The Week Ahead: Colorado Hits the Road

Welcome to December. There are 50 games on tap this week as the NHL has passed the Thanksgiving mark, a crucial point in many seasons, as teams in a playoff spot on Thanksgiving tend to make the postseason at the end of the campaign.

All statistics are through Saturday's games unless otherwise noted.  

WEEK OF DECEMBER 2-8

4 Games – Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, New York Islanders, Seattle, Toronto, Winnipeg

3 Games – Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, St. Louis, Utah, Vancouver, Vegas, Washington

2 Games – Anaheim, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay

Colorado, Columbus and Seattle play all four games on the road.

Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto play three games at home.

Dallas, Nashville, San Jose and St. Louis play three games on the road.

ANAHEIM

Games this week: vs. Vegas, vs. Minnesota

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Vegas (Wednesday)

Notes: The Ducks only play twice this week...John Gibson seems to have taken over the No. 1 spot in goal as he has started in six of the last nine games...Cutter Gauthier has three goals and 10 points in 22 games this season, including two goals and four points on the power play. He has three multi-point efforts, so you can see the talent is there for the fifth-overall pick in 2022.

BOSTON

Games this week: vs. Detroit, @ Chicago, vs. Philadelphia

Tired: @ Chicago (Wednesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Bruins have really struggled this season, with a 11-11-3 record heading into action Saturday and currently out of a playoff spot...Jeremy Swayman is turning his game around. He has given up only four goals on 70 shots in his last three games...Pavel Zacha is the No. 1 center with the Bruins and plays on the first power play. He has only five goals and five assists in 25 games and that includes his three-point night Wednesday.

BUFFALO

Games this week: vs. Colorado, vs. Winnipeg, vs. Utah

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Sabres are 11-10-2 heading into Saturday's action, just one point out of the second wild-card spot...Rasmus Dahlin has six goals and 19 points in 23 games, including eight points with the man-advantage...Owen Power has three goals and 15 points in 23 contests but is yet to garner a point on the power play...Tage Thompson returned to action after missing five games with a lower-body injury. He is pointless in two games since his return.

CALGARY

Games this week: vs. Columbus, vs. St. Louis, @ Dallas

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Flames have been getting outstanding goaltending from Dustin Wolf, who is 8-4-1 with a 2.60 GAA and a .918 save percentage across 13 starts despite losing his last two games...Connor Zary saw his four-game point streak come to an end Friday. The 23-year-old has five goals and 12 points in 24 games...Jonathan Huberdeau continues to languish as a Calgary Flame. He had 115 points in his final season in Florida in 2021-22, but has only 121 points in 185 games with the Flames, including eight goals and 14 points this season.

CAROLINA

Games this week: vs. Seattle, vs. Colorado, @ New York Islanders

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Hurricanes continue to have goaltending woes as Spencer Martin and Yaniv Perets are manning the net while Frederik Andersen (knee surgery) and Pyotr Kochetkov (concussion) are out of the lineup...Seth Jarvis is heating up as he has three goals and seven points in his last five games...Defenseman Jalen Chatfield has two goals and four points in his last seven appearances.

CHICAGO  

Games this week: @ Toronto, vs. Boston, vs. Winnipeg

Tired: @ Toronto (Monday)

Rested: vs. Boston (Wednesday)

Notes: Connor Bedard has a point in each of his last two games, including his first goal in 13 contests. The undisputed best player from the 2023 Draft, Bedard has four goals and 17 points in 23 games after striking for 22 goals and 61 points in 68 appearances as a rookie last season...Taylor Hall had a hat trick Wednesday, but that only gives him five goals in 22 games this season.

COLORADO

Games this week: @ Buffalo, @ Carolina, @ Detroit, @ New Jersey

Tired: @ New Jersey (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Avalanche play four games this week, including three games in four nights...They made a big trade Saturday morning, sending 24-year-old goaltender Justus Annunen to Nashville for Scott Wedgewood. It would not surprise me to see Wedgewood get a shot at being the No. 1 goaltender with Colorado as Alexandar Georgiev has been a disaster in goal this season...Casey Mittelstadt has only one goal and one assist in his last 10 games.

