Best And Worst NHL Teams In December

Best And Worst NHL Teams In December
Fact Checked by Jim Tomlin

The final calendar month of the year has produced mixed results for the Keystone State’s two NHL franchises and PA sportsbooks since 2019. The Pittsburgh Penguins are sitting among the league’s best in that three-season span while the Philadelphia Flyers cannot say the same.

Overall, the Penguins have posted the league’s second-best December win percentage, at .758 over the past three season entering December 2023. The Flyers are No. 21 out of 32 teams by that metric, with Philly coming in at .447 during the 12th month of the year.

PennStakes.com used ChamporChumps.us to find the records of every NHL team in December from the 2019-20 season to the 2022-23 season. We then ranked the teams from best to worst teams in that span. This could be useful for folks using Pennsylvania betting promotions and seeking trends.

NHL Records In December (Past 3 Seasons)

Rank Team Record Win Pct.
1Carolina Hurricanes27-8.771
2Pittsburgh Penguins25-8.758
3Tampa Bay Lightning28-10-1.718
4Washington Capitals25-12-1.658
5Toronto Maple Leafs21-10-1.656
6Vancouver Canucks23-12-1.639
7Vegas Golden Knights27-15-1.628
8Minnesota Wild23-13-2.605
9Dallas Stars21-14-2.568
10St. Louis Blues21-15-2.553
11New York Rangers21-15-3.538
12Colorado Avalanche20-15-3.526
13Winnipeg Jets19-17-1.514
14Los Angeles Kings21-18-2.512
T15Boston Bruins18-12-6.500
T15Florida Panthers18-18.500
T15Nashville Predators18-17-1.500
T15Ottawa Senators18-17-1.500
T15Calgary Flames18-16-2.500
20New York Islanders18-14-5.486
21Philadelphia Flyers17-20-1.447
22Buffalo Sabres15-19-1.428
23Arizona Coyotes14-21-1.389
T24Columbus Blue Jackets14-21-2.378
T24Chicago Blackhawks14-22-1.378
26Edmonton Oilers15-24-1.375
27Anaheim Ducks14-21-3.368
28Detroit Red Wings12-21.364
29Montreal Canadiens12-26.316
30New Jersey Devils12-25-2.308
31San Jose Sharks10-23-2.286
32Seattle Kraken6-14-2*.273*

Not every team played the same number of games, therefore our rankings are based on winning percentage. The Seattle Kraken began play in the 2021-22 campaign so they only have two seasons in this chart (we gave them an asterisk). There were no December games in 2020-21, a season delayed and shortened because of restrictions related to COVID-19.

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Where Pennsylvania’s NHL Teams Rank

Various Pennsylvania sports betting apps give the Penguins odds ranging from xxx to xxx to win the Stanley Cup in the 2023-24 season. The Flyers are at xxx to xxx according to oddsmakers at major operators.

The Penguins slot in behind the No. 1 Carolina Hurricanes, in terms of December win percentage. Carolina is at .771 in winning percentage, with two more wins than Pittsburgh. The No. 3 Tampa Bay Lightning (.718), No. 4 Washington Capitals (.658) and No. 5 Toronto Maple Leafs (.656) round out the NHL’s top five.

Further down the list, Philadelphia is sandwiched between the No. 20 New York Islanders (.486) and No. 22 Buffalo Sabres (.428). The bottom three teams in December leaguewide are the Seattle Kraken (.273), San Jose Sharks (.286) and New Jersey Devils (.308).

This year, oddsmakers from BetMGM Sportsbook Pennsylvania have an interesting prop bet for those who believe either PA team can storm into the playoffs and make an improbable title run – as of Nov. 29, the operator offered +1300 odds on either the Flyers or Penguins to win the Stanley Cup.

Still, both Pennsylvania NHL franchises are far from the worst team in the league during the month of December. That has to count for something, given the current status of both clubs in their individual rebuilding periods.

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Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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