An NHL team is a lot like Thanksgiving dinner.
A proper Thanksgiving dinner has all the fixings — any one missing dish can make the entire experience feel empty and unsatisfying. No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a turkey — the star of the show — but in order to really knock it out of the park, the turkey needs a proper supporting cast. In this week’s edition, we want to highlight the NHL’s real heroes: The side dishes that deserve recognition.
Here’s each team’s best cranberry sauce guy.
1. Colorado Avalanche, 17-1-5
Last week: 1
Sean: 1
Dom: 1
At the start of the season, we had faith in Sam Malinski as an everyday defenseman but wondered about his offensive ceiling. That seems to have been a little off the mark — he’s top 10 among D-men in Offensive Rating and top 20 points per 60, ahead of guys like Charlie McAvoy and Noah Dobson. Whoops. His defensive impacts have been completely solid, too. Nice to see something go the Avs’ way for a change this season.
2. Dallas Stars, 15-5-4
Last week: 3
Sean: 2
Dom: 3
Last week, we floated the idea that Miro Heiskanen is in the midst of a Norris-finalist type of season. He’s got the ideal running mate in Esa Lindell, who’s playing the same sort of mega-minutes to some incredible defensive results, even for him — the two are among the team’s leaders in expected goal share, and Lindell is top-10 among D-men in Defensive Rating.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning, 14-7-2
Last week: 8
Sean: 3
Dom: 2
As the Lightning defense is left in shambles, J.J. Moser is taking it upon himself to lead what’s left. He’s taken a huge step this season and leads Tampa Bay’s defenders in both xG percentage and goals percentage with some of the strongest marks in the league. Almost all of that impact is felt defensively, where Moser is becoming a vital piece for the Lightning.
4. Carolina Hurricanes, 14-7-2
Last week: 2
Sean: 5
Dom: 4
The Hurricanes were hoping K’Andre Miller could return to form after a tough 2024-25, and they’re getting just that. Miller is scoring at a career-high rate, and he’s delivering at five-on-five to the tune of a 57 percent xG. That he’s taken on tough minutes in Jaccob Slavin’s absence should not be overlooked, either.
5. Minnesota Wild, 13-7-4
Last week: 20
Sean: 4
Dom: 5
Before the season started, Marcus Johansson was a bit of an afterthought for the Wild. That’s not the case anymore, as he somehow has 20 points in 24 games. For a 35-year-old with one season scoring over 50 points (which was in 2016-17), that’s really impressive.
6. Anaheim Ducks, 14-8-1
Last week: 4
Sean: 6
Dom: 6
The kids are getting a lot of buzz right now, and so too are the ex-Rangers and the new coach. Flying a bit under the radar is the ultimate sidekick, Troy Terry. We always wondered what he’d look like with real talent and structure around him, and we’re getting a strong taste of it so far. He’s quietly scoring at a 93-point pace.
7. New Jersey Devils, 15-7-1
Last week: 5
Sean: 7
Dom: 7
Imagine sitting down for Thanksgiving and realizing that the gravy boat is missing. That’s been life for the Devils without Brett Pesce for the last month — with him on the ice, their goal differential per 60 increases by 1.35, thanks mainly to his ability to limit shots, shot attempts and quality chances. When he’s back, the meal will be complete.
8. Washington Capitals, 13-9-2
Last week: 8
Sean: 8
Dom: 8
It would be fair to call Matt Roy’s first season in Washington a tad disappointing. Roy looked like a premier defensive defenseman in his final season with Los Angeles, but was closer to ordinary with Washington. That’s not ideal for a player making $6.5 million per season, but Roy is making up for it in Year 2. He’s been a beast and ranks fifth in Defensive Rating.
9. Ottawa Senators, 12-7-4
Last week: 13
Sean: 9
Dom: 9
Should you be sold on the Sens as a legit contender just yet? Not really. Still, Michael Amadio fits the profile of a Guy Who Helps A Good Team — he’s popped in seven goals from the bottom six (1.08 per 60) and leads the team with an expected goal share over 60 percent.
10. Los Angeles Kings, 11-6-6
Last week: 11
Sean: 10
Dom: 11
It’s probably not ideal for the Kings that Corey Perry, a man old enough to have used dial-up internet, leads them in goals per 60, with 1.74. It should lessen the sting, though, that he’s ahead of players like Connor Bedard, Tage Thompson and Jack Hughes. Cup final loss, here they come!
