7. Detroit Red Wings, 26-15-4<\/p>\n
Dec. 19 rank: 15
Sean: 7
Dom: 7<\/p>\n
Remember JVR? Well, he\u2019s back in vintage form. James van Riemsdyk has been putting up numbers over the past few weeks with four goals and nine points in eight games. The second pick in 2007 has even been promoted to the top power play, bumping the first pick in 2007 (Patrick Kane, who scored his 500th career goal on Thursday<\/a>) to the second unit. That both are still contributing to the scoresheet 19 years later is a fun story for a rising team.<\/p>\n 8. Pittsburgh Penguins, 21-12-9<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 24 For most of December, the Penguins looked incapable of continuing their early-season run without Evgeni Malkin, and that carried over to our hiatus. In their final five Malkin-less games, though, they turned the bus around, going 5-0-0. If you wrote Pittsburgh off, reconsider. Malkin scored on Thursday night in his return<\/a>, by the way, and Sidney Crosby is rolling, too.<\/p>\n The most interesting part of that run: Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau showed that they don\u2019t need to be on Malkin\u2019s wings to change games, scoring four and three goals, respectively.<\/p>\n 9. Edmonton Oilers, 22-16-6<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 8 Leon Draisaitl has made tremendous strides as a defensive player over the last couple seasons, and he wasn\u2019t on the ice for any of Winnipeg\u2019s three goals on Thursday night, but the eight games before that \u2014 woof. Edmonton was outscored 12-6 in Draisaitl\u2019s five-on-five minutes, and the expected goal numbers weren\u2019t much better.<\/p>\n 10. Buffalo Sabres, 23-15-4<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 20 The Sabres have won 12 of 14 and outscored opponents 51-35 along the way. What hasn\u2019t changed? In a month, we\u2019ll be talking about Mattias Samuelsson\u2019s Norris Trophy candidacy<\/a>. Just you wait!<\/p>\n 11. Vegas Golden Knights, 18-11-12<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 5 Something interesting has been happening in Vegas over the last few weeks: Mitch Marner shifting to center as injuries continue to pile up.<\/p>\n Marner played some center in junior with the London Knights, but was never used there once in Toronto. He did play some shifts on defense, but apparently taking the odd face-off was a step too far. Perhaps it was for good reason. Since moving to center, Marner has a 49 percent xG rate while winning just 37 percent of faceoffs. That xG mark is way down from his previous level, a team-high 61 percent.<\/p>\n 12. New York Islanders, 24-15-5<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 9 With Ilya Sorokin injured for most of the holidays, it was up to \u201cBig Save Dave\u201d to make some big saves. And boy, did he deliver. David Rittich had the fourth-highest GSAx over the last three weeks, which greatly helped the Islanders continue their surge toward the playoffs.<\/p>\n 13. Philadelphia Flyers, 22-12-8<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 16 We\u2019ve been willing to take the Flyers seriously for a bit in these parts, and they\u2019ve made that faith stand up over the last few weeks, going 5-2-1 with legitimately good numbers at five-on-five, bumping up against the 60-percent mark in both actual and expected goals. The power play is still a mess, though, and the injuries are piling up. This feels like a make-or-break stretch<\/a>.<\/p>\n 14. Toronto Maple Leafs, 21-15-7<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 23 Big news that serves our respective interests: Auston Matthews is back<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fair to wonder if Matthews specifically had beef with departed assistant coach Marc Savard for some reason; he has scored seven goals and 11 points in the six games since Savard\u2019s dismissal. During that time, he also has a 64 percent xG and the same swagger he showed during his two 60-goal seasons. If Matthews is back for real, the Leafs might not be cooked after all. And boy, does Team USA look even scarier.<\/p>\n 15. Seattle Kraken, 20-14-8<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 32 Before (relatively) coming back to earth with a 31-save loss to Minnesota, Philipp Grubauer had been out of control, putting up a .971 save percentage in his previous four starts, all Kraken wins. Does the team wish Grubauer had found this level sometime before the end of 2025? Undoubtedly. In any case, his roll and an effective power play have helped the Kraken push their way back into playoff position.<\/p>\n 16. Washington Capitals, 22-16-6<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 6 With a 1.9 Defensive Rating that ties him with Tom Wilson for the top spot among Washington\u2019s forwards, Justin Sourdif had already shown some real value to the operation. More recently, he\u2019s started cashing in on those top-six offensive minutes, too, with nine points in his last five games. Mixed in there: The first hat trick by a Washington rookie since Alex Ovechkin.<\/p>\n 17. San Jose Sharks, 22-18-3<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 22 We\u2019ll take a break from gassing up Macklin Celebrini, deserved as it might be<\/a>, to point out how good Igor Chernyshov has been in his first 10 NHL games. Chernyshov has three goals and eights points, and the Sharks are winning his minutes 12-9. Is part of that due to playing with Celebrini? Sure \u2014 but we\u2019re not going to dock Chernyshov points for succeeding in the minutes he\u2019s given.