COLUMBUS

Games this week: @ Calgary, @ Edmonton, @ Vancouver, @ Winnipeg  

Tired: @ Vancouver (Friday)

Rested: @ Winnipeg (Sunday)

Notes: The Blue Jackets swing through Western Canada all week, playing four times, including three games in four nights...Elvis Merzlikins should get at least two starts and possibly three with Daniil Tarasov starting the remainder of the games...Dmitri Voronkov has a five-game scoring streak in which he has three goals and four assists. He has five goals and 10 points in 13 games this season.

DALLAS

Games this week: @ Utah, @ Los Angeles, @ Vegas, vs. Calgary

Tired: @ Utah (Monday)

Rested: None

Notes

Jason Robertson picked up 109 points two seasons ago and "slumped" last season to 80. It has been a tough go of it for Robertson this season as he has only five goals and 13 points in 22 games...Good thing for Dallas that Mason Marchment has been red-hot of late as the winger has seven goals and 15 points in his last nine games...Jake Oettinger continues to excel as he has won six of his last seven starts.

DETROIT

Games this week: @ Boston, @ Ottawa, vs. Colorado   

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Red Wings hope that Patrick Kane (upper body) will be able to return Tuesday in Boston. He will miss his fourth straight game Sunday...Kane has a goal and an assist in his last nine appearances, giving the 26-year-old three goals and 10 points in 20 contests...Moritz Seider has settled into his spot as the top defenseman and quarterback of the first power play for the Red Wings. He has two goals and 11 assists in 23 games, including five helpers on the power play.

EDMONTON

Games this week: @ Vegas, vs. Columbus, vs. St. Louis

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Oilers should get Zach Hyman (undisclosed) back in the lineup this week. He has missed the last four games and has only three goals and five assists in 20 games after sniping 54 regular-season goals in 2023-24...Connor McDavid had only 10 points in his first 10 games, but has 21 points in his last 11 appearances...Viktor Arvidsson is likely to miss all three games this week. The veteran winger was signed in the offseason but has been a huge disappointment with only five points in 16 games.

FLORIDA

Games this week: @ Pittsburgh, @ Philadelphia, vs. San Jose

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Panthers are starting to flex their muscles as the defending Stanley Cup champions beat Toronto and Carolina twice this week...Sam Reinhart has points in 16 of his last 17 games, picking up 13 goals and 23 points...Aaron Ekblad is starting to find his offensive game again. He has a goal and six assists in his last eight games, including two on the first power play.

LOS ANGELES

Games this week: vs. Dallas, vs. Minnesota

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Minnesota (Saturday)

Notes: The Kings only play twice this week...Warren Foegele is seeing time on the top line, alongside Anze Kopitar, but he has only two assists in his last eight games...Kopitar had 12 points in nine games before he was held off the scoresheet in Anaheim on Friday...David Rittich is seeing a lot more action in goal than most pundits thought when Darcy Kuemper was dealt to the Kings. But with Kuemper on the sideline, Rittich is 8-6-0 with a 2.52 GAA this season in 15 appearances.

MINNESOTA

Games this week: vs. Vancouver, @ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles

Tired: @ Los Angeles (Saturday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Wild are headed to California after facing Vancouver at home Tuesday...Marc-Andre Fleury is 5-0-1 and currently has the longest winning streak in the league...Filip Gustavsson has been arguably the best netminder in the NHL as the 26-year-old is 10-4-3 with a 2.05 GAA and a scintillating .929 save percentage...Mats Zuccarello is 1-2 weeks away from returning after undergoing surgery on his lower-body.

MONTREAL

Games this week: vs. New York Islanders, vs. Nashville, vs. Washington

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Nashville (Thursday) vs. Washington (Saturday)

Notes: The Canadiens are home for all three games and are rested for the final two contests...Mike Matheson has been the Canadiens top offensive threat from the blue line. He has two goals and 12 points in 21 games this season...Cole Caufield leads Montreal with 14 goals...Kirby Dach has not scored in 14 games and added only four assists.

