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NHL Power Rankings Week 12: Blackhawks, Ducks Vie For Top Spot; Red Wings Slide Continues

By Patrick Schmidt

Dec 14, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks celebrate a win against the Calgary Flames at the end of their NHL game at United Center. Blackhawks won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks celebrate a win against the Calgary Flames at the end of their NHL game at United Center. Blackhawks won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 18, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; Edmonton Oilers left wing David Perron (57) has a shot blocked by San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) during the third periodat SAP Center at San Jose. San Jose won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 18, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; Edmonton Oilers left wing David Perron (57) has a shot blocked by San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) during the third periodat SAP Center at San Jose. San Jose won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports /

As the NHL prepares to celebrate Christmas later this week it has become perfectly clear that some teams across the league have a few more gifts than their competition while the less fortunate teams are left holding a lump of coal.

With the NHL season roughly 40 percent over and a week and a half remaining in the 2014 portion of the schedule there is a clear divide between the haves and the have-nots across the NHL.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks have been jockeying for the top spot for the month of December and a pair of other Western Conference teams are lurking in the distance and ready to pounce in case one of them slip up. The Western Conference may be home to the most Stanley Cup contenders, but don’t sleep on the Eastern Conference with a few sneaky good teams living in the shadow of the Pittsburgh Penguins, owners of the best record in the East.

John Tavares and his New York Islanders are keeping pace with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins and the Atlantic Division may rival the Pacific as the most competitive division in the NHL. However, recent struggles from Detroit and Toronto coupled with back-to-back strong weeks from the Rangers and Sharks have resulted in another restructuring in this week’s NHL Power Rankings.

After reading through the list, please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah.

The NHL Power Rankings are a weekly staple for the FanSided NHL section and will be published every Monday morning so be sure to bookmark the page so you can stay on top of all the daily coverage as well as weekly features like power rankings and Wednesday’s player rankings.

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