The 2025-26 NHL season has already given fans the kind of chaos, scoring surges, and jaw-dropping talent that make every night feel like a mini playoff round. The scoring race has been just as dramatic as the standings, with young stars ascending and finally scratching the surface of what they might become.
At the center of it all are Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard, sitting tied with each other inside the top five in scoring at just 20 and 19 years old. Along with Leo Carlsson, the league hasn’t seen this many teenagers and early-20s players producing at this level in years.
Dec 7, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) watches the play against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images | James Guillory-Imagn Images
And they’re not padding stats in quiet corners of the league — they’re going toe-to-toe with two already all-time greats still in their prime. Nathan MacKinnon leads the league with 53 points, with Connor McDavid five behind in second place, making this year’s chase feel like a heavyweight bout.
But if you look a little closer at the scoring standings — specifically the top 15 — you’ll notice something wild. Something that many will miss and havent noticed yet.
14 of the NHL’s Top 15 Scorers Play in the West
Yes, you read that correctly.
Fourteen of the 15 highest-scoring players in the entire NHL are from the Western Conference. The only one from the East? The defending back-to-back Art Ross winner, Nikita Kucherov.
Fun hockey stat: 14 of the top 15 highest-scoring players in the NHL right now are from the Western Conference, with Nikita Kucherov the only one from the East. #NHL #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/Osiw251Roe
— Sam Len (@SamLenSports) December 13, 2025
Here’s the full list (with goals, assists, points):
1 — Nathan MacKinnon (COL): 31G, 25A, 53P
2 — Connor McDavid (EDM): 16G, 32A, 48P
T-3 — Connor Bedard (CHI): 19G, 25A, 44P
T-3 — Macklin Celebrini (SJS): 15G, 29A, 44P
5 — Martin Necas (COL): 14G, 29A, 43P
6 — Mikko Rantanen (DAL): 13G, 29A, 42P
T-7 — Jason Robertson (DAL): 20G, 20A, 40P
T-7 — Leon Draisaitl (EDM): 17G, 23A, 40P
T-7 — Nikita Kucherov (TBL): 13G, 27A, 40P
T-7 — Jack Eichel (VGK): 12G, 28A, 40P
11 — Leo Carlsson (ANA): 17G, 22A, 39P
T-12 — Mark Scheifele (WPG): 16G, 22A, 38P
T-12 — Kyle Connor (WPG): 15G, 23A, 38P
T-14 — Wyatt Johnston (DAL): 16G, 21A, 37P
T-14 — Cale Makar (COL): 10G, 27A, 37P
It’s no coincidence that three of the league’s top five teams come from the Central Division: the league-leading Avalanche, the versatile second-place Stars, and the red-hot Minnesota Wild, who are tied for fifth. The Wild don’t have a player in the top 15, but with Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov hovering in the top 20, they’re getting star-level production from their best players.
Is There a Pattern Emerging?
This trend mirrors something I wrote recently about Tampa Bay being the only team in the Atlantic Division with a positive goal differential — and now they’re the only Eastern Conference team with a top-15 scorer. Strange how that works, but it raises a real question: is there a correlation between high-end elites and division performance?
The league in November: “Is Kucherov cooked?”
The league by December: “Oh. Right.” pic.twitter.com/LTR9ICNuSM
— NICK PAUL’S HYPEMAN (@NPaul_20) December 12, 2025
The Western Conference appears to have more of the league’s true superstar firepower this season, while the Eastern Conference is more tightly packed, more competitive, and more chaotic. In the East, no team is running away with anything, and every point has felt like it’s earned in overtime.
Whether it’s a fluke, a developing trend, or the start of a multi-year shift in NHL power, the numbers are impossible to ignore. The West is loaded with top-end talent pacing the league. The East is grinding out one-goal games night after night. And somewhere in the middle, the scoring race might end up revealing more than just who wins the Art Ross.