NHL Weekender: Golden Knights, Devils keep on winning

There may have been fewer games because of the holiday break, but that didn't stop the New Jersey Devils, who have been on a mad tear winning five straight. Their offense is deep, their special teams are top 10 in the league and Cory Schneider is the best he's looked between the pipes in two seasons. NJ is looking for the sixth straight win to kick off the New Year's weekend, hosting the conference-worst Buffalo Sabres Friday night. (More on them in just a bit.)

Out in the Western Conference, the Las Vegas Golden Knights continue to impress in their inaugural season. With five victories in their recent six-game winning streak, the Sin City squad became the first team in the league to reach 50 points on the 2017-18 campaign. Their Thursday night rumble with the equally dominant L.A. Kings showed the Knights' resilience, as they held on to notch the 3-2 victory in overtime. The win made Vegas the first expansion team in NHL history to win six straight bouts in its inaugural season.

Who's on a skid

In the Eastern Conference, no team has had a rougher go than the Buffalo Sabres. After notching just three wins in the month of November, they got shut out three games in a row and sputtered through the month of December. Even with a mixed bag of competition on the upcoming schedule, there  don't appear to be many solutions on the horizon for this team.

Out west, last week's pick for "team on fire" has hit a speed bump. The Chicago Blackhawks have been as streaky as they come over the course of 18 games. As Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazarus points out, Chicago won four games, then lost five, then won five and has now dropped three. As the halfway point of the season comes into view, this streaky nature becomes even more worrisome.

Goalie to watch

For the Calgary Flames, backup netminder David Rittich has become a secret weapon. After Calgary placed Eddie Lack on waivers and recalled Rittich, the 25-year-old Czech netminder has become the immediate backup to Mike Smith. He has won three of the five games he has played — matching the six he played with the big club last season — and is holding on to a 2.04 goals-against average. Not too shabby for a kid who was undrafted and playing over in Europe up until last season.

There goes my hero

The Calgary Flames made their first trip to San Jose on Thursday since acquiring mulleted wonder Jaromir Jagr. This of course meant one thing: talking heads and fans alike trying to draw comparisons between Sharks forward Tomas Hertl and his childhood hero. 

There hasn't been much connecting the two Czechs in their previous meetings. That is until the second frame of Thursday night's game when Jagr tripped the young Shark and collected a minor penalty. The seasoned vet quickly skated to the sin bin after the whistle was blown, leaving Hertl with the memory that he had just been tripped by his idol.

What to watch this weekend

Friday, St. Louis at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. EST,  FSMW, FSW+

New Year's weekend means one thing and one thing only: Outdoor games are afoot. But before you dive in to this yearly tradition, check out the Central Division action between the Stars and Blues as Dallas tries to inch closer to leapfrogging St. Louis in the standings.

Saturday, New Jersey at Washington, 7 p.m. EST, MSG+, NSWA

Speaking of leapfrog, the Devils and Capitals keep trading off taking control of the Metropolitan and will duke it out face-to-face on Saturday night.

Monday, New York Rangers at Buffalo, 1 p.m. EST, NBC

Then, nurse your NYE hangover on Monday with the Sabres, who host the New York Rangers in the 2018 Winter Classic outside at Citi Field.