relying too much on Gaborik for offensive production. That’s exactly what’s happened. Everybody is stepping up and pitching in, and they are slowly rising back to the top of the standings.

I’ve also seen Lundqvist step up his game. I was watching the game between the Rangers and the Devils a little while ago and I was really impressed with what I saw. Combined, there were 97 shots on goal for both teams, 51 for the Rangers, 46 for the Devils. Not one of those shots went in. A goal wasn’t scored until the fourth round of a shootout.

I don’t think that Lundqvist would have been able to do that a month or two ago. He’s been a great goalie, but it’s obvious that he’s been working hard to get better.

#3. Nashville Predators

At the beginning of the season, there weren’t a lot of people that considered the Predators to be a threatening team. However, they have proved themselves to be just that. Most of us assumed that they were going to play the same way they have in the past.

We couldn’t have been more wrong about that. Halfway through the season, and they are beginning to look more and more like a playoff team. They have been able to do this without the stellar offense or defense that a lot of other teams have. They are currently 11th in offense, 17th in defense, and 5th in the Western Conference.

The thing I like about this team is if one area of their game flounders, the other works a little bit harder to make up for it.

#2. Philadelphia Flyers

Recently, the Philadelphia Flyers have been the hottest team in the NHL. This is without their goalie Ray Emery who is out with an injury. They have won eight of their last ten games and have risen into the top eight for the first time in a long time.

They are working hard to score goals, but more importantly, they are working hard on defense. With their starting goalie gone, they have had to rely on a previously unreliable goalie. Michael Leighton was never a goalie that would lead you to the playoffs.

This year, he’s doing just that. He’s been playing what could be the best season of his career, and has been leading the Flyers in a charge up the standings.

#1. Phoenix Coyotes

You almost have to go with the Phoenix Coyotes as number one. With all of the distractions that they have had to face this season, they are playing their best season in the last ten years.

Like the other teams, a solid goalie has been leading them. However, their defense has been playing very well in front of him. Ilya Bryzgalov may be the most underrated goalie in the league, however, the defense may be even more underrated.

I can’t imagine how tough it was to get past the distractions of having a new coach right before the season started, of the bankruptcy and the possibility of moving the team to Canada, as well as the low expectations that were surrounding this team. It was anything but an environment for success and they have worked hard to overcome that.

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