It’s official. The 2024-25 NHL season is one-quarter of the way complete. As everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving meal and most presumably the leftovers, it’s important to take note of The NHL’s standings. Ever since the 2005-06 season, when shootouts were introduced, a touch over 75% of teams who find themselves holding down a playoff spot on Thanksgiving (US Thanksgiving, not Canadian) go on to qualify for the big tournament after the regular season concludes. 

Now, 75% is not a guarantee of a playoff berth, far from it. But considering that Thanksgiving coincides with the quarter-way point of the season, it’s regarded as an unofficial benchmark for every team in The League. At this point in the season, you no longer have to worry about “small sample sizes.” You have enough evidence and data to accurately deduce what kind of team you are. Sure, things can change. A key player could get injured and miss an extended period of time. Conversely, an important player could return after missing the beginning of the season. A blockbuster trade can occur. A Coach can get fired. The list goes on and on. You get the point. 

So, now that The League has made it to this point, let’s quickly check in to see which teams are currently sitting in playoff spots. (Standings as of the start of play on Thanksgiving Eve). 

Over in The Metropolitan Division, the New Jersey Devils lead the way and are followed by the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals. The Atlantic Division’s Top Three are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. 

In The Central Division, you have the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars leading the way. And in The Pacific Division, your leaders are the Vegas Golden Knights, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. 

Lastly, your two Wild Card teams in The Eastern Conference are the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres while the Western Conference’s Wild Card teams are the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche. 

Things can obviously change this weekend, but when The League began its’ games on Thanksgiving Eve, that’s who your playoff teams were. So, if we apply that 75% historical rate, then that means 12 of those 16 teams should qualify for The Stanley Cup Playoffs. Care to venture any guesses as to which of the 12 that might be?

Wednesday night, 30 of The NHL’s 32 teams were in action (only the Utah Hockey Club and Edmonton Oilers were getting a headstart on their Turkey Festivities). One of those games featured the Devils hosting the Blues in an inter-conference matchup that served several purposes. 

For one, New Jersey defenseman, Luke Hughes played in his 100th NHL game. Two, new Blues’ Head Coach Jim Montgomery extended his perfect record with St. Louis to 2-0. And three, it saw the Devils get their three-game win streak snapped as they fell to the Blues 3-0.

The 3-0 defeat for the Devils sent them into the holiday with a bad taste in their mouths. Robert Thomas opened the scoring with a slapshot goal just nine seconds into the game. Then, 6:14 after Thomas’ goal, Dylan Holloway wired a shot from below the right face-off dot to double the Blues’ lead to 2-0. With just 3:55 left in the first period, Holloway struck again as he batted in a fluttering puck to extend the Blues’ lead to 3-0.

“Minus the first 15 minutes today, we’re coming off a good stretch,” Jacob Markstrom said after the game. “I feel like the guys are working hard and we’re building something special. But, you want, myself included, you want the lows to not be so low and if you have one, you want it to be quick.”

That was all the scoring either team could muster in the game as the Blues went into a defensive shell from that point onward. New Jersey mounted attempts in the second and third periods to crack through but to no avail. In the second period alone, New Jersey outshot St. Louis 12-1 and came away with nothing to show for it. 

This is one game to wipe from the memory banks. Just adopt the next game up mentality and get ready for a Black Friday affair with the Red Wings in Detroit