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• Your Power Rankings: Are the red-hot Rangers in your top 10?
• Chat: E.J. Hradek makes his weekly stop in SportsNation.

At the end of the regular season last spring, SportsNation placed six teams from the Eastern Conference in the top 10 of its Power Rankings (including eventual champion Pittsburgh way down at No. 7). At the end of the first week of play this season, half of the Nation's top 10 teams resided in the East -- and that didn't even include the Rangers, who then rolled off four wins and 17 goals in the span of eight days.

So with Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Marian Gaborik -- even if voters don't think the Rangers are quite this good -- is it safe to say the East currently rules the league? Not if you look from top to bottom, offered Scott Burnside in Monday's chat.

Fuj (NJ)

Do you think the Eastern conference is stronger this year and will the winner come from there?

Scott Burnside

Fuj: No. I still think there are more, better teams in the Western Conference. And I think teams like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington if they can get their defense fixed, will likely separate themselves quickly from the pack and the final six playoff spots will be contested by pretty ordinary teams. The west with Chicago, Detroit, Anaheim, San Jose, maybe the Kings, maybe St. Louis, maybe Vancouver, means the journey to the postseason is much more difficult. That said, I picked Pittsburgh to repeat as Cup champs. For what it's worth. Full transcript.