Preseason predictions don't mean a thing - just ask the Dallas Stars.

After winning the Central Division a year ago, many expected the Stars' lethal offense to keep them in the thick of the playoff mix, but 30 games in, it's been a much different story.

Due to a weak Western Conference, Dallas sits just two points out of a wild-card spot, but the team owns a record of 11-13-6, and is only 3-6-1 in the last 10 games.

The latest setback was a 3-1 road loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the club's second loss in as many days.

"It's not good enough, it's not good enough with the type of team we have," forward Jason Spezza said, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. "It doesn't matter if you play well if you don't win games. It's a results-oriented business, and these losses get tougher and tougher because we know we have a hole to climb out of."

The frustrating part for Dallas is they feel they're playing good enough to win, but are getting burned by mistakes. Many of these mishaps have been penalties, evidenced by the Stars' 27th-ranked PK unit (76.4%).

"We got out of a lot of games last year where we're winning games 5-3 and mistakes weren't killing us. Last year, the big mistakes we could wash some of them under the carpet. This year, the big mistakes are standing out," head catch Lindy Ruff said.

Coming up, the Stars play eight of nine at home, where they're 7-4-2. It's a monumental homestand in the eyes of Ruff.

"This will be the season for us, I really feel," Ruff said. "For me, I think all of the season is going to land on this homestand."

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Evidently, Antti Raanta isn't ready to relinquish.

With Henrik Lundqvist planted on the bench for the third time in four nights, Raanta stopped all 19 shots he faced Sunday versus the New Jersey Devils, recording a second consecutive shutout for the New York Rangers.

Stopping better than 98 percent of shots he's faced since taking temporary hold of the starter's role from one of the NHL's top goaltenders, Raanta improved his season record to 8-1 with a .943 save percentage. Only Devan Dubnyk and Jimmy Howard have stopped a better rate.

Raanta's also the first Rangers goaltender to record a shutout in consecutive games since Mike Dunham in 2003. It's something Lundqvist has never done.

Based on coach Alain Vigneault's logic, shared prior to the game, Raanta earned a fourth straight start with Sunday's performance, which would come Tuesday versus his old team - the Chicago Blackhawks - which he already shut out Friday.

But if Raanta continues to roll, how much longer can we expect Lundqvist to gleefully cede the starting role he's starred in the for the past decade?

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What a difference a night makes.

After allowing six goals on 16 shots in Saturday night's debacle versus the Montreal Canadiens, Semyon Varlamov backstopped the Avalanche to a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs Sunday in which he recorded 51 saves.

The Maple Leafs fired 20 shots on net in the first and third period, but Varlamov stood tall, only cracking on a one-timer courtesy of Jake Gardiner on a 6-on-3 man advantage with three minutes to play.

Varlamov's solid night also influenced the scoresheet, as he assisted Nathan Mackinnon's remarkable game-winning goal.

His teammates owe him a nice dinner.

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Beware the Metropolitan Division.

Following Sunday's results, five of the NHL's top seven teams hail from the Metro.

It's undoubtedly been the most productive division in terms of points in the NHL this season.

For comparison's sake, the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins sit in second and third place, respectively, in the Atlantic. However, their 34- and 32-point outputs would leave them out of postseason contention if they were part of the Metropolitan.

Furthermore, the Pacific-leading Ducks would be two points out, while the West's wild-card squads, Edmonton (33 points) and Los Angeles (30 points), aren't even close.

Last season, the Metropolitan sent five teams to the playoffs, and it could very well be the same scenario come April.

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It's not often a busted lip contributes to a beautiful goal.

Using the collective paralysis brought about by carbon fiber smacking off one's teeth, the freshly gashed Nathan MacKinnon was first to restart. And with two decisive dekes, he launched himself into the offensive zone and fired a quick shot into the bottom corner.

And because he was cut on the play, Leo Komarov still served two.

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Riding a win streak that matches the franchise's best across two decades, and is the longest in the NHL this season, the Philadelphia Flyers deserve the soft portion of the schedule that lies ahead.

Yet, based on the level they're at right now, rest might prove to be unfavorable.

With their ninth straight victory secured with Brayden Schenn's overtime winner versus the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, the Flyers have collected 18 points in a span of 15 days, and have taken a provisional share of the lead in the hotly-contested Metropolitan Division.

The Flyers didn't have more than one day of rest between games on this nine-game run, the feverish stretch included two sets of back-to-backs and three single-game road trips.

Nine wins from 23 games had them on pace for 78 points before kick-starting the streak with a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Nov. 27. They're now on pace for 103.

Individually, Philadelphia now boasts three players in the top 11 in NHL scoring. With 15 points in 15 days, and two four-point outings, Jakub Voracek ranks second behind only Connor McDavid in total production, while Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scaled the board with 11 and nine points over that span, respectively.

Philadelphia will meet the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday with the chance to establish the longest franchise win streak since the club reeled off 13 victories in a row in 1985. The Flyers won't play again after that until Saturday, when they visit the Dallas Stars.

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Minnesota's 3-1 win over the Blues was particularly special for Eric Staal.

The veteran pivot recorded his 800th NHL point Sunday, banking an assist on Mikael Granlund's empty netter.

Staal has enjoyed a rebirth of sorts in his first year in Minnesota, scoring a team-leading 19 points so far this season.

The 32-year-old, drafted second overall in 2003, is the only player from his class to reach the milestone.

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Brayden Schenn is at it again.

After netting a hat trick in Saturday's win over the Stars, Schenn delivered the overtime winner on a beautiful effort Sunday to extend Philadelphia's winning ways.

Now at nine games, the Flyers own the longest winning streak in the NHL this season.

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Brayden Schenn is at it again.

After netting a hat trick in Saturday's win over the Stars, Schenn delivered the overtime winner on a beautiful effort Sunday to extend Philadelphia's winning ways.

Now at nine games, the Flyers own the longest winning streak in the NHL this season.

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California wasn't very loving to the Ottawa Senators this weekend.

On the annual three-game western swing, the Sens finished 1-2, with the two losses coming in ugly fashion on back-to-back days.

After a 4-1 loss to the Kings on Saturday, Ottawa followed up with a 5-1 dud against Anaheim. Suffice to say, head coach Guy Boucher isn't happy about the results.

"It was a no-show all around. Not good," Boucher told reporters after the game, according to Abbey Mastracco of NHL.com. "We wanted to rebound from yesterday. We played a hard game yesterday and it didn't turn out our way but we didn't give much to the opponent and played a physical game. Today, we didn't play a physical game at all."

The Senators' recent undoing has been their penalty kill, which allowed three goals to both the Kings and Ducks to drop the previously fifth-ranked unit all the way to 23rd in the league (80.4%).

Ottawa now heads home, and will host San Jose on Wednesday.

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