NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands Before the Thanksgiving Break

It's Thanksgiving week in the United States.

That means big meals and heavy prep are on their way to kitchens and dining rooms across the country, but to those who consider themselves hockey types, there's more.

Recent NHL history suggests any team in a playoff position through the holiday week—the quarter-pole of the season—is in a particularly good position when it comes to holding on to that place when the season's end arrives in the spring.

That's familiar news in a lot of cities around the league.

Six of the eight teams now in a playoff spot in the two conferences were in the tournament in 2023-24, including both of last season's top seeds—the New York Rangers and the Dallas Stars—and the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Crashing the Eastern party so far are the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, while the Western newcomers are the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames.

The Sabres would be particularly newsworthy if they hold on to what's now the second wild-card spot in the East, given their league-high run of 13 straight seasons without a postseason berth.

The B/R hockey team has waded into the pre-turkey standings and got together for voting purposes to assemble this week's rankings. Votes were cast that awarded 32 points for first place all the way down to a single point for No. 32.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.

Previous Ranking: 32

Overall Record: 7-12-2

It's another week in the standings basement for the Blackhawks, who frittered away a two-goal, third-period lead at Philadelphia on Saturday to fall to 0-3-1 in their last four road games. They've allowed two or more goals in the final 20 minutes four times in five games.

Previous Ranking: 31

Overall Record: 7-12-3

It can't go this way all season for a team like the Predators, can it? Nashville has lost five of seven and remains 31st overall after a 5-2 loss at New Jersey in which Juuse Saros was pulled after two periods. "There's a lot to improve," defenseman Roman Josi said.

Previous Ranking: 28

Overall Record: 7-12-4

It's gone from bad to worse to whatever comes next for the Penguins, whose celebration of Sidney Crosby's milestone 600th goal was wasted in a 6-1 home loss to San Jose. The defeat was their third in a row and eighth in 10 games. "It's not enjoyable, obviously," Crosby said.

Previous Ranking: 30

Overall Record: 7-12-5

Granted, it's not been a long career, but teenage top overall pick Macklin Celebrini produced his first three-point game—scoring twice and adding an assist—in a Monday rout of Los Angeles. He'd had three two-point games across his first 11 outings with the Sharks.

Previous Ranking: 29

Overall Record: 7-11-2

The feast-or-famine needle pointed in the wrong direction for goalie Sam Montembeault on Saturday, when he was yanked after two periods against Vegas after allowing five goals. This came just one start after he'd blanked the high-powered Edmonton Oilers with 30 saves.

Previous Ranking: 23

Overall Record: 8-10-3

It wasn't a good back-to-back for Utah, which fell at Toronto after routing Pittsburgh. The loss was a fourth in five and a teaching moment for coach Andre Tourigny.

"We need to learn to manage the game better," he said, "learn to make sure we have short shifts."

Previous Ranking: 21

Overall Record: 9-11-1

The floodgates finally opened for the Senators on Monday when they scored four times, including twice on the power play, in a 4-3 win over Calgary. Ottawa had been 0-4-1 in its previous five games while scoring just 11 goals and allowing 21.

Previous Ranking: 19

Overall Record: 8-9-3

Anaheim's 3-0-1 heater ended with a Tuesday loss to visiting Seattle, but there was good news for the Ducks' penalty-killing unit, which killed off three penalties and has gone 8-for-8 across its last four games. Anaheim was 31st overall killing penalties in the 2023-24 season.

Previous Ranking: 26

Overall Record: 10-12-1

No one had a more eventful NHL week than Jim Montgomery, who was let go as head coach by the Boston Bruins before latching on in St. Louis. He's 1-0-0 with his new team after a 5-2 defeat of the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. "I loved our effort," he said.

Previous Ranking: 27

Overall Record: 9-10-2

Coach Derek Lalonde has praised the mettle of his Detroit team, and it provided another reason on Monday with three third-period goals and a 4-2 win in New York against the Islanders. "This group has shown some battle and some fight," he said.

Previous Ranking: 20

Overall Record: 9-10-3

John Tortorella is not a fan of moral victories, but even he wasn't completely down after a 5-4 shootout loss to Vegas in which his Flyers led 3-0 in the second period.

"Take out seven or eight minutes, it's a really good game by us," he said. "But that's a really good team."

Previous Ranking: 18

Overall Record: 8-9-5

The good news? The Islanders have gotten points in five of their last eight games.

The bad news? They've lost six of those same eight after a 3-2 decision against Detroit on Monday.

"Sometimes in life, you have to be resilient," New York coach Patrick Roy said.

Previous Ranking: 25

Overall Record: 9-9-2

It's getting more and more difficult for visiting teams to get wins in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets defeated Carolina on Saturday to get to 7-3-0 at Nationwide Arena. The team won just 17 times in 41 home games last season while finishing 29th overall out of 32.

Previous Ranking: 24

Overall Record: 10-9-3

Finding confidence is a work in progress for goalie Jeremy Swayman, who was 5-7-2 in his first 14 starts but won in his first outing—stopping 19 of 20 shots along the way—under interim coach Joe Sacco.

"It has been a little bit of a road to get here," the netminder said.

