By Nick Obergan This is the first team rankings update since the All-Star break, and there are but a few major changes. Through February, eight of the top-10 teams remain in the top-10, with Chicago and Nashville dropping out, replaced by the red hot Phoenix Coyotes and Ottawa Senators. At the top, the Detroit Red Wings kept their spot, edging out division rival St. Louis. Detroit averages a half-goal more per game than the Blues, and have been significantly better after regulation (Wings are 10-3 in OT/Shootouts, the Blues are 7-7); Detroit has also scored 34 more goals while 5-on-5. Columbus, no surprise, remains in the basement; they have been the worst team in the NHL during the entire season. The highest riser this month was Phoenix, jumping nine spots from 16th to 7th; the biggest drop was made by the free-falling Toronto Maple Leafs, who dropped 14 spots from 12th to 26th. As always, the rankings are derived from the OCTR (click here for more details). All stats and information include all games played through February 29, 2012.

Rank	Team Name	OCTR Total	Last Month	Change
1	Detroit Red Wings	136.654	1	--
2	St. Louis Blues	124.440	3	+1
3	Vancouver Canucks	119.850	5	+2
4	New York Rangers	118.610	4	--
5	Boston Bruins	115.534	2	-3
6	Pittsburgh Penguins	109.808	7	+1
7	Phoenix Coyotes	100.775	16	+9
8	Philadelphia Flyers	97.377	8	--
9	San Jose Sharks	97.319	6	-3
10	Ottawa Senators	95.171	11	+1
11	Nashville Predators	94.280	10	-1
12	Colorado Avalanche	88.629	18	+6
13	Chicago Blackhawks	87.537	9	-4
14	Dallas Stars	84.782	17	+3
15	New Jersey Devils	82.284	15	--
16	Florida Panthers	79.630	20	+4
17	Washington Capitals	79.134	14	-3
18	Winnipeg Jets	77.102	25	+7
19	Los Angeles Kings	76.768	13	-6
20	Buffalo Sabres	74.234	28	+8
21	Anaheim Ducks	72.575	24	+3
22	Tampa Bay Lightning	72.371	23	+1
23	Calgary Flames	68.241	21	-2
24	Carolina Hurricanes	68.020	26	+2
25	Montreal Canadiens	64.470	19	-6
26	Toronto Maple Leafs	62.882	12	-14
27	Edmonton Oilers	59.386	29	+2
28	Minnesota Wild	58.748	22	-6
29	New York Islanders	54.129	27	-2
30	Columbus Blue Jackets	31.936	30	--

Nick is the NHL Feature Writer for RealGM. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan