NHL Power Rankings: Where Each Team Stands Before Thanksgiving Break | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

It’s Thanksgiving week in the US.

That means big meals and heavy preparation are headed to kitchens and dining rooms across the country, but for those who consider themselves hockey types, there’s more.

Recent NHL history suggests that any team in a playoff position through the holiday week — the quarter-pole of the season — is in a particularly good position when it comes to holding onto that spot when the season finale arrives in the spring.

It’s familiar news in many cities around the league.

Six of the eight teams now in a playoff spot in the two conferences were in the tournament in 2023-24, including both of last season’s top seeds — the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars — and the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

The Buffalo Sabers and New Jersey Devils have so far crashed the eastern party, while the western newcomers are the Minnesota Wild and the Calgary Flames.

The Sabers would be especially newsworthy if they hold on to what is now the second wild-card spot in the East, given their league-high run of 13 straight seasons without a postseason berth.

The B/R hockey team has waded into the standings ahead of the turkey and combined for voting purposes to compile this week’s rankings. Votes were cast giving 32 points for first place all the way down to a single point for no. 32.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop your own thoughts in the app comments.