Previous Ranking: 17

Overall Record: 11-10-1

There was finally some celebration away from Seattle for the Kraken, who ended a five-game road skid with a win at Anaheim while improving to 6-2-0 in its last eight.

The win was the team's first in 12 games (1-10-1) this season in which it trailed after two periods.

Previous Ranking: 15

Overall Record: 11-9-2

Another week, another scoring blitz from Connor McDavid.

The Edmonton captain got off to a slow start this season but has been red hot since, with eight goals and 18 points in his last eight games. He's had multiple points in nine games, and either one (5) or zero (5) in 10 games.

Previous Ranking: 22

Overall Record: 11-9-1

Productive practices have yielded productive games in recent days for the Sabres, who have won three straight.

"I think it is important when you're not playing a lot to be very intentional about your details and trying to treat your details like it is a game," goalie James Reimer said.

Previous Ranking: 16

Overall Record: 12-10-0

It had been a quality run for the Avalanche before they arrived in Tampa for an 8-2 beating by the Lightning.

Colorado has won three straight and six of seven to finally pull above .500 after an inglorious 0-4-0 start. Its 12-6-0 record since October 18 is tied for fourth in the NHL.

Previous Ranking: 12

Overall Record: 11-8-3

It's the first prolonged skid of 2024-25 for the Kings, whose five-goal drubbing at San Jose on Monday was their fourth loss in six games. Goalie David Rittich allowed seven goals on 21 shots and has given up four or more goals three times in 13 appearances.

Previous Ranking: 7

Overall Record: 12-9-1

A one-week skid has evolved into two for the defending champions, who fell to 1-6-0 in their last seven games with Monday's home loss to Washington.

Florida's 4.29 goals-against average since November 12 is worst in the league and its 2.43 goals-for are tied for 24th.

Previous Ranking: 14

Overall Record: 10-6-3

Life's been better outside of British Columbia for the Canucks, who have just three home wins in 11 games but won at Ottawa to push a run of road wins to seven straight.

It's the third-longest stretch in franchise history for Vancouver, which won nine in a row in March 2011.

Previous Ranking: 13

Overall Record: 12-7-3

A four-game win streak ended Monday against Ottawa, and the 4-3 loss also ended another run in which Calgary had allowed three or fewer regulation goals in nine straight games.

No team had reached four in 60 minutes against the Flames since November 3.

Previous Ranking: 11

Overall Record: 11-7-2

It was a record-tying Monday night for the streaking Lightning, who got four first-period assists from Brandon Hagel in an 8-2 rout of Colorado to equal an NHL mark established by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Tampa Bay is 4-1-2 in its past seven games.

Previous Ranking: 5

Overall Record: 12-7-1

An above-.500 record is not keeping the vultures from circling in New York, where the Rangers have allowed 40 or more shots and been outscored 14-6 while losing three straight games.

"Everybody needs to be better," coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's not good enough what we're doing."

Previous Ranking: 8

Overall Record: 13-7-0

A 6-4 loss to an elite team is hardly an embarrassment, but Stars coach Pete DeBoer wasn't pleased with his special teams, which allowed two power-play goals at Carolina.

Still, the Dallas penalty kill is eighth in the league for the season with an 82.8 percent success rate.

Previous Ranking: 9

Overall Record: 13-6-2

Who needs a 69-goal scorer anyway? Apparently not the Maple Leafs, who have established themselves as the league's hottest team (7-1-0) since generational sniper Auston Matthews went down with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, Mitch Marner has multiple points in four straight.

Previous Ranking: 10

Overall Record: 15-7-2

Nico Hischier had played 475 games and scored 146 goals before Tuesday night but had never had a hat trick. He ended that streak against Nashville and a 10-game goal drought in the process while helping the Devils to a 5-2 win.

Previous Ranking: 3

Overall Record: 14-6-1

It's been three of many games without Alex Ovechkin for the Capitals, but they found success for the first time with a 4-1 victory at Florida.

Washington had lost two since Ovechkin broke his left leg on November 18. He's expected to miss four to six weeks.

Previous Ranking: 4

Overall Record: 13-4-4

It's 0-for-2 in a pair of bites at the apple for the Wild, who've played twice against the league leaders from Winnipeg and lost both times. A 4-1 home loss to the Jets was the most recent encounter on Monday despite a 22-7 shots advantage in the first period.

Previous Ranking: 6

Overall Record: 14-6-2

A three-game win streak is nice. A three-game win streak made possible by a three-goal rally for a victory at Philadelphia is even better.

"Not every game is going to be a masterpiece," forward Jack Eichel said, "but you've got to find a way to get two points."

Previous Ranking: 2

Overall Record: 15-5-1

The return of Seth Jarvis meant a return to prosperity for the Hurricanes, who had dropped two in a row but defeated Dallas on Monday behind the forward's two goals and three points. He'd missed seven games with an upper-body injury and now has 14 points in 14 games.

Previous Ranking: 1

Overall Record: 18-4-0

Timely scoring and good goaltending is the recipe for the front-running Jets and they followed it again Monday, getting 43 saves from Connor Hellebuyck in a 4-1 win at Minnesota. The 31-year-old has won three straight and leads the league in goals-against average (2.06) and save percentage (.929).