from Katie Strang of ESPN,

Trending down
St. Louis Blues: After a scorching stretch during which they won 12 of 13 games, the Blues are looking a little more human as of late -- and tired. That’s what coach Ken Hitchcock suggested to reporters after his team dropped Sunday’s game 4-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks. St. Louis has lost two straight, though the Blues trail the conference-leading Predators by only four points.

Avalanche power play: Colorado’s scoring woes continue, as the Avs were shut out for the second time in three games, and their power play remains a major culprit in their anemic offense. With a 5-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Avs came up short on all three opportunities on the man-advantage, extending their drought to 0-for-27 over the past nine games. Ouch.

more Western Conference trends...

Also from Strang...

What to watch for
Open for business: With the Senators struggling mightily and the franchise intent on pinching pennies, we might see quite a bit of action in Ottawa in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline. According to ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun, gritty forward Chris Neil is drawing a fair amount of interest, though he may not be the only Senator on the move. Names like David Legwand, Marc Methot and Chris Phillips will be bandied about in trade talks as well, no doubt.

Rangers' plans: Four years ago, Rangers backup goaltender Martin Biron broke his collarbone right before the trade deadline, forcing general manager Glen Sather to scrap his original plans and scour the market for a suitable replacement. Sather balked at the prices and called up Talbot instead. This year, however, he won’t be under that same tight time constraint if in fact the Rangers decide to seek out goaltending help with Lundqvist’ status up in the air.

more on the East...