The final calendar month of the year has produced mixed results for the Keystone State’s two NHL franchises and PA sportsbooks since 2019. The Pittsburgh Penguins are sitting among the league’s best in that three-season span while the Philadelphia Flyers cannot say the same.
Overall, the Penguins have posted the league’s second-best December win percentage, at .758 over the past three season entering December 2023. The Flyers are No. 21 out of 32 teams by that metric, with Philly coming in at .447 during the 12th month of the year.
PennStakes.com used ChamporChumps.us to find the records of every NHL team in December from the 2019-20 season to the 2022-23 season. We then ranked the teams from best to worst teams in that span. This could be useful for folks using Pennsylvania betting promotions and seeking trends.
NHL Records In December (Past 3 Seasons)
Not every team played the same number of games, therefore our rankings are based on winning percentage. The Seattle Kraken began play in the 2021-22 campaign so they only have two seasons in this chart (we gave them an asterisk). There were no December games in 2020-21, a season delayed and shortened because of restrictions related to COVID-19.
Where Pennsylvania’s NHL Teams Rank
Various Pennsylvania sports betting apps give the Penguins odds ranging from xxx to xxx to win the Stanley Cup in the 2023-24 season. The Flyers are at xxx to xxx according to oddsmakers at major operators.
The Penguins slot in behind the No. 1 Carolina Hurricanes, in terms of December win percentage. Carolina is at .771 in winning percentage, with two more wins than Pittsburgh. The No. 3 Tampa Bay Lightning (.718), No. 4 Washington Capitals (.658) and No. 5 Toronto Maple Leafs (.656) round out the NHL’s top five.
Further down the list, Philadelphia is sandwiched between the No. 20 New York Islanders (.486) and No. 22 Buffalo Sabres (.428). The bottom three teams in December leaguewide are the Seattle Kraken (.273), San Jose Sharks (.286) and New Jersey Devils (.308).
This year, oddsmakers from BetMGM Sportsbook Pennsylvania have an interesting prop bet for those who believe either PA team can storm into the playoffs and make an improbable title run – as of Nov. 29, the operator offered +1300 odds on either the Flyers or Penguins to win the Stanley Cup.
Still, both Pennsylvania NHL franchises are far from the worst team in the league during the month of December. That has to count for something, given the current status of both clubs in their individual rebuilding periods.
