The first half of the 2014-15 season is roughly in the books. Due to the craziness that is the NHL schedule, some teams still haven’t played their 41st game of the season while others are a few games deep into the second half. Since there isn’t an official midway point, we’ve decided now is as good a time as ever to discuss some of the biggest surprises from the first half.
Feel free to disagree with our selections and point out the stories which you didn’t expect to unfold in the first half in the comments section.
Success in Nashville
A lot of people expected the Predators to be a better team this season thanks to a healthy Pekka Rinne, but no one – not even the most optimistic of Predators fans – pictured this team sharing the top spot in the NHL.
The Predators once again have a strong defense, but it’s their top-10 offense which has the league taking note. Oh, did we mention that you should plan on losing if you visit Nashville? The Predators own an insane 16-2-1 record at home.
Filip Forsberg. Enough said. This rookie is the real deal.
Nick Foligno’s Offense
Traditionally, Foligno hasn’t been known for his offensive capability. That has suddenly changed as he has had a truly special first half in which his offense has reached an unexpected level. In 2013-14, Foligno scored 18 times and had 39 points in 70 games. Through 37 appearances this year, Foligno has 17 goals and 38 points. Foligno’s success may not endure as his current shooting percentage (21.3%) is well ahead of his career average (12.2%), but it has been a surprising story to follow.
Crowded Lottery for Connor McDavid
The Buffalo Sabres have the McDavid lottery wrapped up, right? Wrong! It turns out there are some horrible teams in the NHL this year who are even able to give Buffalo a run for their money. The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t win a game in October and are looking like a team deserving of last in the league. But wait – don’t forget about the Edmonton Oilers. In the “who can suck the most” competition, the Oilers may run away with it.
Martin Brodeur in Blue
Even though we all expected a Brodeur comeback after the veteran refused to hang it up, it’s still a shock to see the future Hall of Fame goaltender in a different uniform. Did anyone guess he’d be in a Blues sweater? Even if you did, Brodeur in blue is a strange sight.
Anaheim’s Luck
If you venture through some of the league’s fancy stats, you’ll find that the Anaheim Ducks look like a good, but not great team. The Ducks’ offense is ranked in the bottom half of the NHL and their advanced stats (like puck possession, for instance) leave a lot to be desired. In our NHL Analytics Power Rankings, we’ve even explained why the Ducks are consistently ranked well below their actual position in the standings.
Logic aside, the Ducks just keep on winning.
Nail Yakupov
There are a ton of areas to criticize in Edmonton, but perhaps the most disappointing and most surprising is the overall bad play of Yakupov. Now in his third season, Yakupov was supposed to take the next step forward and begin to start justifying his first overall selection in the 2012 NHL Draft. Through the first half of 2014-15, Yakupov looks like a bust. It may be the quality of talent around him and the losing attitude in Edmonton, but he isn’t showing anything worth getting excited over.
Halak Thriving
Jaroslav Halak was kicked out of St. Louis when the Blues decided he wasn’t the key to a lengthy playoff run. Hindsight proved that Ryan Miller wasn’t better. Halak eventually landed on the Islanders and he has taken the team to new heights this season. Halak has been in the top-5 among all goaltenders in wins and shutouts. More importantly, his outstanding play has assisted in pushing the Isles into playoff contention.
We predicted a fresh start would benefit Halak, but he has exceeded our expectations.
Youngsters Emerge
We’ve grown pretty accustomed to seeing Steven Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin lead the league in goals scored, but so far in 2014-15 the eyes are all on some new names. Rick Nash is a familiar face, but his resurgence has been masked by the huge efforts by Tyler Seguin and Vladimir Tarasenko. The two #91s have taken the NHL by storm and are officially stars after insane first half performances.
Bruins Disappointing
How have the Boston Bruins followed up their 117-point 2013-14? Not well and that’s being extremely kind. The Bruins have been mostly mediocre at best and perhaps infuriating depending on which fan you ask. Through 42 games the Bruins have 48 points, have an EVEN goal differential and are sitting right in the middle of the league’s standings.
The Bruins have been average and that’s a big drop from their enormous expectations. Some expected a fall off from the Bruins’ deep playoff run last year, but few expected the Bruins to look so out of sync so often in 2014-15.