play1:18Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game HighlightsPittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game Highlights
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Nashville Predators: Game Highlights (1:19)Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Nashville Predators: Game Highlights (1:19)
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game HighlightsPittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game Highlights
Is it Andrew Brunette? In his third year coaching the Nashville Predators, Brunette’s team just can’t find chemistry, despite having some terrific players on the roster.
The Maple Leafs are struggling; there’s no question. After finishing first in the Atlantic Division last season, they’re near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, with 35 points through 34 games. They have allowed 113 goals, the 12th most in the league, and more surprisingly, have scored 108 goals themselves; that’s good for 15th in the NHL but much lower than their expected output (especially compared to recent seasons). The loss of Mitch Marner has certainly played a part.
But after a particularly stinging loss against the Predators, the postgame quotes painted quite an interesting picture.
“Yeah, it is. It’s mental, for sure. We’ve got to get through it,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told reporters. “We’ve got to get over that. We’ve got to make better decisions throughout the game.”
But then there’s this from captain Auston Matthews: “I think mentally we’re fine. I thought tonight, as s—-y as it is losing, I thought the process was better. I thought we had good energy all night. And even though you’re leaving the rink upset, not getting out of any points in tonight’s game, I think just the process that we had throughout is something that we can take and move forward.”
Two quotes a fired coach does not make, but in a hockey-crazed market like Toronto, they will certainly get people asking more questions. The spotlight is simply brighter and the leeway a bit shorter.
The Leafs have lost two in a row; what if the streak reaches five? Of course, the Leafs have been hit by the injury bug — but many other teams have, too. Toronto will be an interesting team to keep an eye on in the next few weeks, especially after the holiday roster freeze lifts.
Jump ahead: Games of the week What I loved this weekend Hart Trophy candidates Social post of the week Stick taps
Speaking of Hughes, he has a goal and two assists in four games with Minnesota so far, looking dangerous with Brock Faber as the Wild’s top defensive pairing. Maybe we can get Nick Saban to join during the intermissions since he just bought a minority stake in the Predators. Hey, a guy can dream!
The Colorado Avalanche-Vegas Golden Knights game has a lot of fire power, and Colorado still has just two regulation losses through 34 games. They are appointment viewing so long as they keep pace for the NHL season points record, which they are on pace to break.
Phillip Danault is back with the Canadiens — will the pizza tradition continue if they make the playoffs?
The Bolts have regressed after a hot start in late October and November; they are 3-6-1 in their past 10. Both teams are dealing with injuries. Both teams have a very viable shot of being playoff teams in an Eastern Conference that is starting to see a little separation after they were superglued together by the end of November.
The Habs have had a goaltending conundrum this season, eventually calling up Jacob Fowler to alleviate the concerns of the play of Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes. The 21-year-old rookie, who played his college hockey at Boston College, earned a shutout in the fourth start of his NHL career, stopping all 31 shots the Pittsburgh Penguins sent towards goal. Fowler became the youngest Canadiens goalie with a clean sheet since Carey Price in 2007-08.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game Highlights
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game Highlights
Speaking of young achievements on the Canadiens, Lane Hutson became the fourth fastest American defenseman to reach 100 career points (119th game), behind only Mark Howe (94), Brian Leetch (102) and Phil Housley (106).
And speaking of the Penguins, I generally love the concept of “no lead is safe,” but we’ve had two examples that won’t exactly fill the respective fan bases’ hearts with joy. Last weekend, Pittsburgh became the first team in NHL history to squander multiple three-plus-goal leads in the third period in the same season. This weekend, the Hurricanes made it back-to-back games saying goodbye to three-goal leads then losing. Ouch.
Here I was thinking that Nathan MacKinnon would lead the way for the rest of the season while sleeping on McDavid … you just can’t do that! McDavid and MacKinnon are tied atop the points race, so they both get a Hart Trophy nod this week. Nate is on a seven-game point streak, with six points in his last three games. Connor, meanwhile, is on a nifty nine-game heater and has seven points in his past three games. This one could flip-flop like a pancake on a skillet for the rest of the season.
For that third spot, we’re taking a one-week hiatus from pushing the “goalie for Hart” narrative. Macklin Celebrini continues to shine bright like a diamond, on a team that is battling for a wild-card spot. So it’s the Return of the Mack for a Hart Trophy nod this week from me — Celebrini has 10 points in his past four games.
I have a few this week. First, stick taps to one of the greatest American hockey players of all time, Hilary Knight, who announced that the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics will be her last. Knight has played 105 international games across Olympic games and World championships, winning Olympic Gold and 10 World championships (no big deal). She was a great analyst to work with at ESPN — we hosted a couple Stanley Cup Final pregame shows for international markets together.
Stick taps to Auston Matthews, who recently said that he wishes there was a season two of “The Acolyte” (same, Auston, same).
Stick taps to anniversaries! Dec. 19 marked 46 years since ESPN aired its very first NHL game, the Hartford Whalers vs. the Washington Capitals at the Springfield Civic Center. The graphics from that game are peak retro!
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Nashville Predators: Game Highlights (1:19)Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Nashville Predators: Game Highlights (1:19)
Happy anniversary to the @NHL on ESPN. 46 years ago today in 1979, ESPN televised its first ever NHL game… @Capitals vs. Hartford Whalers at the Springfield Civic Center.Great trivia: the first NHL player to score a goal on ESPN was the Whalers’ RW Blaine Stoughton. 🏒 pic.twitter.com/isUSaX6EIP
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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Nashville Predators: Game Highlights (1:19)
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The NHL’s holiday break! Enjoy the time with your families.