Last week’s All-Star break came two weeks earlier than it has in recent seasons, and it gave us the first All-Star game since the lockout that cancelled the entire 2004-05 season. A year ago, the NHL took two weeks off for the 2006 Winter Olympics in the middle of February, an unprecedented move in the history of the league.

After the Olympic break, no team finished stronger in the regular season than the Detroit Red Wings, who went 19-3-3 for a league-high 41 points. Winning 19 of 25 to close out the campaign didn’t mean a thing when the playoffs started, as Detroit -- despite easily finishing first in the league in points at season’s end -- was bounced from the playoffs by the surprising Edmonton Oilers. Other teams that played well down the stretch included the San Jose Sharks (17-6-3, 37 points), New Jersey Devils (16-5-3, 35 points), Ottawa Senators (15-7-4, 34 points) and Anaheim Ducks (16-8-1, 33 points).

If the January performance of this year’s clubs is a legitimate indicator of what’s to follow, some of the same teams that finished strong a year ago may be among the best second-half finishers in 2006-07. The Devils are 8-2-2 since the start of the new year, good for 18 points, the second-highest January total in the league. The Senators are 8-2-1 in that span, and they have won seven of their last eight contests and 12 of their last 15. The Sharks are 7-2-0 in January and have come out on top eight times in their last 10 games. They look to win their fifth straight road game and move into first place in the Pacific Division when they face the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

The hottest club going into the second half is the Nashville Predators, who have won 10 of 11 and enjoy a nine-point edge in the Central Division over the rival Red Wings. The Red Wings have ruled their division for years, but this year the team to beat is the Predators, who have taken over the league lead in points during their surge. If they continue their strong play deep into the spring, their biggest concern may be to avoid matching Detroit’s first-round exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

There are a couple of surprise teams to watch down the stretch.

After posting an Eastern Conference-worst 58 points in 2005-06, the Pittsburgh Penguins got off to a decent 11-11-5 start this season. Since then, they are 12-6-3 and have won five of their last six games.

The young guns have been leading the way. In that 21-game stretch dating to Dec. 9, Sidney Crosby ranks among the league’s goal-scoring leaders with 13 and tops the NHL with 41 points -- nearly two points a game. Rookie Evgeni Malkin has 11 goals and 27 points in that span. Pittsburgh currently is tied with Tampa Bay for the last two playoff spots with 54 points, just four fewer than the Penguins accumulated all season a year ago.

And don’t forget about the St. Louis Blues. Yes, the same Blues who finished with a league-worst 57 points in 2005-06 and started 7-19-6 this season. Since then, St. Louis is 13-3-2. Early in this hot streak, the Blues beat Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Colorado twice in a home-and-home series. They had won seven of eight games -- beating the Devils, Ducks, Sharks and Red Wings -- before losing to the high-flying Predators on Saturday night. The Blues claimed road victories against Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose on a recent West Coast swing.

The Blues don’t have the firepower of many of the other teams featured here, but a host of players on the roster have contributed to the team’s goal scoring of late. Veterans Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk lead the Blues with nine and seven goals, respectively, during their 18-game surge.

What has been critical to St. Louis’ success has been the fine goaltending of new arrival Manny Legace, who was cleared from the Detroit roster this summer to make room for the return of Dominik Hasek. Legace has gone 12-2-2 in the Blues’ run, posting a 1.93 goals-against average and superb .933 save percentage. The numbers suggest only the Devils’ Martin Brodeur has been playing as well as Legace over the last month.

The Blues are still eight points out of playoff spot in the Western Conference, though they still could make a run to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring. Only time will tell if they will join the likes of the Devils, Red Wings, Senators, Sharks and Predators in the postseason fun.