NASHVILLE

Games this week: @ Toronto, @ Montreal, @ Ottawa

Tired: @ Montreal (Thursday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Predators play three games in four nights...Look for Juuse Saros to play twice with Justus Annunen playing once...The Predators dealt Scott Wedgewood to Colorado for Annunen and a fifth-round pick in 2025...Nashville wanted to get younger in the backup role and the 24-year-old Annunen is eight years younger than Wedgewood...Roman Josi leads the Predators with 22 points. He has seven goals.

NEW JERSEY

Games this week: @ New York Rangers, vs. Seattle, vs. Colorado

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Seattle (Friday), vs. Colorado (Sunday)

Notes: The Devils are home and rested Friday and Sunday when they face tired teams Seattle and Colorado respectively...Jack Hughes is coming around. He has nine goals and 29 points in 27 games this season, but he has been hot of late with 17 points in his last 12 appearances...Luke Hughes has assists in four of his last five games.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Games this week: @ Montreal, vs. Seattle, vs. Carolina, @ Ottawa

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Islanders are in action four times this week, including three contests in four days...Ilya Sorokin should get three starts with Semyon Varlamov starting once...Mathew Barzal (upper body) was injured a month ago and given a 4-6 week timeline, so he could possibly return this week...Noah Dobson has a goal and 10 points in 25 appearances...Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson lead the Islanders with 10 goals.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Games this week: vs. New Jersey, vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Seattle

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Rangers are floundering...They eked out a 4-3 win at home Saturday against the lowly Canadiens and are holding on to the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference...Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist Saturday, giving him five goals and 12 helpers in 23 games...Chris Kreider has yet to pick up an assist this season in 20 games, but he does have nine goals.

OTTAWA 

Games this week: vs. Detroit, vs. Nashville, vs. New York Islanders

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Senators play three games in four nights as they return home from their trip to California...Linus Ullmark should get at least two starts, while Anton Forsberg will get the call once...Shane Pinto has been a huge disappointment this season. The 24-year-old has only one goal and two assists in 14 games this season. The Senators were hoping that Pinto would provide secondary scoring, after he managed nine goals and 18 assists in 41 games last season, but that has not come to fruition.

PHILADELPHIA

Games this week: vs. Florida, @ Boston, vs. Utah

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Flyers play three games in four nights...They hope to have Samuel Ersson (lower body) back for at least one game as he's missed nine straight, but if not, expect to see Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov to share the net...Travis Konecny has been on fire of late with eight goals and 20 points in his last 13 contests...Travis Sanheim has two goals and nine points in his last nine games.

PITTSBURGH

Games this week: vs. Florida, @ New York Rangers, vs. Toronto

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Penguins are all of a sudden hot...They have won three straight games, led by Sidney Crosby, who has points in eight of his last nine games...The Penguins picked up Philip Tomasino from Nashville for a 2027 fourth-round pick and he has paid immediate dividends with two goals in his first three games...Kris Letang had a goal and two assists in Saturday's 6-2 win over Calgary.

SAN JOSE

Games this week

@ Washington, @ Tampa Bay, @ Florida

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Sharks are on the road for all three games this week...Macklin Celebrini has eight goals and six assists in 15 games...The 18-year-old center has been hot of late with four goals and nine points in his last six games...Will Smith, the Sharks' other fine rookie, has three goals and seven points in his last four games...Vitek Vanecek could be in danger of losing his spot on the roster with Yaroslav Askarov breathing down his back. Vanecek picked up the win Friday, despite giving up five goals on 31 shots in an 8-5 win over the Kraken.         

SEATTLE

Games this week: @ Carolina, @ New York Islanders, @ New Jersey, @ New York Rangers

Tired: @ New Jersey (Friday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Kraken play four times, including three in four nights...Joey Daccord should get at least two starts, and possibly three, while Philipp Grubauer will get the remainder of the starts...Vince Dunn finally returned to the lineup Saturday after missing 19 games with an upper-body injury. He should regain his spot on the top power-play unit, alongside Brandon Montour...Shane Wright had a three-game scoring streak heading into action Saturday, including three goals and two assists, but was held off the scoresheet versus the Sharks.