11. Vegas Golden Knights, 10-5-8
Last week: 6
Sean: 11
Dom: 10
Between Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev, the Golden Knights are getting a lot of high-powered scoring. Falling through the cracks a bit is Ivan Barbashev, who has eight goals and 20 points in 23 games — with all but one assist happening at five-on-five. Barbashev not only leads the team in five-on-five points, but he’s tied for third in the league.
12. New York Islanders, 13-9-2
Last week: 9
Sean: 12
Dom: 13
While other Islanders defensemen reap the benefits of playing with Matthew Schaefer, Adam Pelech has steadily hung out on the second pair and played to, by far, the best expected goal share on the team (57.6 percent). That’s a nice security blanket to have for your 18-year-old megastar.
13. Florida Panthers, 12-10-1
Last week: 10
Sean: 14
Dom: 12
As Sam Bennett continues to save it all for the playoffs or something, the Panthers have needed someone to step up in the meantime. That someone is Evan Rodrigues, who has helped take on some tough minutes in the top six. Rodrigues was penciled in as a cap casualty before Aleksander Barkov’s injury, but he has looked like a crucial piece through the first two months.
14. Philadelphia Flyers, 12-7-3
Last week: 17
Sean: 13
Dom: 15
Already coming off a 25-goal season, Tyson Foerster has dialed up his production (1.1 to 1.48 goals per 60), has the best actual and expected goal shares among the Flyers’ forwards and is top 20 among forwards in Defensive Rating. It might be time to start treating him as more of a core piece than a side dish, but we wanted an excuse to point out how good he’s been.
15. Utah Mammoth, 12-9-3
Last week: 16
Sean: 15
Dom: 14
The Mammoth got one of their key side dishes back in the lineup just in time for Thanksgiving: Sean Durzi. The puck-moving defender had missed 21 games before his return, and his presence should provide some help to a blue line that needs it.
Mike Matheson has arguably been the Canadiens’ most important defensive piece. (Brett Holmes / Getty Images)
16. Montreal Canadiens, 12-7-3
Last week: 22
Sean: 16
Dom: 16
Last year, it felt like the majority of Canadiens fans wanted to run Mike Matheson out of town. Imagine what this team would look like without him. Matheson has been one of Montreal’s most indispensable players and arguably the team’s most important defensive piece. Turns out he can handle tough minutes … as long as he has a strong enough partner to do so.
Matheson serves as a good lesson for a lot of teams: Sometimes the defenseman with the hardest job deserves the benefit of the doubt.
17. Pittsburgh Penguins, 11-6-5
Last week: 15
Sean: 17
Dom: 18
Pittsburgh’s wobbly five-on-five play is something to watch as the season progresses, but Anthony Mantha has done his part thus far as a top-six option on a buy-low, sell-high, one-year deal. Six five-on-five goals tie him with Sidney Crosby for the team lead.
18. Winnipeg Jets, 12-10-0
Last week: 7
Sean: 18
Dom: 17
The Jets’ goalies didn’t give Dylan Samberg much help in his first five games back from a broken wrist, but he already seems to have resumed his ascent into one of the league’s best defensive defensemen. Winnipeg controlled 58 percent of the expected goal share with him on the ice, including an outstanding 2.07 expected goals against per 60.
19. Detroit Red Wings, 13-10-1
Last week: 21
Sean: 21
Dom: 19
The Red Wings are a difficult team for this exercise; what if a Thanksgiving dinner was just turkey? Detroit is either elite main courses or food you pretend to eat so you don’t hurt your aunt’s feelings. Ben Chiarot hasn’t been as awful as usual? That’s something! Yeah, we’ll go with that.
20. Columbus Blue Jackets, 11-9-4
Last week: 21
Sean: 20
Dom: 20
He’s dealing with a fresh injury, but Mathieu Olivier continues to add plenty to Columbus’ lineup. Yes, he’s one of the toughest dudes in the league, but he’s maintaining his overall offensive production (1.68 points per 60) and providing legitimate defensive value to the Blue Jackets’ middle six.
21. Boston Bruins, 14-11-0
Last week: 27
Sean: 19
Dom: 23
The Bruins have 78 goals, and 28 of them have been scored by two players (Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak). Good for those guys, but that ratio isn’t ideal. In any case, we’ve got plenty of time for Mark Kastelic, who adds a ton of physicality and solid puck possession numbers to the bottom six. The Tanner Jeannot-Fraser Minten-Kastelic line has been effective (81 percent goal share, 57 percent expected goal share).
