The Capitals, Hurricanes and Panthers have a lot to be grateful for this season – The Athletic

Welcome to only NHL important power rankings. We are very grateful to you.

We started working on a Christmas-related theme this week, but we’ve had more than enough time in December for all of that. Thanksgiving – some, erroneously and disrespectfully, call it “American Thanksgiving” – deserves its own space. Christmas Creep must be fought in all its forms.

So we’ve kept it simple. Every team, even the stinky ones, should have counted their blessings on Thursday. There are good around every corner. Never forget it.

This week’s lace-up? Percent point. Anything more complicated would cut Sean’s “cramming, football and Chardonnay at his mom’s house” time.

first. Florida Panthers

Record: 14-2-3 Last Week: 2Dom Rank: 1 Sean Rank: 1

What should this team be grateful for? The sacred ground of FLA Live Arena. The Panthers play in one of the sport’s true cathedrals – its current name came to be known as somewhere between zero and one of us last week – and they staunchly defend it. The Panthers won 11-0-0 at home, marking an early-season home streak record set by the Blackhawks in 1962 at a nasty old dump.

Dom: Second in expected goals with a ratio of 5 vs 5 Sergei Bobrovsky second in terms of goals conceded above expected make up a damn hockey team. Panthers are currently a wagon and the fact that they are still rolling, shoots at all cylinders without Alexander Barkov is a testament to their immense depth.