[rhaums]

Eastern

Florida Panthers (23-12-1, 2nd in East)
The Panthers went 8-4-1 in December. Led by captain Aleksander Barkkov (36 GP, 19G, 23A), the defending Eastern Conference champions put themselves in a strong position to make another playoff run in 2024. Barkov and the Panthers average 3.67 goals/game, good for second in the NHL.

Toronto Maple Leafs (17-15-2, 12th in East)
Despite a strong start, December has been a month to forget in Toronto. Mitch Marner has slowed up, going scoreless in December and only picking up 5 assists. The Leafs went 3-10-0 in December with this scoring slump and will need to find ways to reinvigorate their stars to get back into a playoff place.

Detroit Red Wings (21-12-4, 4th in East)
Detroit has heated up in December, the Leafs slipping out of playoff spots gave the Red Wings an opportunity to sneak up the division. Some solid recent outings from James Reimer have been enough to keep Detroit in close games, despite not having the elite scoring of other playoff hopefuls.

Western Conference
Arizona Coyotes (8-25-2, 16th in West)
With his back up against the wall, Andre Tourigny has managed to keep his job, leading the Coyotes to go 7-6-0 in December. While still the worst team in the league, Arizona has shown that their young talent is mostly NHL ready, and with a few moves could have a strong future ahead of them.

Nashville Predators (26-10-1, 2nd in West)
After acquiring Bobby Brink from the Flyers during November, and giving him the trust to play on the top line, he has given the Flyers a breakout season. Teaming up with Filip Forsberg, and supported by Roman Josi, the Preds are one of the best scoring teams in the NHL, while also playing really tight defense. Nashville are in an excellent place to see out the contracts of a number of older players with the right support around them.