Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov ranked 23rd while teammate Jonathan Huberdeau ranked 25th on part three of NHL Network’s five-part countdown Top 50 Players Right Now, ranking the best players in the National Hockey League. Barkov finished one spot ahead of the Colorado Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen and one spot behind the New York Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad. Huberdeau finished one spot ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights’ Alex Pietrangelo and one spot behind Rantanen.
NHL Network’s Top 50 Players Right Now, 21-50:
- Mitch Marner, W, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Mika Zibanejad, C, New York Rangers
- Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers
- Mikko Rantanen, W, Colorado Avalanche
- Jonathan Huberdeau, W, Florida Panthers
- Alex Pietrangelo, D, Vegas Golden Knights
- Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets
- Mark Stone, W, Vegas Golden Knights
- Sebastian Aho, C, Carolina Hurricanes
- John Tavares, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Ryan O’Reilly, C, St. Louis Blues
- Seth Jones, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Blake Wheeler, W, Winnipeg Jets
- Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche
- Kyle Connor, W, Winnipeg Jets
- Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets
- Dougie Hamilton, D, Carolina Hurricanes
- Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks
- Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Matthew Tkachuk, W, Calgary Flames
- Sean Couturier, C, Philadelphia Flyers
- Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders
- Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins
- Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars
- Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks
- Patrik Laine, W, Winnipeg Jets
- Max Pacioretty, W, Vegas Golden Knights
- Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Johnny Gaudreau, W, Calgary Flames/
The complete remaining schedule for NHL Network’s countdown series is listed below:
Sunday, January 3 Top 50 Players Right Now: 20-11 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 10 Top 50 Players Right Now: 10-1 6:00 p.m.
Freshman defenseman Mike Benning registered two shots on goal, blocked three shots, took an unsportsmanlike conduct minor and finished with a -1 rating in Denver’s 3-1 loss to St. Cloud State.
Cole Krygier didn’t make it through the first period of Michigan State’s 4-3 overtime win over. The junior defenseman received a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind 8:23 into the first period.
Defenseman Alec Rauhauser did not figure in the scoring in DVTK Polar Bears 3-2 shootout loss to HC Kosice in a Sunday action from the Tipos Extraliga. Rauhauser, a free agent signing out of Bowling Green, has three goals and six assists in 16 games for DVTK.