December 19, 2022
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — We’re now a matter of hours from the holiday roster freeze in the NHL, and some teams’ offenses are already ice-cold.

Starting one week from today, the eyes of a few fanbases near the bottom of the standings will undoubtedly be on the World Juniors to see how Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli perform. Let the fantasy drafting begin!

For other fans, the roster freeze beginning tonight is just a box getting checked on the way to what could become a busy January with moves coming to maneuver up the standings. Injuries are starting to pile up for teams with playoff aspirations, so adding might be a necessity.

As always, let us know what we got right and where we’re terribly wrong. And happy holidays from all of us at The Fourth Period!

32. Chicago Blackhawks

Inside of one week they allowed Alex Ovechkin’s 800th goal and celebrated Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews skating in 1,000 games together. On both of those nights, the Blackhawks allowed seven goals. They’ve scored seven total during their seven-game losing streak.

31. Anaheim Ducks

Congrats for moving out of the cellar, Ducks fans! With two straight losses, your lottery balls aren’t sitting as favorably as they were last week. They’re still just 4-13-3 away from Anaheim, however.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets

The worst part of the Jackets being this low is they’ve played 19 of their 30 games on home ice; they’re 2-8-1 on the road, so maybe it could be worse?

29. Philadelphia Flyers

With a minus-29 goal differential, the Flyers are heading the wrong direction. Healthy scratching their leading scorer? Bold strategy.

28. Arizona Coyotes

Posting just a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 could probably have them lower many weeks but the bottom of the barrel right now in the NHL is really, really bad (cough, Bedard, cough).

27. San Jose Sharks

On the positive, they’ve scored 100 goals this season. Unfortunately, they’ve won only three of 17 games on home ice to start the season.

26. Nashville Predators

Their six-game losing streak would stand out more if not for Chicago’s seven-game skid. The Preds’ offense is one of the worst in the league right now (72 goals in 29 starts).

25. Detroit Red Wings

By virtue of a five-game losing streak, the Wings slide back in the power rankings this week. They’re just 2-6-2 in their last 10 and are fading quickly before the holidays.

24. Montreal Canadiens

The Habs are just 3-6-1 in their last 10 and losers of three straight. Even with all of the good vibes around their young top line earlier in the year, they have a minus-21 goal differential entering the new week.

23. Ottawa Senators

At least Alex DeBrincat’s offense woke up recently. He’s been on fire for the Sens the last couple weeks. They’ve won six of their last ten.

22. Vancouver Canucks

Still trying to find consistency in anything but trade rumors, the Canucks are 6-4-0 in their last 10 but still have a minus-15 goal differential.

21. St. Louis Blues

Their three-game win streak has the Blues “improving” to 4-5-1 in their last 10. They have a minus-19 goal differential.

20. Calgary Flames

It feels like every week we wonder when they’re going to find “it,” but the search continues. Calgary is just 4-3-3 in their last 10.

19. New York Islanders

At just 4-5-1 in their last 10, the Isles have hit a rough patch. They still have a plus-13 goal differential but their recent skid hasn’t helped their position in a tough division.

18. Los Angeles Kings

They’re 5-3-2 in their last 10 but still have a negative-10 goal differential. We keep wondering if the wins are going to come, or that goal differential is telling us something more.

17. Colorado Avalanche

Injuries be damned, they’re 4-5-1 in their last 10 with some of their best players not available. And they’re still clinging to a plus-nine goal differential on the year (thanks in large part to quality defense).

16. Florida Panthers

The Panthers are a .500 team in their last 10 and are still chasing it away from home. They need a healthy, consistent Sacha Barkov to get back to driving the train.

15. Buffalo Sabres

Are we ready to put Tage Thompson in the Hart conversation? He’s special. And he’s a huge reason the Sabres suddenly have a plus-17 goal differential and have points in eight of their last ten games.

14. Edmonton Oilers

Losers of their last two and five of their last ten, the Oilers only having a plus-five goal differential in 32 starts remains one of our biggest concerns in the entire league.

13. Seattle Kraken

They’re just 5-5-0 in their last 10 and have a plus-seven goal differential. This team is still exceeding expectations, and make us wonder when they might add to make this season a little stronger.

12. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets are 6-4-0 in their last 10 but news that Blake Wheeler and Nate Schmidt are going to miss the next four weeks (at least) is a blow to a team that was playing really well.

11. Washington Capitals

They’ve had a good bounce as Ovi hit 800, winning seven of their last 10 and rolling up the standings. We’ll see how long it takes him to catch/pass Gordie Howe this week.

10. New Jersey Devils

Wow they fell a lot, you say. Well, a five-game losing streak will do that. The Devils are 4-4-2 in their last 10 and the door is once again wide open in that division.

9. Dallas Stars

At just 6-2-2 in their last 10, the Stars will undoubtedly benefit from the injuries hitting Winnipeg right now. That, and the bottom of the Central being really, really bad.

8. Minnesota Wild

If the Stars have one team to keep an eye on right now, it’s the hot Wild who are riding a five-game win streak into the new week. They’re 8-2-0 in their last 10 and are sprinting up the Central standings.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins

Now we’re at the part of the standings where the leaders of the pack start to separate themselves. The Pens (plus-19 goal differential) are 9-3-2 at home.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning

Ho hum, just another 8-2-0 over 10 for the Bolts. Winners of five in a row with a plus-24 goal differential, even with all of the offseason departures they’re reminding us what a well-run organization looks like.

5. Vegas Golden Knights

With a goal differential of plus-19 and a 6-4-0 record in their last 10, the Knights slide a little this week despite being one of two teams in the league with 45 points entering Monday.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs

They’ve only lost in regulation twice in their last ten, but that’s good enough for fourth this week. Their plus-25 goal differential is strong.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

How the heck does a team that doesn’t have a regulation loss in their last ten not make the top two? It’s that tough right now in the Power Rankings, even though the Canes have won five straight entering Monday.

2. New York Rangers

The Blueshirts hammered the Blackhawks (yeah, the Blackhawks) on Sunday night. But that extended their win steak to an NHL-best seven games entering Monday. They’re up to a plus-19 goal differential and are starting to get scoring from all over the roster.

1. Boston Bruins

It’s the week of Christmas and the Bruins still don’t have a regulation loss on home ice. Seriously...