With the first third of the season completed for all but Columbus (who have amazingly played just 26 games, six fewer than the Winnipeg Jets), there have been some huge swings from a year ago.
Those Blue Jackets are the league’s most improved team, with a staggering 18 more points through 26 games than last season. Their huge swing is only matched by the Dallas Stars equally amazing drop-off of 18 points the other way. The Jackets can attest their improvement to the development of young players like Zach Werenski and Alexander Wennberg, while the Stars have seen a litany of injuries to their star players including Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya.
The Central Division as a whole is off to a slower start this year, with only the Chicago Blackhawks bettering their 2015-16 record. The Colorado Avalanche, expected to take a step forward with their young core has suffered the exact same fate with 23 points through 27 games.
The two biggest Canadian rebuild stories, Edmonton and Toronto have both improved, though not as largely as the fan bases in each city might have you believe. Four points for the Maple Leafs and five for the Oilers lend credence to the idea that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that counts. Though both franchises have a lot to look forward to, keeping up an advanced pace for an entire season is extremely difficult. The two teams finished last season with just 69 and 70 points respectively.
Below are the current standings. In parenthesis is the difference in points through the same amount of games last year.
Montreal Canadiens: 28 GP, 41 pts (even)
Ottawa Senators: 29 GP, 34 pts (-1)
Boston Bruins: 29 GP, 32 pts (-4)
Tampa Bay Lightning: 29 GP, 30 pts (-1)
Florida Panthers: 29 GP, 30 pts (-2)
Detroit Red Wings: 29 GP, 30 pts (-5)
Toronto Maple Leafs: 27 GP, 27 pts (+4)
Buffalo Sabres: 27 GP, 26 pts (+1)
New York Rangers: 30 GP, 41 pts (+2)
Pittsburgh Penguins: 28 GP, 39 pts (+6)
Philadelphia Flyers: 31 GP, 39 pts (+7)
Columbus Blue Jackets: 26 GP, 38 pts (+18)
Washington Capitals: 27 GP, 37 pts (-3)
New Jersey Devils: 28 GP, 30 pts (-2)
Carolina Hurricanes: 28 GP, 28 pts (+4)
New York Islanders: 27 GP, 27 pts (-7)
Chicago Blackhawks: 30 GP, 40 pts (+4)
St. Louis Blues: 29 GP, 36 pts (even)
Minnesota Wild: 27 GP, 34 pts (even)
Winnipeg Jets: 32 GP, 29 pts (-3)
Nashville Predators: 27 GP, 28 pts (-4)
Dallas Stars: 30 GP, 28 pts (-18)
Colorado Avalanche: 27 GP, 23 pts (even)
Anaheim Ducks: 29 GP, 35 pts (+8)
Edmonton Oilers: 31 GP, 35 pts (+5)
Calgary Flames: 31 GP, 34 pts (+2)
San Jose Sharks: 28 GP, 33 pts (+4)
Los Angeles Kings: 27 GP, 30 pts (-7)
Vancouver Canucks: 29 GP, 26 pts (-2)
Arizona Coyotes: 27 GP, 23 pts (-4)