With teams nearing the one-third mark of the season, more than half – and as many as two-thirds – of the 16 spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs look like they’re already spoken for. Among those who can start selling tickets for the playoffs with confidence are the defending champion Florida Panthers, the surprising Washington Capitals, the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild, and the 2023 champion Vegas Golden Knights.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are 14 teams, seven in each conference, that have a points percentage of .500 or less. Only one team in the past decade, the 2015-16 Wild, has made the playoffs with less than a points percentage of less than .540 (87 points, .530).
While there are always exceptions – the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues won the Cup after being last in the standings on Jan. 7 — many of the teams that are .500-and-under as December dawns are another less-than-stellar month away from being far enough out of the race to start thinking about next season.
Related: 10 most recent players to reach the 1,000-point mark, including Connor McDavid
5 NHL storylines to watch in December:
Here are five of the biggest storylines in the NHL for December:
Capitals try to keep rolling without Ovechkin
Who needs the No. 2 goal-scorer in NHL history to keep on winning? Apparently not the Capitals.
Alex Ovechkin was leading the NHL with 15 goals when he broke his left fibula against the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 18. Washington lost by one goal in its first two games without its captain but has won four in a row since then. Three of the four were on the road, including a two-game sweep of the Florida teams last week and a wild 6-5 win at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. In all, Washington has won seven in a row away from Capital One Arena, tying a franchise record.
The winning streak has lifted Washington into first place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of New Jersey and two in front of the Carolina Hurricanes.
As for Ovechkin’s return – there’s still no target date. He’s on injured reserve and was expected to miss 4-6 weeks. That could put him back on the ice around Christmas. The great eight has 868 career goals and needs 27 to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894. His return, when it happens, should give an extra boost to a team that’s already exceeding expectations.
Rangers try to put the pieces back together
The New York Rangers’ 5-0-1 start is a distant memory. They were 7-9-0 in their next 16 games and had lost five in a row before a last-minute power-play goal by Kaapo Kakko gave them a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday – a game that saw them blow a two-goal lead in the third period.
The Rangers were outplayed in all five losses during the streak, and only a 3-for-6 showing on the power play saved them against the Canadiens, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference. New York struggled badly at 5-on-5 against Montreal, continuing the pattern of turnovers and sloppy defensive play that has made life difficult for goalies Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick.
General manager Chris Drury probably didn’t help matters recently when he reportedly sent out word to the League’s other 31 GMs that the Rangers are open to making a trade, with captain Jacob Trouba and veteran forward Chris Kreider mentioned by name. Trading either player would be difficult because of salary issues – it’s hard to see how a potential trade partner could fit either under the cap, not to mention each has a 15-team no trade clause..
Neither has been playing up to expectations this season, though Trouba is just one of several defensemen who’ve struggled and Kreider’s line with Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith hasn’t been productive. The Rangers play their next four games at home; how they fare at Madison Square Garden in the next eight days could go a long way to determining what happens next.
Coach on hot seat in Detroit
Derek Lalonde’s time behind the Detroit Red Wings’ bench could be nearing an end. A 5-4 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks at home on Sunday in a game they led 4-3 with less than 3:30 remaining in regulation dropped the Red Wings to 10-11-3, sixth in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference. Detroit is looking at the possibility of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the ninth straight season.
The loss to the Canucks came two days after the Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead and lost 5-4 to the Devils. The Devils’ first goal withstood a challenge by Lalonde for goaltender interference that was widely regarded as having no chance of succeeding – and New Jersey scored on the ensuing power play.
Lalonde, a two-time Cup winner with the Lightning as an assistant, is in his third season with the Red Wings, who barely missed the playoffs last season with 91 points. That’s the most they’ve had since making the postseason with 93 in 2015-16. But they appear to have taken a step backwards this season.
The “Yzerplan” of GM/Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman doesn’t usually include moves like firing the coach in midseason, but it’s hard to envision an Original Six franchise like the Red Wings doing nothing as another season slips away.
Predators try to stop bleeding
Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz went all-in during the summer, opening the vault to sign two 40-goal scorers, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, as well as veteran defenseman Brady Skjei. To say that the moves haven’t worked out would be an understatement.
Stamkos, who scored 40 goals and had 81 points for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, has seven goals and 13 points in 25 games after signing a four-year contract. Only one of his seven goals has come at even strength; the other six were scored on the power play. His minus-21 rating last season was one reason the Lightning let their all-time leading scorer leave as a free agent, and he’s already minus-14 with his new team.
Marchessault, a 42-goal scorer with Vegas last season after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the Golden Knights’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2023, has done even less – four goals and 12 points. He’s scored just twice at even strength. Skjei, coming off an NHL career-high 47-point season with the Carolina Hurricanes, has two goals, nine points and is minus-5 in 25 games. Overall, the Predators are averaging a league-worst 2.40 goals per game.
Trotz has made a couple of minor trades recently, and is not averse to bigger moves if things don’t get better soon. That time could come quickly if the Predators don’t right the ship in a hurry.
Sharks have something to smile about
Don’t look now, but the San Jose Sharks are on the upswing.
The last-place finishers in the overall standings in 2023-24 are 9-6-3 since their 0-7-2 start. That includes a 7-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday and a home-and-home sweep against the Seattle Kraken over the weekend.
Macklin Celebrini, the first player taken in the 2024 NHL Draft, missed time with an injury but has eight goals and 14 points in 15 games, and was just named NHL Rookie of the Month for November and NHL Player of the Week. Their other prized rookie, forward Will Smith, has scored in three straight games. Veteran forward Mikael Granlund, a throwaway by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023 Erik Karlsson trade, leads the team with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 25 games.
But the biggest surprise is defenseman Jake Walman, a salary dump by the Red Wings during the summer who’s tied for third on the team with 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) and averaging 22:32 TOI – by far the most of his career.
The Sharks face a big test in the next two weeks; they begin a five-game road trip in Washington on Tuesday, then visit the two Florida teams, Carolina and St. Louis before returning home Dec. 14 to host Utah. By then, we’ll have a better read on them – but there’s no doubt things are looking up in San Jose.