Weekend NHL rankings: The Blue Jackets are the league’s best story and it’s not close

We’re past the midway mark of the season, which means we can’t just hand-wave away any surprises with a dismissive “too early”. That’s bad news for people like me who make preseason predictions, because it means we might have to accept that we were wrong. Key word: might.

For example, back before opening night I grouped the league into four divisions, including one for the true contenders. Of those eight teams, only three – Edmonton, Vegas and Florida – have appeared in the Top 5 since early December. That’s partly because we’ve had teams like Washington and Winnipeg that have forced themselves into weekly spots. But it’s also because five of my so-called sure things have been varying degrees of disappointments.

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