22. Seattle Kraken, 11-6-6
Last week: 19
Sean: 22
Dom: 21
The Kraken’s issue, as ever, is that they’ve assembled a main-course-less meal. Whoops! We’ll use this space to mention Ryan Lindgren’s 2.5 Defensive Rating; that’s nice to see from a defenseman who, despite still being just 27, looked like he’d already emptied his tank.
23. New York Rangers, 12-11-2
Last week: 23
Sean: 23
Dom: 22
Remember J.T. Miller’s rant last week? He was correctly calling himself out for playing like cranberry sauce instead of ham. We’ll leave him out of this, though, and shout out Will Borgen, who was giving New York some high-end minutes on the second pair before some injury issues popped up. No Rangers D-man is on the ice for fewer expected goals per 60.
24. Chicago Blackhawks, 10-8-5
Last week: 18
Sean: 24
Dom: 24
Someone needs to do a study on what exactly is going on when Matt Grzelcyk is on the ice compared to when he’s not; the Blackhawks are literally two different teams. With him, they’re getting 57 percent of the expected goals. Without him, that drops to 40 percent. That’s night and day, and while some of that is because he’s sheltered, it’s certainly not all of it. Maybe it’s time to see what Grzelcyk has up the lineup — he certainly has some experience there from his Boston days.
25. Toronto Maple Leafs, 10-10-3
Last week: 26
Sean: 26
Dom: 25
The Leafs may look like a lost cause on most nights, but at least they’re getting vintage Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He’s up to 21 minutes a night while scoring 17 points in 23 games. For a team that’s desperate for offense from the blue line, Ekman-Larsson has been a bright spot.
26. San Jose Sharks, 11-10-3
Last week: 23
Sean: 25
Dom: 27
Yes, they’ve got some young guys of note in the mix, but Alex Wennberg has played his part in making the Sharks a relevant team — not just a fun one. If they fall out of the wild-card mix, you can bet on someone else gladly adding him and his solid defensive chops to their bottom six. He’s on Chris Johnston’s big board for a reason.
27. Edmonton Oilers, 10-10-5
Last week: 24
Sean: 27
Dom: 26
It’s still hard to fathom that Jack Roslovic was a free agent until Oct. 8. It’s even harder to fathom that the Oilers got the absolute best-case scenario from him — 17 points in 22 games — and are still a complete mess.
28. Vancouver Canucks, 10-12-2
Last week: 28
Sean: 28
Dom: 28
The Canucks are miraculously up 22-11 in Filip Hronek’s minutes and down 41-22 otherwise. That has a lot more to do with the .950 goaltending he’s getting behind him than any actual defense, but considering how bleak everything else is, it’s nice to know that there’s at least one Canuck whose shifts aren’t a total catastrophe (non-Quinn Hughes division).
29. Buffalo Sabres, 9-10-4
Last week: 31
Sean: 29
Dom: 30
There’s blame to go around in Buffalo, as always, but leave Josh Doan alone. He’s second on the Sabres in goals, first in expected goal share, and, thus far, is putting up a better Net Rating than trade-mate JJ Peterka (3.1 to 2.1).
30. St. Louis Blues, 7-10-7
Last week: 29
Sean: 30
Dom: 29
Four Blues have a goal differential that isn’t negative, and only one of them is a defenseman. Congratulations, Philip Broberg — and if you’re saying, “Sounds like St. Louis’ best players aren’t playing well enough, and that their role players aren’t playing well at all,” congratulations to you!
31. Calgary Flames, 8-14-3
Last week: 30
Sean: 31
Dom: 31
A lot of things have gone predictably wrong for the Flames, so it is worth noting one thing that has gone right: Kevin Bahl. Calgary signed him to a big deal last summer, and so far, he’s living up to it with a material defensive jump. His plus-2.5 Defensive Rating leads all Flames players and is among the top marks in the league.
32. Nashville Predators, 7-12-4
Last week: 32
Sean: 32
Dom: 32
Luke Evangelista is one of Nashville’s best scorers — which should tell you everything you need to know about the Predators this season. He’s had a decent first quarter, but that Evangelista is going from side dish to main course in Nashville is not an ideal sign for this team’s immediate future.
