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Bleacher Report
The NHL’s biggest early-season surprises are still…surprising.
The Minnesota Wild missed the Western Conference playoffs last spring and the Washington Capitals were among the last Eastern entrants into the tournament and a quick out, losing four straight games to the top-seeded New York Rangers.
So, it’s logical that neither factored into this fall’s preseason predictions.
However, here we are within days of Christmas and not only have the Wild and Capitals become factors, they’re arguably the biggest ones in the 32-team field.
They’re ranked 1-2 in points percentage through the league’s first two months and occupy the same positions in the B/R Power Rankings for the second straight week after a razor-thin polling session.
The Wild got four first-place votes but were placed fourth on the final ballot, which, combined with Washington’s four second places and one first place, yielded a one-point final margin for Minnesota.
Vegas, Winnipeg and Carolina finished in spots three through five, respectively, with the Golden Knights and Jets each climbing a spot and the Hurricanes leaping three from No. 8 to No. 5.
Elsewhere, the Utah Hockey Club was the highest climber with a nine-spot spike from 26th to 17th, while the Anaheim Ducks sank seven places from No. 21 to No. 28.
Votes were cast that awarded 32 points for first place all the way down to a single point for No. 32. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.