The
Alex Ovechkin is chasing down career NHL goal No. 800. Follow along on ESPN and ESPN+ as Ovi scores his way up the record books.
Upcoming Caps games:
Dec. 9: vs. Seattle Kraken
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+
Dec. 11: at Winnipeg Jets
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+
Dec. 13: at Chicago Blackhawks
9 ET | ESPN
Dec. 15: vs. Dallas Stars
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+
Dec. 17: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
7 ET | NHL Power Play on ESPN+
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Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 54.17%
Next seven days: vs. OTT (Dec. 10), @ STL (Dec. 12), vs. EDM (Dec. 13), @ WPG (Dec. 15)
Patient. Nashville just goes about its business. The Predators weren’t getting hero-like goaltending from Juuse Saros, which hurt them early on, but lately Nashville has started to gain real traction and bank some solid victories.
Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 59.26%
Next seven days: @ NJ (Dec. 9), vs. CAR (Dec. 10), @ BOS (Dec. 13)
Stable. The Islanders have established a formula: excellent goaltending behind full-team defense supported by enough solid offense and special teams to get the job done. More often than not, it’s getting good results.
Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 62.00%
Next seven days: vs. FLA (Dec. 10), vs. SEA (Dec. 13), vs. CBJ (Dec. 15)
Steady. The Lightning embody that not-too-high-or-too-low cliche. They’ve scaled a few mountains, after all. Tampa Bay’s season started out rocky, but now the Lightning are winning more often when they should. Confidence appears to be building. Full steam ahead.
Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 56.00%
Next seven days: @ EDM (Dec. 9), @ VAN (Dec. 10), vs. EDM (Dec. 12), vs. DET (Dec. 14)
Adaptive. Minnesota turned the page on its slow start thanks to more complete team efforts and a record-setting (not to mention exhilarating-to-watch) Kirill Kaprizov, who now owns the longest goal and point streak in Wild history. GM Bill Guerin’s addition of Ryan Reaves to the mix is paying big dividends, too. Sometimes small changes can have a big impact.
Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 55.17%
Next seven days: @ MTL (Dec. 10), @ CBJ (Dec. 11), @ BUF (Dec. 13), @ BOS (Dec. 15)
Chaotic. L.A. has been all over the map, even more than usual lately. The overtime losses started building — like that mind-bending 9-8 defeat against Seattle — and the Cal Petersen drama was unexpected. The Kings need some wins, especially against good teams, on their current road swing.
Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 55.77%
Next seven days: @ CBJ (Dec. 9), @ TOR (Dec. 10), @ MTL (Dec. 12), vs. VAN (Dec. 14)
Streaky. The Flames posted consecutive wins only two times from late October to early December. They’ve vacillated on the ice from close loss to blowout win in 48 hours, and they recently shuffled in net from 2022 Vezina Trophy runner-up Jacob Markstrom to backup Dan Vladar. Who knows what’s next?
Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 56.25%
Next seven days: vs. NYR (Dec. 9), @ STL (Dec. 11), vs. PHI (Dec. 13), vs. BUF (Dec. 15)
Star-crossed. The reigning Stanley Cup champs cannot catch a break with injuries. It started with Gabriel Landeskog requiring surgery before the season even started and snowballed into a laughably long list of sidelined skaters that now includes Nathan MacKinnon. No surprise the losses are beginning to pile up.
Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 55.56%
Next seven days: vs. MIN (Dec. 9), @ MIN (Dec. 12), @ NSH (Dec. 13), vs. STL (Dec. 15)
Satisfactory. Edmonton is humming along on the backs of its top players without necessarily blowing anyone away. Which is fine. Jack Campbell‘s struggles in net have certainly slowed the Oilers down at times, but there’s plenty of talent there to keep them on track.
Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 55.36%
Next seven days: @ COL (Dec. 9), vs. NJ (Dec. 12), vs. TOR (Dec. 15)
Perplexing. New York’s season has been as head-scratching as its recent six-game run that included losses to Anaheim, Ottawa and Chicago. The Rangers have been an up-and-down .500 team when expectations were high that they’d pick up where last season ended — as enforcers of the East. There’s still time.
Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 55.56%
Next seven days: @ TB (Dec. 10), vs. SEA (Dec. 11), vs. CBJ (Dec. 13), vs. PIT (Dec. 15)
Fickle. Those Florida felines have fooled us a few times, following up runs of great hockey with confounding losses. But hey, these Panthers are never dull.
Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 53.85%
Next seven days: vs. LA (Dec. 10), vs. CGY (Dec. 12), @ OTT (Dec. 14), vs. ANA (Dec. 15)
Surprising. Montreal has turned heads. The team’s combination of forward talents — led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield — has challenged opponents and made the Canadiens an entertaining, unexpectedly successful group. Can they carry that momentum through midseason? Time will tell.
Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 48.08%
Next seven days: vs. PIT (Dec. 9), @ PIT (Dec. 10), vs. LA (Dec. 13), @ COL (Dec. 15)
Enlightening. Buffalo is learning on the job. Fueled by their rising stars (Tage Thompson, anyone?), the Sabres have stumbled and shone, struggled and recovered. It’s all part of the growth process from which Buffalo will benefit in the future.
Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 50.00%
Next seven days: vs. MIN (Dec. 10), @ CGY (Dec. 14)
Turbulent. Vancouver has had issues across the board. Lengthy winless streak? Check. Coaching uncertainty? Indeed. Drama surrounding star players (looking at you, Brock Boeser)? Of course. Somewhere in the middle of all that, the Canucks actually pulled themselves close to a playoff spot, only to promptly fall back out of it. But, of course, Vancouver’s been winning more of late. Where does that take it?
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 50.00%
Next seven days: vs. SEA (Dec. 9), @ WPG (Dec. 11), @ CHI (Dec. 13), vs. DAL (Dec. 15)
Mediocre. The Capitals’ most relevant storyline is Alex Ovechkin chasing history. Otherwise, Washington has been a run-of-the-mill squad, neither great nor terrible but somewhere in the crowded middle.
Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 44.44%
Next seven days: vs. COL (Dec. 11), vs. NSH (Dec. 12), @ EDM (Dec. 15)
Mystifying. Everything about St. Louis’ season gives you whiplash. The demoralizing eight-game losing skid. The resurgent seven-game win streak. Feisty Jordan Binnington picking fights. Top players producing, then not. Who are the real Blues?
Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 42.31%
Next seven days: @ NSH (Dec. 10), vs. ANA (Dec. 12), vs. MTL (Dec. 14)
Frustrating. Ottawa was supposed to be better than this. GM Pierre Dorion worked all offseason with that goal in mind. The Senators have just failed to come together often enough on the ice. Ottawa’s recent performances suggest hope for a potential turnaround, but the real question is why these Senators tripped so hard out of the gate.
Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 42.59%
Next seven days: @ VGK (Dec. 9), @ ARI (Dec. 11), @ COL (Dec. 13), @ NJ (Dec. 15)
Painful. The Flyers did have that 5-2-0 stretch out of the gate. They have not won five games total since. Injuries have been an issue, and goaltender Carter Hart could only do so much for so long. Philadelphia knew this season might be rough, and so it has been.
Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 36.21%
Next seven days: @ ANA (Dec. 9), vs. ANA (Dec. 13)
Dismal. San Jose has hovered — somewhat inexplicably — near the bottom of the league despite some top-end talents in the lineup. The Sharks have been one of this season’s underachievers, and it’ll be curious to see how GM Mike Grier goes about adjusting course.
Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 36.00%
Next seven days: vs. CGY (Dec. 9), vs. LA (Dec. 11), @ FLA (Dec. 13), @ TB (Dec. 15)
Cursed. But seriously. The Blue Jackets landing Johnny Gaudreau should have been a terrific omen for this season, which instead has been defined by who’s not in the lineup. Zach Werenski, Patrik Laine, Elvis Merzlikins, Jake Bean, Jakub Voracek; the list goes on of players who have missed time (some of them now out long term). That’s no excuse, though. Laine and Merzlikins are back, and the Blue Jackets still can’t avoid being regularly blown out.
Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 36.00%
Next seven days: vs. WPG (Dec. 9), vs. WSH (Dec. 13), vs. VGK (Dec. 15)
Predictable. Chicago was meant to be in the thick of the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. For the most part, that’s where the Blackhawks have remained — with some enjoyably competitive contests tossed in. But mostly Chicago appears to be staying on task.
Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 37.50%
Next seven days: vs. BOS (Dec. 9), vs. PHI (Dec. 11), @ SJ (Dec. 13)
Punishing. Any team could buckle under the weight of a 14-game road trip. The Coyotes have gotten some great goaltending from Karel Vejmelka, and their top players have made steady contributions, but there’s no denying the Coyotes’ early-season slate has had a negative impact.
Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 31.48%
Next seven days: vs. SJ (Dec. 9), @ OTT (Dec. 12), @ TOR (Dec. 13), @ MTL (Dec. 15)
Disappointing. Anaheim’s pool of young talent — led by the electrifying Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry — should at least keep them competitive. Yet the Ducks have managed a single regulation win this season and produced an alarming number of lopsided losses (with a few surprising overtime wins tossed in). The rebuild is clearly still on.