ST. LOUIS

Games this week: @ Winnipeg, @ Calgary, @ Edmonton

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Blues fired head coach Drew Bannister this week and replaced him with former Boston bench boss, Jim Montgomery...Montgomery was an assistant coach with the Blues a few seasons ago and has a great relationship with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich to name a couple of players...Thomas has a goal and three assists six games since returning from a broken ankle that cost him 12 games.

TAMPA BAY

Games this week: vs. San Jose, @ Vancouver

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Nikita Kucherov missed Saturday's game versus Toronto with an undisclosed injury or illness. The hope is that he is ready to play this week...If not, the Lightning only play twice so it shouldn't hurt poolies too much...Andrei Vasilevskiy is 1-3-0 in his last four appearances, giving up 15 goals on 113 shots...Victor Hedman has assists in each of his last three games and surpassed Martin St. Louis' team record with his 589th career helper Saturday.

TORONTO

Games this week: vs. Chicago, vs. Nashville, vs. Washington, @ Pittsburgh

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Chicago (Monday)

Notes: The Maple Leafs play four times this week, including three games in four nights...Look for Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll to share the net...Auston Matthews returned to the lineup Saturday for the first time in 10 games and had a pair of assists in a 5-3 win in Tampa Bay...The Leafs placed Bobby McMann on injured reserve Saturday with an upper-body injury...Matthew Knies returned from an upper-body injury that cost him a pair of games Saturday and scored his ninth of the season.

UTAH

Games this week: vs. Dallas, @ Buffalo, @ Philadelphia

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Dallas (Monday)

Notes: Barrett Hayton has a pair of assists Saturday, giving the 24-year-old center three helpers in his last three games...Hayton has five goals and 11 points in 24 games this season and has been an offensive disappointment after he was drafted fifth overall in 2018...Logan Cooley is heating up. The second-line center has a five-game point streak, scoring three times while adding five assists. He has four goals and 20 points in 24 contests.

VANCOUVER

Games this week: @ Minnesota, vs. Columbus, vs. Tampa Bay

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Columbus (Friday)

Notes: The Canucks finish a six-game road trip this week...Conor Garland is averaging 19:25 of ice time this season, up almost five minutes per game over 2023-24...Thatcher Demko (knee) could return to action this week...If so, the Canucks will bring him along slowly so Kevin Lankinen will still see plenty of action...Elias Pettersson has five goals and 13 points in his last 10 games.

VEGAS

Games this week: vs. Edmonton, @ Anaheim, vs. Dallas

Tired: @ Anaheim (Wednesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Golden Knights play three games in four nights...Adin Hill should get two starts with Ilya Samsonov playing once...Samsonov is 2-2-0 in his last four starts, but has allowed 16 goals on 126 shots...Pavel Dorofeyev has acclimated nicely to the top line, alongside Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev. Dorofeyev has three goals and five points in his last six games.

WASHINGTON

Games this week: vs. San Jose, @ Toronto, @ Montreal

Tired: @ Montreal (Saturday)

Rested: None

Notes: Washington seems to be handling the loss of Alex Ovechkin (fractured fibula) quite well as they have won four in a row to move into first place in the Metropolitan Division...John Carlson has a goal and four assists in his last three games, giving the defenseman 19 points in 24 contests...Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his fourth of the season and added an assist (13) in the Capitals 6-5 win over New Jersey on Saturday.

WINNIPEG

Games this week: vs. St. Louis, @ Buffalo, @ Chicago, vs. Columbus

Tired: vs. Columbus (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Jets play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Connor Hellebuyck should patrol the crease in three games with Eric Comrie playing once...The Jets have been caught atop the Central Division as Minnesota also has 36 points in 24 games. The two teams lead the NHL in points...Nikolaj Ehlers suffered a lower-body injury Friday and is day-to-day...Neal Pionk continues to impress offensively as he has four goals and 20 points in 24 appearances.