Historically at this point in the season, the eventual Art Ross Trophy winner has been either first in scoring or no more than six points behind the leader. Using that standard, the only player within reach of first place is Burns, who has 51 points in 49 games.
If Burns wins, he would be the first defenseman to finish first in scoring since Bobby Orr had 135 points in 80 games for the Bruins in 1974-75.
Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars established an important precedent in 2014-15 when he finished first with 87 points in 82 games despite trailing Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers by 16 points on Jan. 26, 2015. That metric means as many as 25 players could be in the mix this season, including Benn, whose 40 points in 45 games are 17 behind McDavid.
Of this group, Kane is the key player to watch. He won the scoring race last season by 17 points, finishing with 106 in 82 games, and is fifth this season with 48 points in 50 games.
Like McDavid, Kane is leaned on heavily in Chicago; he leads NHL forwards in ice time, averaging 21:52 per game, including 18:07 at even strength. Like Malkin, Kane is helped by the way he's deployed; his 65.19 offensive zone start percentage ranks 22nd among all players (minimum 15 games).
Other strong contenders include Backstrom, whose 18 points in 14 games lead the NHL since the start of the new year, and linemate Alex Ovechkin, who is tied for second with 17 and won the Art Ross Trophy with 112 points in 82 games in 2007-08. Backstrom is tied with Bruins forward Brad Marchand with 47 points in 48 games, and Ovechkin has 43 points in 48 games.