from Katie Strang of ESPN,

First up, trends in the Western Conference,

Trending down

Nashville Predators -- This may seem an odd selection, given that Nashville currently occupies first place in the Central Division, but the Preds appear to be losing a bit of momentum lately and if I were head coach Peter Laviolette, I’d be a tad concerned. Beyond having one of the best goaltenders in Pekka Rinne, who is having himself a sensational season, Nashville also boasts an impressively deep, young and mobile defensive corps. Yet, the Preds haven’t been very stingy over the past few weeks. The have surrendered 23 goals in their past six games, 10 in their past two. It’s not time to panic, but the Preds could stand to clean some things up with their game heading into the All-Star Break.

San Jose Sharks -- Missing veteran center Joe Thornton, the Sharks were absolutely manhandled by the Blues on Saturday night. Sharks netminder Antti Niemi was pulled after giving up six goals, and after the game coach Todd McLellan blasted his time for being ill-prepared to compete both mentally and physically.

more trends...

Eastern trends,