PREPARATIONS CONTINUE FOR WINTER CLASSIC
Preparations continue for the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Bruins and Canadiens at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on New Year’s Day (1:00 p.m. ET, NBC, SN, TVAS).

Click here for a time-lapse video of the rink build at Gillette Stadium.

ICYMI: Click here for a recap of the second episode of Road to the NHL Winter Classic, which premiered on Wednesday . . . The NHL announced that Montreal-based bandSimple Plan will perform the Canadian national anthem and return for a set during the second intermission of the game . . . The League also announced that Rene Rancourt will sing both national anthems at the 2016 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game presented by Molson Canadian.

40TH IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
The 40th IIHF World Junior Championship begins today in Helsinki, Finland, and runs through Tuesday, Jan. 5. Today’s schedule features Team Canada vs. Team USA at 1:00 p.m. ET (NHLN-US, TSN).

Click here for the full tournament schedule (NHLN-US / TSN).

LEAGUE LEADERS
The NHL returns from its holiday break with 42.0% of the regular season in the books (516 / 1,230 GP).

Five clubs that did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2014-15 currently hold postseason spots (BOS, DAL, FLA, LAK and SJS). There has been a playoff turnover of at least five teams in eight of the past 10 seasons, including a record seven clubs in 2014-15. Overall, 26 teams remain within eight points of a playoff berth this season.

A look at some of the top team and individual performances thus far:

NHL STANDINGS
1. Dallas Stars (26-7-2): 54 points
2. Washington Capitals (25-6-2): 52 points
3. St. Louis Blues (21-11-4): 46 points
4. New York Rangers (20-12-4): 44 points^
5. Chicago Blackhawks (20-12-4) 44 points^
^ NYR holds head-to-head tiebreaker (NYR: 1-0-0, CHI: 0-1-0)

HOME POINTS
t-1. Chicago Blackhawks (14-4-1): 29 points
t-1. New York Rangers (14-5-1): 29 points
3. Dallas Stars (14-4-0): 28 points
t-4. Washington Capitals (13-3-1): 27 points
t-4. Minnesota Wild (13-4-1): 27 points

ROAD POINTS
1. San Jose Sharks (13-6-2): 28 points
2. Dallas Stars (12-3-2): 26 points
3. Washington Capitals (12-3-1): 25 points
4. Boston Bruins (11-2-2): 24 points
t-5. Colorado Avalanche (11-9-0): 22 points
t-5. New Jersey Devils (10-5-2): 22 points
t-5. St. Louis Blues (10-5-2): 22 points
t-5. Florida Panthers (10-6-2): 22 points
t-5. Vancouver Canucks (8-8-6): 22 points

POWER PLAY
1. Boston Bruins (26 for 90): 28.9%
2. Washington Capitals (27 for 105): 25.7%
3. Dallas Stars (27 for 116): 23.3%
4. Chicago Blackhawks (24 for 111): 21.6%
5. New York Rangers (22 for 102): 21.6%

PENALTY KILL
1. Anaheim Ducks (100 for 114): 87.7%
2. St. Louis Blues (103 for 118): 87.3%
3. New York Islanders (87 for 100): 87.0%
4. Montreal Canadiens (101 for 119): 84.9%
5. Washington Capitals (81 for 96): 84.4%

SHORTHANDED GOALS FOR
1. Ottawa Senators: 8
2. Montreal Canadiens: 7
t-3. Boston Bruins: 6
t-3. Dallas Stars: 6
5. Winnipeg Jets: 5

GOALS
t-1. Jamie Benn (DAL): 22
t-1. Vladimir Tarasenko (STL): 22
3. Patrick Kane (CHI): 21
4. Tyler Seguin (DAL): 19
5. Joe Pavelski (SJS): 18

ASSISTS
t-1. Patrick Kane (CHI): 29
t-1. Erik Karlsson (OTT): 29
t-3. John Klingberg (DAL): 27
t-3. Tyler Seguin (DAL): 27
5. Blake Wheeler (WPG): 25

POINTS
1. Patrick Kane (CHI): 21-29—50
2. Jamie Benn (DAL): 22-24—46^
3. Tyler Seguin (DAL): 19-27—46^
4. Taylor Hall (EDM): 15-24—39
5. Vladimir Tarasenko (STL): 22-16—38^
6. Erik Karlsson (OTT): 9-29—38^
^ Most goals is first head-to-head tiebreaker

WINS
1. Braden Holtby (WSH): 21
2. Corey Crawford (CHI): 18
3. Jonathan Quick (LAK): 17
t-4. Jake Allen (STL): 16
t-4. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR): 16

GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE (Minimum: 10 GP)
1. Braden Holtby (WSH): 1.96
2. John Gibson (ANA): 1.97
3. Ben Bishop (TBL): 2.00
4. James Reimer (TOR): 2.01
5. Thomas Greiss (NYI): 2.03

SAVE PERCENTAGE (Minimum: 10 GP)
1. Michal Neuvirth (PHI): .937
2. James Reimer (TOR): .935
3. Carey Price (MTL): .934
4. Thomas Greiss (NYI): .933
5. Braden Holtby (WSH): .931

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Buffalo @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, NESN
Columbus @ Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m., FS-O, SUN
Montreal @ Washington, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, CBC, CITY, TVAS, CSN-DC
New Jersey @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, FS-CR
Dallas @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., FS-SW+, FS-MW
Detroit @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., FS-D+, FS-TN
Pittsburgh @ Minnesota, 8:00 p.m., ROOT, FS-N, FS-WI
Los Angeles @ Arizona, 9:00 p.m., FS-W, FS-A
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10:00 p.m., CBC

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department