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Good morning, hockey folks. It’s Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., which obviously means I spent part of the holiday trying to find hockey-related puns to fit the occasion.
Star players Turk(ey) Broda and Adam (Gravy) Graves are the best I’ve got, so feel free to salute them at your family dinner. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anyone named Nash Motatoes, but Artemi Panarin can at least be our Breadman.
Are we overdoing overtime?
The NHL loves its parity party, and it’s been apparent in the standings all year, given how jammed up everything is. (More on that in a minute.)
But the other thing that has really stood out is how many overtime games there have been. After four more on Wednesday, there have been 73 OTs already — meaning 19.5 percent of all games have needed extra time.
That puts the NHL on pace for a heady 255 overtime games this season, the sixth most in NHL history and the most in the salary cap era by quite a bit.
All those extra overtime games would mean an extra 61 points in circulation over last season, which could drive up the playoff cutoff from a year ago. My question, though, is: How much OT is too much?
In the past when there have been too many games this close, it’s been a problem. There was the tie epidemic that brought in regular-season OT in back in 1983, then the move to four-on-four OT in 1999, the addition of the shootout in 2005, and finally the current three-on-three extra frame a decade ago.
The trouble is that with each iteration, the deciding factor of a big chunk of games has looked less and less like the regulation time and playoff version of the sport. After 10 years of coaches adapting to it, for example, three-on-three now involves so much regrouping (and randomness) that fans regularly boo the proceedings.
Having that featured at the end of one in five games feels like a lot.
It’s an old argument, but switching to regulation wins being worth three points would help settle more games earlier. Right now with the standings so close, it’s clear teams are often playing for the loser point late in games. (And a near-record 51 percent of games have been tied at some point in third periods so far this year, too, exacerbating the issue.)
A trend to keep an eye on as this wackadoo season rolls on.
If the playoffs started today …
The NHL calendar is absolutely jammed for Black Friday, with 30 of 32 teams in action — only the Oilers and Kraken sit this one out — and games starting all the way from noon until 8 p.m. ET.
Incredibly, 20 of those teams are part of back-to-backs with games on Saturday, too, so you’ll have plenty of puck to watch with your side of football.
With the flurry of action incoming, I think the day off yesterday gives us a brief moment to take stock of where the league stands at an important part of the schedule. Shayna Goldman had an excellent look at how playoff odds have shifted since the season started, with the Ducks making the biggest gains and the Maple Leafs and Blues falling the hardest.
In the past four seasons, 77 percent of teams in a playoff position at U.S. Thanksgiving have held on to make the postseason at the end of the year. So here’s our snapshot of the current matchups, using points percentage, as well as some honorable mentions that have a chance to make inroads over the next four months.
Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division
(1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC1) Philadelphia Flyers
(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Ottawa Senators
This division feels a bit more “normal-ish” lately with three of last year’s playoff teams settling in, but it’s still odd to see the Panthers and Leafs on the outside after they met in Round 2 last year.
We haven’t had a Habs-Sens series since 2015, and they’re such historic rivals — having faced each other in the first-ever NHL game in 1917 — that it just feels right to restart that battle.
The Flyers, meanwhile, continue to surprise with their stingy defensive play under new coach Rick Tocchet and deserve a bit more buzz.
Metropolitan Division
(1) New Jersey Devils vs. (WC2) Washington Capitals
(2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3) Pittsburgh Penguins
The only real surprise here is the plucky Penguins, who have been quietly grinding out a lot of points during their last eight games (3-2-3).
There’s a giant pile of teams right behind them — including the Islanders, Red Wings, Bruins, Panthers and even the Blue Jackets, all on pace for 89 points or more — so it’s so wide open at this point that the East might turn over dramatically even within the next few weeks.
Notably, the Metro looks stronger than the Atlantic so far, with seven of the eight teams posting positive goal differentials.
Western ConferenceCentral Division
(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC2) Utah Mammoth
(2) Dallas Stars vs. (3) Minnesota Wild
The Mammoth have been all over the place, with only four wins in their last 14 games after an 8-2-0 start. And they’re only clinging to the final wild-card spot by a tiny margin over teams such as the Jets and Blackhawks.
No one is going to want that WC2 spot this year with the way the Avs (17-1-5) are dominating, so there’s something for everyone to play for in the West.
Pacific Division
(1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (WC1) Los Angeles Kings
(2) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (3) Seattle Kraken
In a year where everyone is close, nothing is as close as the top of the Pacific right now. In fact, I had to go down a couple of tiebreakers to separate the Golden Knights, Kraken and Kings, who all have exactly 28 points in 23 games.
It’s fitting the Ducks are on top at the moment, though — way ahead with 29 points in 23 games — as they might be the story of the season with the way their youngsters are piling up goals.
If the Oilers figure their … everything … out, things will get even more crowded in a division that has gone from forgettable to formidable over the past six weeks.
Five teams in playoff position that didn’t make it last year: Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle, Utah
Five teams out of playoff position that made it last year: St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto, Florida, Winnipeg
💡 MirTrivia, Thanksgiving edition
Thirty-eight goalies have appeared in at least 10 games so far this season, and only one has a save percentage that’s .920 or above at the moment, as save percentages have dipped to .897 leaguewide, their lowest mark in more than 30 years.
Who is it?
Hint: It’s a young up-and-comer who is a bit of a surprise.
Bonus: Six goalies who have appeared in 10 games so far have a save percentage under .880, and four of them are high-profile veterans on teams that made the playoffs last year. How many can you name?
Coast to Coast
🥧 This week’s edition of Power Rankings highlights the NHL’s real heroes: The side dishes that deserve recognition.
🏅 Team USA has revealed its jerseys for the upcoming Olympics, and we are getting excited.
🦈 The player everyone is talking about right now is out in San Jose: It’s Macklin Celebrini. Here’s a nice read from Chris Johnston on the fervor around the league over hockey’s Next One.
📣 Speaking of Next Ones: Just how much is Connor Bedard going to make on his next contract, which he’s eligible to sign any day now?
🏟️ Every few months, we like to take a deeper look at attendance around the league. Here’s the first one of 2025-26, with some interesting trends in Columbus, Minnesota and Chicago so far.
🎤 If you’re looking for something to listen to rather than read as you sweat out the turkey, I had CJ on the podcast yesterday to deep dive into the Maple Leafs’ mess and if coach Craig Berube and GM Brad Treliving are on the hot seat at this point.
(Daniel Bartel / Getty Images)
Your MirTrivia Answer …
The upstart goalie leading all No. 1s in save percentage so far? It’s Spencer Knight in Chicago, who is really making the Blackhawks front office’s bold trade with the Panthers last year look like a sharp move for a rebuilding club.
Bonus: The four veteran goalies playing for 2024-25 playoff teams that are struggling mightily are, in no particular order: Stuart Skinner (Edmonton), Frederik Andersen (Carolina), Jacob Markström (New Jersey) and Sam Montembeault (Montreal).
Linus Ullmark and Jordan Binnington would have been good guesses, too, but they’ve both now cleared the .880 save percentage mark with decent Novembers.
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