It’s Thanksgiving week in the United States.

That means there are big meals and extensive preparation in kitchens and dining rooms across the country, but for those who call themselves hockey guys, there’s more.

Recent NHL history suggests that any team that finds itself in a playoff spot during the holiday week – the quarter pole of the season – is particularly well-positioned to hold on to that spot when the Season ends in spring.

This is familiar news in many cities across the league.

Six of the eight teams now in a playoff spot in the two conferences were in the tournament in 2023-24, including last season’s top two seeds – the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars – as well as the eventual Stanley Cup champions. Winner Florida Panthers.

So far it is the Buffalo Sabers and the New Jersey Devils who are ahead in the East, while the newcomers in the West are the Minnesota Wild and the Calgary Flames.

The Sabers would be particularly newsworthy if they retained what is now the second wild-card spot in the East, given their league-best streak of 13 consecutive seasons without a postseason berth.

The B/R hockey team sneaked into the pre-Turkey rankings and came together for voting purposes to put together this week’s rankings. Votes were cast awarding 32 points for first place to a single point for 32nd place.

Check out what we came up with and leave your own thoughts in the app comments.