Something About December...
Happy December! The holidays are among us, and the regular season standings are taking shape! In this week’s edition of The Puck Bulletin, we’re taking a look at the playoff outlook as if the season ended on December 4th.
Playoff Outlook
Although not all NHL team have played an equal number of games, I thought it’d be fun to take a look at the current playoff outlook as if the season ended on December 4th. Let’s take a look:
Eastern Conference
A1: Boston Bruins
A2: Toronto Maple Leafs
A3: Tampa Bay Lightning
M1: New Jersey Devils
M2: Carolina Hurricanes
M3: New York Islanders
WC1: Pitsburgh Penguins
WC2: Detroit Red Wings
Western Conference
C1: Dallas Stars
C2: Winnipeg Jets
C3: Minnesota Wild
P1: Vegas Golden Knights
P2: Seattle Kraken
P3: Los Angeles Kings
WC1: Edmonton Oilers
WC2: Colorado Avalanche
It’s a pretty interesting list, and I’m looking forward to watching how the season continues. Out of the teams not currently in playoff position, who do you think will most likely make the playoffs? Let me know in the poll below!
The Weekly Roundup
Atlantic:
Boston Bruins (38 pts | 20-3-0)
LW: W 3-1 TBL, W 5-1 COL
12/5 vs. VGK, 12/7 @ COL, 12/9 @ ARI, 12/11 @ VGK
The Bruins continue to roll and look like the best team in the NHL.
Toronto Maple Leafs (36 pts | 15-5-6)
LW: W 4-2 DET, W 3-1 SJS, OTL 3-4 TBL
12/6 @ DAL, 12/8 vs. LAK, 12/10 vs. CGY
Mitch Marner is on a 19-game point streak.
Tampa Bay Lightning (31 pts | 15-8-1)
LW: W 6-5 BUF, L 1-3 BOS, W 4-1 PHI, W 4-3 TOR
12/6 vs. DET, 12/8 vs. NSH, 12/10 vs. FLA
Tampa Bay is stringing together some solid weeks.
Detroit Red Wings (29 pts | 12-7-5)
LW: W 3-0 NSH, L/SO 4-5 BUF, L 1-4 VGK, W 4-2 CBJ
12/6 @ TBL, 12/8 @ FLA, 12/10 @ DAL
Tyler Bertuzzi is out for six weeks after undergoing hand surgery.
Florida Panthers (28 pts | 12-9-4)
LW: OTL 3-4 EDM, L 2-6 CGY, W 5-1 VAN, W 5-1 SEA
12/6 @ WPG, 12/8 vs. DET, 12/10 @ TBL, 12/11 vs. SEA
The Panthers have had some mixed results on their western road trip.
Montreal Canadiens (25 pts | 12-11-1)
LW: L 0-4 SJS, W 2-1 CGY, L 3-5 EDM
12/5 @ VAN, 12/6 @ SEA, 12/10 vs. LAK
The Haabs aim to finish their western road trip on a strong note this week.
Buffalo Sabres (21 pts | 11-13-1)
LW: OTL 5-6 TBL, W 5-4 DET, L 4-6 COL, W 6-3 SJS
12/7 @ CBJ, 12/9 vs. PIT, 12/10 @ PIT
Buffalo looks like a team better than their record right now.
Ottawa Senators (21 pts | 10-13-1)
LW: L 1-3 NYR, W 3-2 NYR, W 5-2 SJS
12/6 vs. LAK, 12/8 @ DAL, 12/10 @ NSH
The Sens and Brady Tkachuk are playing some solid hockey. Keep an eye on this team.
Metropolitan:
New Jersey Devils (41 pts | 20-4-1)
LW: W 5-3 NYR, OTL 3-4 NSH, W 3-2 PHI
12/6 vs. CHI, 12/9 vs. NYI
Will the Devils come back to earth?
Carolina Hurricanes (33 pts | 14-6-5)
LW: W 3-2 PIT, W 6-4 STL, W 4-2 LAK
12/6 @ ANA, 12/10 @ NYI
The Canes are starting to roll on their current road trip.
New York Islanders (32 pts | 16-10-0)
LW: L 1-3 PHI, L 1-4 NSH, W 3-0 CHI
12/6 vs. STL, 12/9 @ NJD, 12/10 vs. CAR
The Isles had a less-than-stellar week.
Pittsburgh Penguins (30 pts | 13-8-4)
LW: OTL 2-3 CAR, W 4-3 VGK, W 6-2 STL
12/6 vs. CBJ, 12/9 @ BUF, 12/10 vs. BUF
The Penguins are looking like a strong playoff team after their slow start.
New York Rangers (27 pts | 11-10-5)
LW: L 3-5 NJD, W 3-1 OTT, OTL 2-3 OTT, L 2-5 CHI
12/5 vs. STL, 12/7 @ VGK, 12/9 @ COL
There seems to be some trouble brewing in New York.
Washington Capitals (24 pts | 10-12-4)
LW: W 5-1 VAN, OTL 2-3 SEA, L 2-5 CGY
12/5 @ EDM, 12/7 @ PHI, 12/9 vs. SEA, 12/11 @ WPG
Alex Ovechkin goal count stands at 793.
