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Associated Press

The Eastern Conference of the NHL has been seen as the weaker of the two for many years. Despite the Pittsburgh Penguins' Stanley Cup victory last spring, the West was still best entering the new season, at least according to the pundits.

Is that no longer the case? Maybe.

The league's hottest teams are in the East, with the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens (despite a 10-0 horror show Friday night in Columbus) and Penguins all are winning with regularity. The East, therefore, is better represented in the top 10 of our latest NHL power rankings.

The Rangers have to be the league's biggest surprise to this point. That's not just because of their 10-3-0 record but also for the league-leading 55 goals they scored in those 13 games. An NHL team averaging more than four goals a game? Isn't that supposed to be illegal now?

And in a rematch of the last Stanley Cup Final, Pittsburgh went into San Jose Saturday night and waxed the Sharks 5-0. The East is Least no more, it seems.

But it's still early. Our week 5 panel consisted of yours truly, Jonathan Willis, Carol Schram, Allan Mitchell, Luke Richardson and Steve Macfarlane.

Have any disagreement with any of the consensus picks? Let's hear it in the comments section.