The NHL season is just over halfway complete, and while the Colorado Avalanche sit atop the standings with 79 points, the bigger story has been just how unpredictable the rest of the league has become.
Some teams expected to be rebuilding are hanging around the playoff picture. Others that looked like sure things back in October have taken an unexpected step backward. In a season full of surprises, these five teams stand out the most so far.
Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago arguably entered the season with the weakest roster in the NHL. While the young core is intriguing, Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, and Spencer Knight are still developing, and proven star power is scarce beyond them.
Despite that, the Blackhawks sit just five points back of the final wild card spot, far exceeding preseason expectations. Bedard has been excellent, and the supporting cast has done just enough to keep Chicago competitive on most nights. No one thought the Blackhawks would be relevant this late into the season, yet here they are, still hanging around.
San Jose Sharks
No team has shattered expectations quite like San Jose. The Sharks were widely expected to spend this season near the bottom of the standings, but instead find themselves firmly in the playoff mix.
Macklin Celebrini was billed as a generational prospect, and he has been every bit as advertised. He’s tied for third in the league with 74 points, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. His scoring gets the headlines, but his playmaking has been just as impressive, driving San Jose’s offense night after night.
Celebrini isn’t doing it alone, either. The Sharks already have four players above the 30-point mark, and at 26-21-3, they currently hold the final wild card spot. Even more impressive, they’re just two points behind Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division. This rebuild is moving much faster than anyone expected.
Anaheim Ducks
Speaking of Anaheim, the Ducks have been one of the strangest surprises in the league this season. Their two leading scorers, Cutter Gauthier and Leo Carlsson, are just 21 and 20 years old, respectively, yet Anaheim keeps finding ways to win.
On paper, none of this should work. The Ducks don’t have an elite scorer, a top-tier goaltender, or a strong defensive profile. They allow 3.48 goals per game, ranking 31st in the NHL, and sit in the bottom 10 in penalty kill percentage.
But when you actually watch them play, the explanation becomes clearer. Anaheim overwhelms teams with pace and pressure. They rank fourth in the league in shots per game, consistently forcing opposing goalies to work. Riding a seven-game winning streak, the Ducks have turned effort and volume into real results, and it will be fascinating to see how long they can keep it going.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh sits just eight points behind Carolina for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, a position few would have predicted when the season began. After finishing near the bottom of the conference in 2024-25, the Penguins have flipped the script.
Goaltending was a major issue last season, and trading for Stuart Skinner has stabilized things considerably. Offensively, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have continued to defy time, helping Pittsburgh rank 10th in the league in goals per game.
The biggest improvement, though, has come defensively. The Penguins own a top-five penalty kill at 83.4 percent, a massive step forward from a year ago. This roster looked finished to many entering the season. Instead, it’s firmly back in the playoff hunt.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets are the surprise on this list for all the wrong reasons. After going 56-22-4 and winning the Presidents’ Trophy with 116 points last season, Winnipeg has cratered. They now sit with fewer points than Chicago and are tied for the second-lowest total in the league.
At this stage last year, the Jets already had 34 wins. To reach that number this season, they’d need to go at least 14-17 the rest of the way. That’s a stunning drop-off for a team that looked like a legitimate Cup contender just months ago.
Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy last season, but his play has fallen off significantly. His .902 save percentage is tied for 25th in the NHL and represents the worst mark of his career. When your elite goaltender regresses and the rest of the roster follows, things can unravel quickly, and that’s exactly what’s happened in Winnipeg.
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