Philadelphia Flyers (21 pts | 8-12-5)
LW: W 3-1 NYI, L 1-4 TBL, L 2-3 NJD
12/5 vs. COL, 12/7 vs. WSH, 12/9 @ VGK, 12/11 @ ARI
The Flyers finally snapped their winless streak this past week.
Columbus Blue Jackets (18 pts | 8-13-2)
LW: L/SO 2-3 VGK, W 4-1 WPG, L 2-4 DET
12/6 @ PIT, 12/7 vs. BUF, 12/9 vs. CGY, 12/11 vs. LAK
Another meh week for Columbus is in the books.
Central:
Dallas Stars (33 pts | 14-6-5)
LW: W 4-1 STL, W 5-0 ANA, L/SO 5-6 MIN
12/6 vs. TOR, 12/8 vs. OTT, 12/10 vs. DET
Jason Robertson leads the NHL with 22 goals.
Winnipeg Jets (31 pts | 15-7-1)
LW: W 5-0 COL, L 1-4 CBJ, W 5-2 ANA
12/6 vs. FLA, 12/8 @ STL, 12/9 @ CHI, 12/11 vs. WSH
I can’t get over how solid of a team the Jets are.
Minnesota Wild (28 pts | 13-9-2)
LW: W 5-3 EDM, W 5-4 ANA, W 6-5 DAL
12/7 @ CGY, 12/9 @ EDM, 12/10 @ VAN
Minnesota is stringing together some solid play lately.
Colorado Avalanche (27 pts | 13-8-1)
LW: L 0-5 WPG, W 6-4 BUF, L 1-5 BOS
12/5 @ PHI, 12/7 vs. BOS, 12/9 vs. NYR, 12/11 @ STL
The Avs continue some inconsistency while dealing with injuries.
Nashville Predators (26 pts | 12-9-2)
LW: W 2-1 ANA, W 4-3 NJD, W 4-1 NYI
12/8 @ TBL, 12/10 vs. OTT
Does Smashville have a playoff team this year?
St. Louis Blues (22 pts | 11-13-0)
LW: L 1-4 DAL, L 4-6 CAR, L 2-6 PIT
12/5 @ NYR, 12/6 @ NYI, 12/8 vs. WPG, 12/11 vs. COL
The Blues might be the streakiest team in the NHL.
Arizona Coyotes (18 pts | 7-11-4)
LW: L 3-5 LAK, OTL 2-3 VAN
12/5 @ CGY, 12/7 @ EDM, 12/9 vs. BOS, 12/11 vs. PHI
After a long hiatus, the Yotes return to Mullet Arena this week.
Chicago Blackhawks (18 pts | 7-13-4)
LW: L 4-5 EDM, W 5-2 NYR, L 0-3 NYI
12/6 @ NJD, 12/9 vs. WPG
Any guess on where Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews might end up this season?
Pacific:
Vegas Golden Knights (37 pts | 18-7-1)
LW: W 3-2 CBJ, L 3-4 PIT, W 4-1 DET
12/5 @ BOS, 12/7 vs. NYR, 12/9 vs. PHI, 12/11 vs. BOS
The Golden Knights take on Boston twice this week.
Seattle Kraken (33 pts | 15-6-3)
LW: W 9-8 LAK, W 3-2 WSH, L 1-5 FLA
12/6 vs. MTL, 12/9 @ WSH, 12/11 @ FLA
Will the 9-8 win over the Kings be the regular season game of the year?
Los Angeles Kings (30 pts | 13-10-4)
LW: OTL 8-9 SEA, W 5-3 ARI, L 2-4 CAR
12/6 @ OTT, 12/8 @ TOR, 12/10 @ MTL, 12/11 @ CBJ
See note above regarding game of the year.
Edmonton Oilers (28 pts | 14-11-0)
LW: W 4-3 FLA, W 5-4 CHI, L 3-5 MIN, W 5-3 MTL
12/5 vs. WSH, 12/7 vs. ARI, 12/9 vs. MIN
The Oilers are finding their game.
Calgary Flames (25 pts | 11-10-3)
LW: W 6-2 FLA, L 1-2 MTL, W 5-2 WSH
12/5 vs. ARI, 12/7 vs. MIN, 12/9 @ CBJ, 12/10 @ TOR
Is Calgary turning the corner into some better hockey?
Vancouver Canucks (23 pts | 10-12-3)
LW: L 1-5 WSH, W 5-1 VAN, W 3-2 ARI
12/5 vs. MTL, 12/7 @ SJS, 12/10 vs. MIN
Brock Boeser is apparently on the trading block.
San Jose Sharks (20 pts | 8-16-4)
LW: W 4-0 MTL, L 2-5 OTT, L 3-6 BUF
12/7 vs. VAN, 12/9 @ ANA
The pesky Sharks return home after an eastern road trip.
Anaheim Ducks (15 pts | 6-17-3)
LW: OTL 1-2 NSH, L 0-5 DAL, L/SO 4-5 MIN, L 2-5 WPG
12/6 vs. CAR, 12/9 vs. SJS
The Ducks had another winless week.