December NHL Standings, News, and Opinion (Monday 12/19)
Today is Monday, Dec. 19, as we enter the week, there are a number of NHL standings changes that should be addressed in our latest update. Different teams are rising and falling down the standings so let’s dive right in.
December NHL Standings, News, and Opinion (Monday 12/19)
Atlantic Division Standings:
Boston Bruins 24-4-2 | 50 Points
Toronto Maple Leaf 19-7-6 | 44 Points
Tampa Bay Lightning 20-9-1 | 41 Points
Florida Panthers 15-13-4 | 34 Points
Detroit Red Wings 13-11-6 | 32 Points
Buffalo Sabres 15-14-2 | 32 Points
Ottawa Senators 14-15-2 | 30 Points
Montreal Canadiens 14-15-2 | 30 Points
The Detroit Red Wings have lost five straight games and are falling. Overall they are 2-6-2 in their last ten games, and the Florida Panthers have now officially passed them in the standings. The Wings have hit a bump in the road. Hopefully, they will be able to navigate out of it quickly and find their way into the postseason this year.
Metropolitan Division Standings:
New Jersey Devils 21-8-2 | 44 Points
Carolina Hurricanes 19-6-6 | 44 Points
New York Rangers 18-10-5 | 41 Points
Pittsburgh Penguins 18-9-4 | 40 Points
New York Islanders 18-13-1 | 37 Points
Washington Capitals 16-13-4 | 36 Points
Philadelphia Flyers 10-15-7 | 27 Points
Columbus Blue Jackets 10-18-2 | 22 Points
A few main narratives are going on in the Metro right now. New Jersey is losing, while Carolina and the New York Rangers find their stride on long win streaks. The NHL season is a long one as experienced teams like New York and Carolina know. It will be interesting to see how New Jersey handles the adversity they are facing right now with a record of 4-4-2 in their last ten games. They looked like a favorite to win the Presidents’ Trophy, but now find themselves out of the top spot on our power rankings.
Central Division Standings:
Dallas Stars 18-8-6 | 42 Points
Winnipeg Jets 20-10-1 | 41 Points
Minnesota Wild 18-11-2 | 38 Points
Colorado Avalanche 16-11-2 | 34 Points
St. Louis Blues 15-15-1 | 31 Points
Nashville Predators 12-12-4 | 28 Points
Arizona Coyotes 10-15-4 | 24 Points
Chicago Blackhawks 7-19-4 | 18 Points
The Chicago Blackhawks celebrated Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on Sunday night for playing in their 1000th game together. Toews and Kane got to enjoy the event by taking in their seventh loss in a row in a 7-1 game against the Rangers. The Blackhawks are last in the league right now, which is great for their race for the first overall pick, yet horrible for the moral of the team that includes their two franchise players.
Pacific Division Standings:
Vegas Golden Knights 22-10-1 | 45 Points
Los Angeles Kings 17-12-5 | 39 Points
Seattle Kraken 17-10-3 | 37 Points
Edmonton Oilers 17-14-1 | 35 Points
Calgary Flames 14-12-6 | 34 Points
Vancouver Canucks 13-14-3 | 29 Points
San Jose Sharks 10-17-6 | 26 Points
Anaheim Ducks 9-20-3 | 21 Points
There are a lot of storylines in the Pacific right now, but the one I want to mention here involves the red-hot Anaheim Ducks! The Ducks currently find themselves on a two-game win streak after beating both the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens. Sure this is not really newsworthy in the eyes of a lot of teams, but for other Connor Bedard hopefuls, every point counts.
There are eight games tonight. Here are the matchups:
Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins – 7 PM ET
Dallas Stars at Columbus Blue Jackets – 7 PM ET
Detroit Red Wings at Washington Capitals – 7 PM ET
Edmonton Oilers at Nashville Predators – 8 PM ET
New York Islanders at Colorado Avalanche – 9 PM ET
Montreal Canadiens at Arizona Coyotes – 10 PM ET
Buffalo Sabres at Vegas Golden Knights – 10 PM ET
St. Louis Blues at Vancouver Canucks – 10:30 PM ET