This NHL season has been full of surprises. Teams predicted to be bottom feeders have found a way to win, including a Colorado Avalanche team that has executed almost a full recovery from a historically bad campaign last season. Teams that were predicted take the next step into elite status have fallen by the wayside, such is the case of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
Then of course there’s the Vegas Golden Knights.
To put it into perspective just how surprising the NHL season has been thus far, we take a look back at ESPN’s preseason power rankings and just how wrong they are to this point.
There are five teams that have reached the 70-point plateau so far this year, the Lightning (75), the Golden Knights (74), the Predators (71), the Jets (71), and the Bruins (70).
Of these five teams, only one of them was predicted to finish in the top ten – A Nashville Predators team coming off of a Stanley Cup appearance, and also the last one to join the 70-point club.
The other four teams were predicted to finish 14th (Lightning), 19th (Jets), 22nd (Bruins), and of course, 31st (you know who.)
On the flip side, eight of the top 13 predicted teams now sit in a Wild Card Spot or less (Stars, Ducks, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks, Oilers, Canadiens, Wild, Rangers).
In fact only the Sharks, Predators, Leafs, Stars, Wild, Kings, Flames, Flyers, Panthers, Red Wings, Canucks and Coyotes have fallen within four spots of their prediction, going either up or down. That’s a spread that includes NINE teams (four above, four below, and the team sitting in the predicted spot), and only 12 of the teams meet the criteria that inclues almost one third of the league.
Remember, these weren’t random ranking assignments. These were educated guesses.
Who knows what is going to happen during the rest of the season, are the Coyotes going to win out?