<\/p>\n 18. Florida Panthers, 22-18-3<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 7 Folks, we have to ask the question: Is former waiver-wire prodigy Gustav Forsling actually an Aleksander Barkov merchant? While the absence of the captain has affected every Panther, it\u2019s Forsling\u2019s numbers that have dipped the most. His xG is down to 51 percent and he\u2019s getting outscored badly for the first time in Florida.<\/p>\n Forsling\u2019s slump has been particularly noticeable over the last few weeks, where he\u2019s been on the ice for 43 percent of the expected goals while being outscored 9-6. That\u2019s not great for the team\u2019s No. 1 defenseman.<\/p>\n 19. Utah Mammoth, 21-20-3<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 21 The big news in Utah is that the two-year-old franchise is getting its first Winter Classic next year in what should be an epic Rocky Mountain showdown against Colorado. What the NHL is likely giving up in ratings, they\u2019ll more than make up for in scenic aura. Look at those mountains!<\/p>\n On the ice, the Mammoth are leading the league in xG over the last few weeks at 63 percent. The wins have to be coming soon, right?<\/p>\n 20. Los Angeles Kings, 18-14-10<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 12 Happy Holidays, Kings fans. Your team gifted you eight aggressively mid hockey games. Jim Hiller remains the coach.<\/p>\n Other than that, the most interesting things to happen to L.A. in the last few weeks were Macklin Celebrini dragging the Sharks past them on Wednesday and Will Ferrell dressing up like a referee on Jan. 1. And even there<\/a> \u2026 eh.<\/p>\n 21. Boston Bruins, 23-19-2<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 17 When we were gone, Morgan Geekie went goalless in seven games. Over that same stretch, David Pastrnak had six goals. Balance is being restored in the universe.<\/p>\n 22. Nashville Predators, 20-19-4<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 26 The Preds won six of their nine hiatus games \u2014 four by one goal, two by two goals. They\u2019ll take it. Who cares that their 1.92 five-on-five goals per 60 was 31st in the league? Steven Stamkos scoring five times and shooting 29 percent in that stretch helped quite a bit.<\/p>\n 23. New Jersey Devils, 22-20-2<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 14 In his first eight games back from that hand injury, Jack Hughes produced points (1.38 per 60) at the same rate as Hampus Lindholm. All due respect to the Bruins defenseman\/Swedish Olympic snub, but that\u2019s a bad, bad sign for the Devils. Worse, in fact, than Jakob Markstrom putting up the worst single-game GSAx (minus-7.1) of any goaltender not to get the hook<\/a> since at least 2007-08 in that 9-0 loss to the Islanders.<\/p>\n 24. Chicago Blackhawks, 18-18-7<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 30 It was easy to assume that the Blackhawks would circle the drain without Connor Bedard, and for a spell, it was true, but they managed to win five of nine games and stop the spiral. Stouter team defense was a big reason for that \u2014 they\u2019ve allowed the 11th-fewest expected goals against per 60 since Jan. 1 (2.57) after spending the first three months of the season among the league\u2019s very worst.<\/p>\n 25. Columbus Blue Jackets, 18-18-7<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 25 While other young guns light it up, Adam Fantilli is continuing to quietly struggle at the top of Columbus\u2019 line up. He\u2019s getting all the opportunities in the world next to Kirill Marchenko and on the top power play, but that hasn\u2019t manifested into much production. Fantilli failed to score in his last game before our holiday hiatus and has been held off the board in each of the eight games since.<\/p>\n 26. New York Rangers, 20-19-6<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 19 Just as Adam Fox was heating up for the Rangers amidst an Olympic snub, he\u2019s been sidelined long-term once again. Add a devastating injury for Igor Shesterkin and that might be the ballgame for the Rangers. Maybe they can hang on, survive, and storm back after the Olympics with their two franchise pillars in the mix \u2014 but what\u2019s the point, given the way this season has gone?<\/p>\n 27. St. Louis Blues, 17-19-8<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 28 With an .858 save percentage and minus-2.2 GSAx during the hiatus, Jordan Binnington, Canadian Olympian, is still bad. However, he is not insubordinate<\/a>. Do not put in the newspaper that he is insubordinate.<\/p>\n 28. Ottawa Senators, 20-18-5<\/p>\n Dec. 19 rank: 18
Sean: 9
Dom: 9<\/p>\n
Sean: 10
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Sean: 8
Dom: 11<\/p>\n
Sean: 12
Dom: 10<\/p>\n
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Dom: 12<\/p>\n
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Sean: 14
Dom: 13<\/p>\n
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Sean: 18
Dom: 18<\/p>\n
Sean: 19
Dom: 20<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/embed.jpg\")
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Sean: 22
Dom: 19<\/p>\n
Sean: 20
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Sean: 21
Dom: 21<\/p>\n
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Dom: 23<\/p>\n
Sean: 23
Dom: 26<\/p>\n
Sean: 25
Dom: 24<\/p>\n
Sean: 26
Dom: 25<\/p>\n
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Dom: 27<\/p>\n
Sean: 29
Dom: 28<\/p>\n