The Central Division is running the 2024-25 NHL Power Rankings. With the Minnesota Wild taking over the top spot this week, three different teams in that division have been No. 1, and Christmas is still a few weeks away.

If the Wild were curious what it was like to play them on the road, the Canucks showed them. Led by strong goaltending, a reputable defense and timely scoring — sound familiar? — Vancouver is also one of the NHL’s most ungracious visitors and remained a handful on Tuesday night to almost spoil the Wild’s homestand finale.

Pavel Zacha scored 2:15 into overtime and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Tuesday night. Zacha one-timed a pass from David Pastrnak past Ville Husso for the winner. Justin Brazeau and Nikita Zadorov also scored for the Bruins, and Joonas Korpisalo finished with 25 saves.

Kirill Kaprizov scored with 23.4 seconds left in overtime and the Minnesota Wild rallied to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 for their sixth victory in eight games.

The big question heading into this one was how the Canucks would contend with the loss of Filip Hronek. They’ve already been without him for a few games, but tonight was the first game without him since we learned that he’ll be out for approximately two months.

The only team in the NHL with as many points as the Wild is the rival Winnipeg Jets (18-6-0), who play the Dallas Stars at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The Wild (16-4-4) and Jets are tied atop the Western Conference, though the Jets currently hold the tiebreaker with more wins in regulation. The Washington Capitals (17-6-1, 35 points) are atop the East.

Fedor Svechkov scored his first NHL goal, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Minnesota Wild by a 3-2 final in overtime on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. The result gives the Preds their third-consecutive 3-2 defeat in the extra session, a fact that left them wanting more once again.

The Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks had their first of three meetings on Tuesday evening, Dec. 3 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.