NHL Stock Up, Stock Down; Stars Up, Coyotes Down; Buy Lightning, Sell Jets

It's officially not "still early" anymore.

One NHL team has its division all but clinched, eight more know with quasi-certainty that they will be in the playoffs and four others have already made peace with the fact that they will not.  

For the 17 remaining clubs, it feels like the fun is just getting started.

Who's soaring? Who's reeling? Who's in for a change of fortune?

Here are some current trends.

STOCK UP: Dallas Stars

The last time a team with a negative goal differential—Dallas has scored 179 and given up 180—led its division this late in the season was...who knows? Probably never.

It's not even a bad division.

What the Pacific lacks in juggernauts, it makes up for in parity—with four 2011 playoff teams and, well, the Stars, who have won eight of their last nine decisions while climbing from fourth place to first.

Dallas' 5-2 win in Vancouver on Tuesday meant a sweep of a three-game road trip and a half game lead over the Sharks in the race for the No. 3 spot in the West.

Goaltenders Kari Lehtonen and Richard Bachman have allowed just 18 goals over 11 contests in that span, posting a haughty .942 save percentage.

Most of the offense has come from Mike Ribiero, Louis Eriksson and Michael Ryder, who have lined up to the tune of 17 goals and 40 points during the stretch.

The Stars and Sharks meet thrice in the final month, beginning with a doozie tomorrow night at American Airlines Center.

STOCK DOWN: Phoenix Coyotes

It feels like it was just last week that the Coyotes were riding an 11-0-1 streak atop the Pacific Division, looking at a favorable, desert-heavy upcoming schedule.

Guess that actually was last week, but after four straight ugly losses, the Yotes' third straight playoff appearance is anything but a lock.

Perhaps the most frustrating part is that Phoenix is now 0-3-0 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, accounting for almost one-fifth of the Jackets' regulation victories this season.

If Dave Tippet's crew wants the first division title in franchise history, in what may be their final chance, they will have to jump over a trio of hot teams in the final 15 games.

In the words of early Seinfeld, "Prognosis negative."

BUY: Tampa Bay Lightning

Granted, the Lightning lost games by embarrassing scores of 8-1 and 7-3 in the past week-and-a-half.

In between, however, they won four hard-fought battles that propelled them to where they are now—just a game-and-a-half behind Winnipeg for eighth in the East.

With only two shootout wins this season, the Lightning carry a tiebreaker against every team in that neighborhood of the standings, except Washington, who host Guy Boucher's bunch on Thursday night.

The Bolts will then head south for a two-week homestand, where five of the seven visitors will be teams currently outside of playoff position. The Lightning are 20-10-2 in St. Petersburg this season.

And oh yeah, they're 14-6-2 overall since January 15, a span in which shoe-in Hart Trophy finalist Steven Stamkos has 14 goals.

Sell: Winnipeg Jets

A 5-1-2 homestand has brought the Jets to No. 8 in the East and their born-again fanbase to a frenzy.

Sure, it was exciting. Some of it was even unexpected, like when they beat division leading Florida by a touchdown. Of course, Blake Wheeler is playing like the superstar people always thought he could be. 

But winning in the True North had never been the problem.

The Jets are 11 games over .500 at home this season—third best in the East—but six games under .500 on the road, which is where they'll spend most of the balance of this season.

Only six of Winnipeg's 15 remaining games will be at MTS Centre. Expect plenty of matchup problems for the Jets' shaky defense in those other nine contests.