It’s still early and injuries or other misfortunes can befall a team at any point, but there certainly are a number of “surprise” teams in the playoff hunt as of today. Many general managers use the American Thanksgiving as a measuring point for whether their team is truly built for the second season. Some of those teams, namely the Vegas Golden Knights, were expected to endure years of losing before they experienced a playoff appearance. Just a week outside of December, there a number of squads that will continue to push toward a playoff berth while others regress to the mean.
So which surprise team has the best chance of making the playoffs?
I have Vegas and either the Devils or Jets making it from this list, maybe both, but that’s unlikely.
Bruins
They aren’t really a surprise to be competitive this year.