A resurgent Tuukka Rask has been named the NHL's first star of the week, after posting three wins along with a .954 save percentage and a 1.30 goals-against average. Rask is now 8-0-1 in his last nine starts, a huge factor in the Bruins' recent success.
Meanwhile, rookie sensation Mathew Barzal earned second star honors after recording six points in four games, including his first career hat trick. Barzal now paces all NHL freshman with 35 points in 36 games.
Finally, Florida Panthers goaltender James Reimer captured the third star of the week. He earned three wins, including one shutout, as well as a sparkling .964 save percentage.
Burmistrov, just 26, has played 24 games with the Canucks this season. An official announcement is expected in the coming days.
After recording 65 points in 62 games with the OHL's Barrie Colts, Burmistrov was drafted eighth overall to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010. Following the franchise's relocation to Winnipeg, Burmistrov suited up with the Jets before a two-year stint in the KHL from 2013-15.
He found a spot back with the Jets for parts of two seasons before stops in Arizona and, most recently, Vancouver. Overall, Burmistrov finishes his NHL career with 348 games played and 101 points.
The holiday season is a time for visits with family, stuffing your face with delicious high-carb items, and watching some of the finest young hockey players on the planet compete in the World Junior Championship.
With the tournament less than 48 hours away, we take a look at the crop of players who competed last year in Toronto and Montreal and will be back in Buffalo on Tuesday representing the red and white and the red, white, and blue.
Here are the 2017-18 returning players for both Team USA and Team Canada.
Team USA
Player (Position)
NHL Team
Draft (Position)
Joey Anderson (F)
Devils
2016-3rd round (73rd overall)
Patrick Harper (F)
Predators
2016-5th round (138th overall)
Kieffer Bellows (F)
Islanders
2016-1st round (19th overall)
Ryan Lindgren (D)
Bruins
2016-2nd round (49th overall)
Adam Fox (D)
Flames
2016-3rd round (66th overall)
Joseph Woll (G)
Maple Leafs
2016-3rd round (62nd overall)
Jake Oettinger (G)
Stars
2017-first round (26th overall)
The reigning gold medalists boast an interesting group of returnees, headlined by No. 1 goaltender Jake Oettinger and forward Kieffer Bellows.
Oettinger didn't see any game action last tournament, but the 6-foot-4 first-round pick has obvious upside, and enters this year's tournament as the bona fide starter with a well-balanced team in front of him.
Bellows, meanwhile, was named as one of the assistant captains, and will be relied upon to light the lamp for Team USA. The skilled power forward has a strong net-front presence, along with the hands and skating ability to be a game-changing player. He's got 40 points in 31 games this season for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL.
The Americans may be lacking the big-name talent they've boasted in recent years, but don't sleep on their potential to earn back-to-back world junior golds for the first time in the program's history.
Team Canada
Player (Position)
NHL Team
Draft (Position)
Dillon Dube (F)
Flames
2016-2nd round (56th overall)
Taylor Raddysh (F)
Lightning
2016-2nd round (58th overall)
Michael McLeod (F)
Devils
2016-1st round (12th overall)
Jake Bean (D)
Hurricanes
2016-1st round (13th overall)
Dante Fabbro (D)*
Predators
2016-1st round (17th overall)
Kale Clague (D)
Kings
2016-2nd round (51st overall)
Carter Hart (G)
Flyers
2016-2nd round (48th overall)
* Denotes injury.
Team Canada's strength undoubtedly lies on the back end, where returning netminder Carter Hart is the Canadians' best shot at earning a medal. Hart has been nothing short of sensational this season in the WHL, standing on his head for the Everett Silvertips while racking up a 13-3-1 record to go along with a sparkling 1.32 goals-against average and .961 save percentage.
The red and white also return a solid defensive corps stacked with NHL prospects, including first-rounders Jake Bean and Dante Fabbro, and second-rounder Kale Clague, who will all be counted on to anchor the blue line.
Fabbro could miss the start of the tournament, as he is currently dealing with a lower-body contusion. Nineteen-year-old Josh Mahura was recalled to sub in for the injured Fabbro.
Up front, Dillon Dube, Taylor Raddysh, and Michael McLeod return from last year's silver-medal winners. That trio will be leaned on by head coach Dominique Ducharme to generate scoring chances for a Canadian team that could struggle to fill the back of the net.
The injury is a huge blow to the Avalanche as Barrie currently sits third in team scoring with 27 points in 34 games.
Barrie's timetable is not yet known, but the diagnosis certainly doesn't bode well for a club that, after Saturday's 6-2 win over the Coyotes, sits just three points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
With the goal, Boeser also became the fastest rookie in franchise history to score 20 times, according to Sportsnet Stats. Meanwhile, as TSN 1040's Jeff Paterson pointed out, only four Canucks players have scored more goals than Boeser's 20 over the past five season.
The Golden Knights got by the reigning Presidents' Trophy winners 3-0, and for Fleury it marked his third win in four games since returning from a concussion.
The 33-year-old has been everything the Golden Knights could ask for this season and more as he's improved to 6-1-1 on the year with a .938 save percentage.
The shutout was the 45th of his career and the fourth time he's blanked the Capitals, tied for the second-most against any team in his career.
The Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves stumbling into the NHL's three-day holiday break.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions were shut out by the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, giving them five losses in their past seven games. The Penguins also sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division, one point up on last-place Philadelphia.
It's not the way head coach Mike Sullivan envisioned kicking off Christmas.
"It's disappointing. We were hoping we'd get some traction from (beating the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday)," he said, per Pens Inside Scoop. "But it didn't work out that way. We all as a group, our coaching staff included, have to do a better job of being ready for games at the drop of the puck."
Sullivan added the group as a whole needs to take a collective look in the mirror and figure out how to be better, and his wish is for everyone to get some quiet time over the break.
"I hope over the next couple of days we'll do some soul searching and come back re-energized," he said.
Pittsburgh will be back in action in Dec. 27 when it hosts Columbus, who it recently beat in a shootout. The Penguins' only wins in regulation this month have come against the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes, giving Sullivan reason to be concerned.
McDavid labored to the bench and was seen limping to the dressing room, however, in his postgame media scrum, Oilers coach Todd McLellan noted that X-rays on McDavid came back negative.
McLellan added that he expects McDavid will be in the lineup next game, when the Oilers head to Winnipeg on Wednesday to take on the Jets.
The Oilers have won four straight and now sit just four points outside of a playoff position.
