The Biggest Storylines to Watch in Week 12 of the 2014-15 NHL Season

It's time to finish those leftovers still in the refrigerator. The NHL's Christmas break is already a mere memory.

The league's 30 teams are all back to work, setting the stage for a stretch run that promises some tight races for playoff positions in both conferences.

A few holiday treats remain before we settle back into the regular grind. If your favorite flavor is the spectacle of hockey in the great outdoors, scouting the next big thing, or exercising your right to vote, then this is the week for you.

Here are the biggest storylines to watch in and around the NHL as we prepare to ring in 2015. 

New Year to Kick off with 2015 Winter Classic

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One of the NHL's most successful marketing initiatives, the annual Winter Classic game on New Year's Day, has become a tradition since its introduction in 2008.

This year's edition will be held at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., as the Capitals will host the Chicago Blackhawks.

It will be the second appearance for both teams at a Winter Classic. The 'Hawks fell 6-4 to the Detroit Red Wings in front of 40,818 fans at Wrigley Field in 2009, while the visiting Caps beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 at a rainy Heinz field in 2011.

Weather plays a huge part in what happens on the ice and how the game looks on television. Adam Vingan at NHL.com reports that the forecast in Washington is mixed in the days leading up to the event: "Temperatures range from the low 40s to mid-60s with a mixture of sun and rain. The potential for snow exists on Dec. 31, when the Blackhawks and Capitals will practice at Nationals Park."

The action will get underway at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 1.

Top 2015 Draft Prospects Fight for Attention at World Junior Championship

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Every year, the annual World Junior Championship offers the best teenagers in the hockey world a chance to show their stuff.

Most have already been drafted and are looking to improve their chances of moving up to the NHL level. This year, the two most interesting players will be waiting to hear their names called next June. Seventeen-year-old Connor McDavid of Canada and 18-year-old Jack Eichel of the U.S. are both draft-eligible—and already playing at their second World Juniors.

Both skilled centers, McDavid and Eichel's teams are off to good starts. McDavid has a goal and two assists in Canada's shutout wins over Slovakia and Germany, while Eichel has a goal and an assist in the two U.S. wins over Finland and Germany.

McDavid and Eichel will go head-to-head when Canada faces the U.S in Montreal on New Year's Eve, the final day of the round-robin. The playoff round will begin on Jan. 2.

Who Can Stop the New York Rangers?

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The Christmas break didn't break the stride of the New York Rangers. Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Blueshirts are the hottest team in the NHL and have climbed into third place in the Metropolitan Division, eight points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Rangers have enjoyed a reasonably light schedule in the month of December. They impressed by collecting all six points available on their Western Canadian road trip through Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary in mid-month and have been the only team to beat the also-hot Washington Capitals in regulation since Dec. 2.

The most important key to success on the streak has been strong team defense and solid goaltending. Henrik Lundqvist has given up just 11 goals in his seven appearances, while backup Cam Talbot shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in his only start of the streak on Dec. 21.

The Rangers will face the Dallas Stars on Monday and the surging Florida Panthers on Wednesday as they attempt to push their streak to double digits. 

Are the Toronto Maple Leafs Crashing Again?

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After winning 10 of 12 games between Nov. 20 and Dec. 16, the streaky Toronto Maple Leafs have hit dark times once again.

The Leafs have now won just once in their last five outings. On Sunday, they sacrificed a 4-2 third-period lead to fall 6-4 to the never-say-die Florida Panthers.

Last season, the Leafs' rough patch didn't come until mid-March, when they lost eight in a row to fall out of the playoff picture. Is the collapse starting even earlier this season?

With Toronto in the midst of a tough stretch of its schedule, which includes 14 of 18 games on the road between Dec. 21 and Jan. 31, the next month could dictate whether or not the Leafs will be playoff bound in 2014-15.

Toronto plays four games on the road this week, including tough contests against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets. It won't be easy to get back onto the winning side of the ledger.

Are the New Coaching Regimes Turning Their Teams Around?

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There was no holiday goodwill in New Jersey this Christmas.

On Dec. 26, Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello announced that his head coach, Peter DeBoer, was being relieved of his duties. After guiding the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season with the team in 2011-12, New Jersey had failed to make the postseason in the two subsequent years and ranked 26th in the league during the Christmas break, when Lou decided to pull the trigger.

For the time being, the Devils will be led on the bench by a trio of faces—Lamoriello himself, Adam Oates and Devils' icon Scott Stevens. Their first game didn't improve the team's fortunes: New Jersey dropped a 3-1 decision to the New York Rangers on Dec. 27.

Which GM will get a win for his team first, Lamoriello or the Edmonton Oilers' Craig MacTavish? In five games since stepping behind the bench with his Oklahoma Barons' head coach Todd Nelson after firing Dallas Eakins on Dec. 15, MacTavish's Oilers have gone 0-3-2.

New coach Dave Cameron has had somewhat better luck in Ottawa. Since replacing the fired Paul McLean on Dec. 8, the Senators have posted a decent record of 3-3-2 in eight games—basically identical to the 11-11-5 record McLean had built before getting the axe.

The old belief that firing a coach could instantly spark a team to better results doesn't seem to be holding true so far this season. Good news for other coaches who could find themselves on the hot seat?

All-Star Voting Concludes Jan. 1

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Will the pride of Latvia make All-Star history?

For the first time in three seasons, the NHL will take a short break in late January for its All-Star festivities. Fan voting for the starting lineup has been underway for several weeks, and so far the runaway leader is Buffalo Sabres' center Zemgus Girgensons.

NHL.com reported on Dec. 23 that Girgensons had been the leading vote-getter for four straight weeks. His 1.29 million votes are more than 50 percent greater than the support for the league's second-place forward, the Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane, who has 815,000.

With voting open to hockey fans around the world, it's believed that Girgensons' Latvian countrymen have been stuffing the ballots to make the 20-year-old a first-time All-Star in his second NHL season.

Girgensons is second in scoring on the Sabres, with 10 goals and 9 assists in 36 games.

Voting remains open until Jan. 1. The All-Star Game will be played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Sunday, Jan. 25. 

All statistics courtesy of NHL.com.