The Chicago Blackhawks come out of the holiday break in dead last, 32nd place, of the NHL standings. At 13-17-6, they are trying to break a six-game losing streak against the 25-7-6 Dallas Stars. 

The break could not have come at a better time for Chicago. Their downward spiral came after a strong start to the season, but it is clear that the team has a long way to go at the NHL level. 

Scouting Dallas

The Dallas Stars are one of the best teams in the league. They have a handful of elite players spread across a lineup filled with depth at forward and defense. Their goalie, Jake Oettinger, is one of the best in the world at the position. He is projected to start against Chicago. 

Steel - Johnston - Rantanen

Robertson - Hintz - Bourque

Hryckowian- Duchene - Benn

Bäck - Faksa - Bastian 

Lindell - Heiskanen 

Harley - Lundkvist

Capobianco - Petrovic 

Oettinger

Mikko Rantanen is starting to look like himself now that he’s been in Dallas for a while. Other star forwards in their prime are around him, like Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, and Jason Robertson. 

On defense, it’s an amazing group led by Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley. The two of them play on different pairs, meaning one of them is on the ice for 3/4ths of the game. They are hard to create offense against, create chances themselves, and know how to cause a breakout. 

Veterans like their captain, Jamie Benn, and Matt Duchene are still incredibly productive, and they also provide leadership that allows the young players to learn how to play the right way. It’s a brilliant mix that the Blackhawks would love to find one day in the future. 

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The NHL schedule features a number of challenging tasks for certain teams throughout the year. One of them is being the road team the day after the holiday break. It’s extra difficult for Chicago because they have to take a long flight to Dallas. 

As a result, they have not hit the ice in four days. Their first time on will be warmups ahead of Saturday night’s game against the Stars. We won’t know line combinations until then. It is fair to assume that Spencer Knight will start after the long layoff; however, everything remains fluid. 

Ahead of the flight, the Blackhawks recalled forward Landon Slaggert to take the trip with them. With a back-to-back situation coming up (home vs the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday), it makes sense to have extra bodies. 

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. 

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The Winnipeg Jets have gone from first to worst. 

Coming out of last year's holiday break, the 25-10-1 Jets sat comfortably atop the Central Division, the Western Conference and the entire NHL league standings as a whole. 

Fast forward one calendar year, and the same team is sitting nearly dead-last in the 32-team league, unable to string together wins, and playing as a complete shadow of its former self. 

Currently at 15-17-3, Winnipeg is second-last in the league, just one point higher than the 32nd-place Chicago Blackhawks. 

It has been a disastrous first third of the season for Winnipeg, which captured the Presidents' Trophy last season by a considerable margin. 

With Connor Hellebuyck out for three weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery, the Jets plummeted below the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Utah Mammoth and Nashville Predators in a powerful Central Division. Backup netminder Eric Comrie did not do his part, but the fault was not solely on the shoulders of the long-time AHL backstop. 

Defensive lapses, a lack of offence and a failure to generate strong possession play has the Jets in a seemingly never-ending downward spiral, even with the return of their reigning Hart Trophy and Vezina and Jennings winning goaltender. 

Head coach Scott Arniel has found himself at a loss for words more often than not following less than ideal home and road performances, while his captain (who has clearly rushed himself back into the fold following his offseason hip surgery) has attempted to take the brunt of the blame for his team's dreadful start.

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff's offseason gambles have come up empty, spearheaded by the loss of speedster Nikolaj Ehlers, all the way through the depth, veteran signings of Jonathan Toews, Tanner Pearson and Gustav Nyquist. Chevy's lone salvageable signing has been Cole Koepke, who continues to finish checks, while providing a smooth-skating wing as a flank to whichever centreman he is paired up with in the team's bottom-six.

The Jets' top trio of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Gabe Vilardi have produced exactly as expected, but the offence pretty much stops after the top line. Josh Morrissey continues to dominate on the back-end, as he should, while Logan Stanley's offensive outburst has somehow managed to mask his daily defensive blunders enough to keep his place in the lineup, over the strong skating Haydn Fleury, or the youngster Elias Salomonsson. 

