The top three teams in the NHL reside in the Central Division, and two of them face off Sunday when the Minnesota Wild host the Colorado Avalanche in Saint Paul, Minn.

Before the great Cale Makar wore No. 8, there was another No. 8 who was pretty great. Ahead of the 1996 Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche team being honored Dec. 11, the current No. 8 showed some respect to the man who came before him.

The defending Stanley Cup champions take on the best team in the NHL on Thursday night, as the Florida Panthers pay a visit to the Colorado Avalanche in a marquee matchup.

As the NHL moves toward its holiday break, some teams are firing on all cylinders. Here are the five NHL teams heating up.

The NHL's regular season is nearly at the halfway point. Every team has played more than 30 games in their schedule and it's becoming crystal clear where these