Note: Records are current prior to Monday's action
1. Dallas Stars: 27-7-3
The Stars showed last week why they are the best in the NHL. In front of their hometown fans, they shut out their two biggest threats to their Central Division lead in the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. What is even more incredible was that the shut outs were done by two different goalies. Patrick Sharp has responded well to being put on the top line, scoring three goals and notching 8 points in his last five games.
2. Washington Capitals: 26-6-2
The Capitals just continue to get better and better as the season rolls along. Their current seven game winning streak is the longest streak they have had so far this season, and it shows no signs of stopping. Their opponents for the rest of December are Buffalo and Carolina, and should be easily slayed by the powerhouse offense of the Capitals
3. St. Louis Blues: 22-12-4
They picked up a massive win against the Dallas Stars last week to put themselves firmly into second place in the Central Division. They have won five of their last seven games thanks to their elite defense that has given up more than three goals once in their last seven games.
4. New York Rangers: 20-12-4
The Rangers finally picked up their 20th win against the struggling Ducks in a dramatic overtime victory. The team has struggled to find consistency on the blue line in the month of December, giving up five or more goals in five contests.
5. Detroit Red Wings: 18-10-7
With the fall of the Canadiens in recent weeks, we have seen a couple Atlantic teams fill the void of their absence. One of those teams is the Red Wings, who have been flirting with the top spot in the Atlantic for a couple weeks now, and look to be the best positioned to take it. With the return of Pavel Datsyuk, the team has gone from middle of the pack to elite.
6. Chicago Blackhawks: 20-13-4
Patrick Kane’s point streak may be snapped, but his position as the top scorer in the NHL remains unchanged. His 21 goals and 50 points rival anyone’s, and Kane could be heading towards his best season as a pro.
7. Florida Panthers: 20-12-4
The hottest team in the NHL used a six game winning streak to catapult atop the Atlantic Division. The question is though, will they be able to hold their ground as they play Montreal and the Rangers next.
8.Montreal Canadiens 20-14-3
Their recent six game losing streak really shows how much this team misses Carey Price. The defense has fallen to twelfth in the NHL, and the result has been catastrophic for the team at one point on top of the NHL.
9. Minnesota Wild: 18-10-6
The Minnesota Wild are so far managing to finish their brutal end of December schedule relatively unscathed. Their last six opponents were against teams that made the playoffs last year, and they won three of them.
10. Los Angeles Kings: 21-11-2
The Kings continue to dominate the weak Pacific Division, but they have not been consistent in their play in recent weeks. They have only won two of their last six games, and the lowly Maple Leafs blew them out 5-0. No reason to panic yet, but it will be interesting to see if the Flames can start causing the Kings problems as we go further into the season.
11. New York Islanders: 19-12-5
The Islanders are settling into their third position in the Metropolitan Division. So far, the Rangers and Capitals have gotten the better of them, and the Islanders may want to add more pieces if they want to compete with those teams come playoff time.
12. Boston Bruins: 19-12-4
The Bruins looked poise to take the lead in the wide-open Atlantic Division race before blowing up in the form of a three game losing streak. Their 6-3 loss to Buffalo looks ugly on their record, and they will need to show a more consistent effort if the want to pass Detroit, Montreal and Florida.
13. Nashville Predators: 17-12-6
Just like their Central Division counterpart Minnesota, the Predators have been trying to hang on during this brutal end of the year schedule. Their opponents this week are the Rangers, Blues and Stars. Yikes.
14. Ottawa Senators: 18-12-6
The Florida Panthers stole their thunder last week as the most surprising team in the Atlantic. Their 24th ranked defense seems to be catching up with them as they begin to fall down the rankings.
15. Pittsburgh Penguins: 17-15-3
They continue to wonder where their offense has gone, as their last game saw them get shut out 1-0 against the Winnipeg Jets of all teams. Their schedule is beginning to pick up, as they will have to face the Red Wings, Islanders and Chicago in the upcoming weeks.
16. Tampa Bay Lightning: 18-15-3
The most disappointing team of the first half of the season has probably been the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their offense continues to try to find their mojo, with an uninspiring 2.5 GPG.
17. Calgary Flames: 17-16-2
Last week was a wake up call for the rest of the league. Johnny Gaudreau is still one of the most exciting young players in the league, even if his team has been off to a poor start. Scoring five goals in two games shows that Gaudreau is ready to lead the Flames back into the playoff discussion.
18. Philadelphia Flyers: 15-13-7
The Flyers have been inconsistent over the past four games, unable to get a winning or losing streak going. They face former Flyer Jeff Carter and the Kings on January 2nd, and that game could give us a big hint as to whether or not the Flyers are playoff contenders.
19. New Jersey Devils: 17-14-5
The Devils have one win in their last five games, as the Penguins and Flyers continue to gain ground on them. As an older team, it is questionable as to whether or not the team has the durability to compete with those teams down the stretch.
20. San Jose Sharks: 17-15-2
I wrote an article last week on how the Sharks are close to being a team that could make a run in the playoffs. The problem is, will the team make the moves necessary to come out on top of an easy Pacific Division?
21. Colorado Avalanche: 17-17-2
Their five game winning streak unceremoniously fell to pieces when they gave up seven goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs. San Jose and Chicago have playoff aspirations, and the Avalanche will need to regain their winning form in order to continue to slow climb out of the Central Division gutter.
22. Arizona Coyotes: 17-15-3
As hard as it is to believe, the Coyotes are actually in a playoff spot right now.
23. Vancouver Canucks: 14-14-9
The defense held strong against Tampa Bay and Edmonton last week, but is that a trend that will continue? The 22nd ranked defense in the league has a manageable schedule ahead of them, and they will have ample opportunity to build off their last couple performances.
24. Carolina Hurricanes: 15-16-5
The team has won three out of their last four games due to their suffocating defense.
25. Anaheim Ducks: 13-15-6
It's a different week, but the story is the same. When are the Ducks finally going to start playing like a team that thinks they can contend for a Stanley Cup.
26. Winnipeg Jets: 16-17-2
The month of December is usually useful for weeding out the pretenders that were successful early in the season. Unfortunately, that same seems to have happened to the Jets this year.
27. Buffalo Sabres: 15-16-4
Rookie Jack Eichel played his best game of his short NHL career against the Bruins. He scored two goals, put up two assists and finished with a 2+/-. In December, he has put up three goals and eight points in eleven games.
28. Edmonton Oilers: 15-19-3
This spot seems pretty fair, considering they have a 3.1 GAA. Their 5-3 loss against the Flames really showed how far away this team is on defense to start contending for the playoffs.
29. Toronto Maple Leafs: 13-14-7
The Maple Leafs have won three out of their last four games, which gives them the honor of not being in last place this week.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets: 13-22-3
The team has already given up 120 goals in only 38 games this season. Three game losing streaks have unfortunately become pretty common for this team as they enter the second half of the season as the team with the most ground to catch up.