Lowry, Luke Schenn and Cole Perfetti might actually be the three slowest skaters in the NHL at this given moment. None of the three players are seemingly able to find that top gear, with or without the puck. Oh, and when Perfetti does collect the disc, he actually finds a way to skate slower than when he was opening up to receive it. 

Schenn has seen his moment of greatness flicker, while sources say that Lowry has admitted to returning sooner than he should have, and continues to deal with the effects of going under the knife this offseason. 

Vlad Namestnikov and Alex Iafallo have been 'alright', but it is Morgan Barron who has shone in his penalty killing, depth forward role, as he continues to do everything he should to get a better look at a top-six role - something his coach appears unwilling to consider. 

Dylan DeMelo, Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg have played hockey this season. Not great hockey, not bad hockey. They have simply played hockey for the Jets this year. Not much memorable thus far. 

Where this goes from here will fall on the shoulders of Arniel, Cheveldayoff and Co. to decide if a season-long tank job is a better choice for the organization that currently holds the No. 3 selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, or if its veteran roster can pull up its collective socks to right the quickly sinking ship in time for a season-long postseason push. 

Given the draft-and-develop mentality that has worked at times for the organization, and at other times, driven away top prospects, there is no time like the present to Waive some under-producers, give some of its top minor-league producers a chance, while allowing a few of the ECHL's striking crew to play meaningful AHL minutes as the farm works its way up to the big leagues. 

Whether the team decides to show out for Arniel over the next month, or opts to maintain its inconsistent evening showings, one thing is for certain, these are not the same Jets that we have seen over the course of the past two-plus seasons. And they will not return to that form unless some serious soul searching and changes occur. 

For now, it's an 'F' rating following the Christmas break. 

The Edmonton Oilers will be placing David Tomasek on waivers when the NHL roster freeze lifts at midnight on Saturday. He's already back in Sweden, getting ready to play games for his former team, while the Oilers will free up $1.2 million in cap space. 

On the surface, this money saved could be used to address some of the team's cap issues when the roster returns to full health. But could it also be used to sign a game-changing UFA?

Speculation around a potential Marc-André Fleury NHL comeback is gaining momentum as injuries and goaltending questions remain in Edmonton. The buzz intensified following Tristan Jarry’s injury, forcing the Oilers to lean on Connor Ingram and Calvin Pickard. So far, the returns on both netminders has been strong, but there's going to be a temptation to consider Fleury, if he wants to return to the NHL and the Oilers somehow wind up on his radar.

Oilers Officially Announce Plans to Terminate David Tomasek's ContractDavid Tomasek's NHL tenure ends as the Edmonton Oilers will terminate his contract, clearing cap space for his return to Europe.

Why The Oilers for Fleury?

Insiders like Pierre LeBrun and Frank Seravalli have talked a lot about Fleury in recent days, both suggesting the Oilers make a lot of sense.  LeBrun wrote, "Probably not surprising, but hearing that some teams have checked in on Marc-Andre Fleury to see if there’s any chance at all he would consider playing again. Again, not surprised teams with goalie needs would want to check on it."

Seravalli, specifically connected the Oilers, noting, “I think he’s got the itch to keep playing, and I think for a guy who really has made it home in Minnesota, there’s no room for him there with [Jesper] Wallstedt and [Filip] Gustavsson.” He added, Fleury is “going to be with a team that has an authentic chance to win, and that’s got the Oil written all over it."    

The organization might not feel the same sense of urgency as some analysts do, but if Fleury becomes an affordable option, would the Oilers not at least entertain a conversation? They probably should. 

Related: Retired Goaltender Coming to Oilers?: Maybe We Should Pump the Brakes a Little

Those same insiders speculate that Fleury would only want to join a legitimate contender, making Edmonton a logical match. No one has gone so far as to comment on the cost or the kind of salary Fleury is looking for, but one would imagine it's not outrageous, given that half the season is over and there are question marks about how effective the veteran would be. 

Coming off a solid 2023–24 season with the Wild, Fleury represents a low-risk, high-reward option, especially if he can be had for around the $1.2 million the Oilers no longer have to worry about with Tomasek off the roster. 

