Thanksgiving traditionally carries some weight for NHL teams. And not just because of the food.
During a regular 82-game schedule, consensus says that where a club sits by the final Thursday in November (essentially the quarter mark of the season) is where it will be come spring. Meaning, teams that are struggling often don't claw their way back into contention and ones that are in playoff position tend to stay there.
It's not a hard science, of course. And this season did open in mid-October, which is a little later than usual. The Thanksgiving threshold is still a good mile marker though, when the "but it's early!