As of Monday morning, four Central Division teams had identical 6-3-1 records in their past 10 games. The fifth team, St. Louis, really deviated from the pack with a 6-2-2 mark.

Talk about parity.

Long gone are the days of Detroit beating up on everybody in its division en route to the Presidents’ Trophy. The story of a strengthened Central goes well beyond the rise of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Columbus is poised to make the playoffs for the first time, Nashville is still sturdy under Barry Trotz and St. Louis has more or less decided to stop allowing goals of late.

It’s very conceivable all five Central clubs could make the post-season, solidifying its status as the toughest division in hockey.

The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.

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