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The Christmas break is over for the Montreal Canadiens, who boarded a plane to Tampa Bay this morning at 9:30 AM. Even though they’ve yet to announce it, the Habs have also officially recalled Samuel Montembeault from his conditioning stint with the Laval Rocket. Not that the 14 days he could have spent there had passed, but he had agreed to play two games, and since that had been done, and the Sainte-Flanelle is going to practice today in Florida, there was no point in extending his stay any longer.

Even though they’ve yet to announce it, the Canadiens have recalled Montembeault from Laval #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/FQznri56BD

— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) December 27, 2025

In two games in the AHL, Montembeault suffered as many defeats, allowing five goals for a 2.53 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. It’s worth noting that he was backstopping a weakened Rocket side that was without many of its regulars. Some of Pascal Vincent’s best players were in Montreal or in the stands, serving suspensions after the events that followed a Michael Pezzetta hit on Marc Del Gaizo in a game against the Toronto Marlies.

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The Canadiens didn’t recall Montembeault straight after the two games since they weren’t holding any practice with a packed schedule on the road. Instead, the goaltender remained in Montreal, where he practiced with Rocket goaltending coach Marco Marciano.

During Montembeault’s stay in the AHL, the Canadiens had a 3-1-1 record, playing Jacob Fowler for three games and Jakub Dobes for two. Over that stretch, the Habs outscored their opponents 18-11, and both goaltenders played well.

It will be interesting to see how the Tricolore moves forward with its goaltenders; neither of the youngsters deserves to be sent back down, and Montembeault has yet to prove his stint in the AHL and the extra work put in with Marciano helped. With four games on the schedule this week, it’s quite possible that each masked man gets a game before the Canadiens make a decision.

Fowler was in the net the last time the Canadiens played, backstopping them to a 6-2 win over the Boston Bruins. Martin St-Louis will speak to the media later this afternoon, and he may decide to show his hand, just to put an end to speculation. The Habs are set to practice at 2:30 PM.

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Game info 

Who: Nashville Predators (16-16-4, 5th Central) at St. Louis Blues (14-16-8, 6th Central) 

When: 7 p.m. CST 

Where: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo. 

TV: FanDuel Sports Network South 

Radio: 102.5 The Game 

Line (via BetMGM): Predators (+1.5) Blues (-1.5). Over/under 5.5 (-118/-102). 

Blues for the Blues 

The Nashville Predators dominated the St. Louis Blues in both meetings so far this season. 

In the Dec. 11 matchup, Steven Stamkos scored four goals en route to a 7-2 Predators win. Four days later in St. Louis, Filip Forsberg scored a hat trick in the Predators' 5-2 win over the Blues. 

It's a complete turnaround from last season, as the Predators did not win a game against the Blues, going 0-4-0 in their meetings. 

Nashville has battled back in the Central Division after starting the year 1-5-2 against Central Division opponents; they are now 5-6-2 against local opposition. 

Climb continues 

The Predators have seemingly dug themselves out of a hole created in the first month and a half of the season, and are beginning to move up in the standings.

Nashville has won 10 of its last 14 and three straight. It's the Predators' longest winning streak of the season and longest since they won four straight from March 4, 2025, to March 11. 

A win against the Blues would give Nashville its first winning record since Oct. 25, when it defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in a shootout to improve to 4-3-2 on the year. Defeating St. Louis would move Nashville to 17-16-4 on the season. 

In the standings, a win gains more separation between fifth and sixth and puts Nashville one point outside of the final Wild Card spot behind the Utah Mammoth (39 points). 

Forsberg, O'Reilly point streaks 

Two of the Predators' top forwards, Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly, are looking to extend multi-game point streaks tonight. 

O'Reilly has a game point streak, scoring 11 points in that run and has four points in the last two games. Forsberg has a nine-game point streak, scoring 12 points in that time, which included the hat-trick game against the Blues on Dec. 15. 

Scouting St. Louis 

The Blues have been hovering around .500 over their last six games, posting a 3-2-1 record in that stretch. 

Prior to the break, they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, on Dec. 22. 

Robert Thomas (27 points) and Justin Faulk (20 points) continue to power the Blues offense as they are looking to keep pace with the Predators and possibly jump ahead in the s