Revisiting our 2017-18 NHL season predictions at the halfway point

We’ve officially flipped the calendar on another year, meaning we’ve reached the near official halfway point of the 2017-18 NHL season. While there’s no real marker designating that this is indeed the NHL season’s midway point, most teams in the league have played around 41 games, half of the league’s 82-game season.

After the first quarter pole passed our way, we took a look at our early preseason predictions to see how they faired against the NHL’s current path. Now, with more than a handful of team’s fates currently set, we feel we must do the same now that we’re in the thick of it.

Teams are really starting to look at playoff races now, especially that the next big in-season milestone is the NHL’s trade deadline at the end of February. Standings are still fluid until the last day of the season, but there’s certainly value in taking a look at where things stand after three months of play.

The Lightning are just as dangerous as we marked them out to be, but even their dominance has surprised us somewhat as they’ve only lost nine games in regulation this year.

However, the biggest surge in the Atlantic has come from the Bruins, who have been on a 8-0-2 stretch in their last 10 games. Their top-line trio of Brad Marchand (40 points), David Pastrnak (39 points), and Patrice Bergeron (32 points) have sliced through the competition this season, and they’re a big reason why they’ve jumped to second in the division at the midway point.

Toronto has faltered just a tad down the stretch recently, as missing Auston Matthews alongside inconsistent defensive play has shown the Maple Leafs’ growing pains. However, they still sit quite comfortably in a playoff spot.

Leading the rest of the Atlantic are the Red Wings, who have fallen a bit back to Earth after being a surprise playoff team the last time we checked in. Part of that can be due to the Bruins surging, but things fell off for Detroit in early December when they lost 10 of 11 straight games.

Getting Carey Price back hasn’t helped the Canadiens much at all, as his .911 save percentage is taking some time to build back up to elite level. At this point, however, we may just have to call this season lost for Montreal as the trade rumors have once again come for captain Max Pacioretty.

The Panthers and Senators are both teams we pegged in the bottom half of the Atlantic this season and both have struggled, although the Senators more than expected, as we’ve hit the halfway point.

Once again, however, the Sabres make up the Atlantic’s basement. With rumors that anyone but Jack Eichel is up for sale, you can mark this season off as another disappointing one in Buffalo.

After taking a bit longer to get started, the Capitals have fought their way up a tough Metropolitan Division to take first place — for now anyway. The Capitals were in a playoff spot the last time we checked in, but a four-game win streak and a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games have pushed them up the standings.

Still, the biggest shocker is how well the Devils have done this season. Cory Schneider’s bounce-back season in net combined with the team’s young talent of Nico Hischier, Will Butcher, Jesper Bratt, and Taylor Hall have turned our predictions on their head.

Filling out the remaining playoff spots are the Blue Jackets, Rangers, and Penguins. Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup hangover hasn’t helped them this year in yet another deep division, as their offense just hasn’t had the punch its had in year’s past. Still, a recent surge has them in a postseason spot as of now.

While the Blue Jackets are squarely where we predicted them, the Rangers have been much better than we gave them credit to be at the beginning of the season. Henrik Lundqvist has been back to his usual self while Mats Zuccarello leads the team offensively with 31 points.

The Hurricanes, Flyers, and Islanders all sit at the bottom of the division, and New York’s fall has been the most significant since we last checked in. Since Dec. 1, the Islanders have won just six total games as injuries have started to pile up.

As for the Flyers and Hurricanes, they aren’t really even out of the playoff race as nine points separate first from last in the Metropolitan Division.

Once again, the Central Division remains clearly out of our grasp to predict. The Jets have been one such unpredictable anomaly, as their early season success seems to be no fluke now. Connor Hellebuyck has earned the starter’s net with a .923 save percentage in 35 games played, and the absence of Mark Scheifele due to injury hasn’t stopped the team from rolling through the season.

Another surprise has been the Blues, who are still getting incredible production from the trio of Brayden Schenn, Jaden Schwartz, and Vladimir Tarasenko. St. Louis has been stagnant a bit as of late, which may have allowed the Jets to jump them in the standings.

The Predators got Ryan Ellis back on defense and are looking just as deadly as ever in the Central’s third spot, but our predictions for them are the only thing that’s panned out in this division.

After stumbling out of the gate, the Stars have picked themselves up nicely. They’re still a very Jekyl-and-Hyde team, especially in goal, but going 6-2-2 in their last 10 has helped secure them a postseason spot as of now.

The Avalanche have been quietly succeeding this season, as a five-game win streak has them sitting in the West’s last wild card spot. Nathan MacKinnon is set to put up career numbers with 52 points already on the season, securing his spot as one of the best offensive centers in the NHL.

Bringing up the rear in the Central are the Wild and Blackhawks, two teams we pegged to be better on the whole this season. Both teams have struggled, but both are also within striking distance with the Avalanche for that last wild card spot in the West so neither are out of it despite failing to hit our expectations this year.

We, for one, welcome our new Golden Knights overlords. Vegas has been the talk of the NHL since becoming an official franchise in 2016. Now, the team has backed up their big talk as they’ve stormed out to a 60-point season. In their last 10 games, they’re 9-1-0 and have 40-point-man Jon Marchessault to thank for that, alongside William Karlsson (36 points), Reilly Smith (35 points), and David Perron (34 points).

The Kings haven’t wavered from their second place spot in the Pacific, as they have continued to benefit from a system change with new head coach John Stevens. The Sharks jumped up over Calgary to take the Pacific’s final playoff spot, as they’ve had a smooth season so far with Logan Couture and Brent Burns leading the charge with 30 points each.

Behind them, however, are the Ducks who are looking to hop into a playoff spot with their injury problems mostly healed up. Ryan Getzlaf, especially, is having a good comeback from injury with 24 points in 19 games.

While the Flames have dropped out of a playoff spot, they’ve won three straight games and are within a point of the Western Conference’s last playoff berth.

In the Pacific Division basement we have the Oilers, Canucks, and Coyotes. Edmonton’s struggles have been well documented this season after such an incredible year last year. Connor McDavid has done all the offensive heavy lifting with 47 points, but Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have done what they can to help this team.

The Canucks have some life with 20-year-old Brock Boeser’s 40 points so far this season, but not much else has gone right for the team as they’ve won just two games since early December.

Bringing up the rear is once again the Coyotes, who could not recover from a very unfortunate start to the season with injuries. But hey, at least Clayton Keller might be a Calder Trophy finalist with his 32-point rookie season.