The first few weeks of the 2017-18 season are complete, and there are several teams who find themselves in unfamiliar positions at either the top or the bottom of the NHL standings.
Although it's important to not read too much into these early results, the underlying numbers can sometimes provide some valuable clues about which teams might be there to stay.
Overachievers
Four of the top seven teams in the standings include one expansion team and three of last season's non-playoff teams. While the Tampa Bay Lightning were largely expected to rebound back toward first place in the Atlantic Division, the other three teams are surprises.
Los Angeles Kings
For the past six seasons, the Los Angeles franchise has been the king of shot-based metrics. Between 2011-12 and 2016-17, the Kings outshot their opponents by the stunning margin of 21,796 to 17,322 at 5-on-5, for an SAT of plus-4,474 that dominated the NHL. The Boston Bruins were in second place, with plus-2,353.
Of course, that shot-based advantage didn't always produce the intended results. Yes, the Kings won the Stanley Cup in two of the first three seasons, but then they missed the playoffs in two of the latter three, which cost coach Darryl Sutter and GM Dean Lombardi their jobs.
The Kings have immediately resumed course with new coach John Stevens. They have a 6-1-1 record and good shot-based metrics, and they rank fifth in goals scored per game, 3.63, and first in fewest goal allowed, 2.13.
Thriving under the new coaching staff, Dustin Brown is back in the top six for the first time since the 2011-12 season, and he has responded with 11 points in eight games, along with an impressive plus-10 rating.
Looking ahead: The Kings should remain in the mix for the Pacific Division crown.
New Jersey Devils
Every year, there is one team that overachieves, thanks to all its prospects maturing at the same time. In 2016-17, it was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who surged from 69 points to 95 in the standings thanks to rookies Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Connor Brown, Nikita Zaitsev, Zach Hyman and others. Together, Toronto's rookies combined for 123 goals and 304 points and were worth a combined 33.3 points in the standings, according to the catch-all point shares statistic developed by Hockey Reference.
Are the Devils this year's version of the Maple Leafs? New Jersey's rookies Nico Hischier, Will Butcher, Jesper Bratt and Blake Coleman have combined for six goals, 23 points and an estimated 2.7 points in the standings through the first eight games, helping the team compile a record of 6-2-0.
The Devils also have several players with less than a full season's worth of NHL experience who are playing substantial roles, including Steven Santini, Mirco Mueller, Pavel Zacha, Stefan Noesen and Miles Wood. There is tremendous upside for New Jersey if the younger half of its lineup continues to develop this quickly.
Looking ahead: The Devils are a legitimately improved team that should battle for a playoff spot.
Vegas Golden Knights
Although there's no question that this past summer's expansion draft rules were the most favorable in history, Vegas GM George McPhee appeared to have his eye on the future. He accepted draft picks and prospects in exchange for making suboptimal selections, and he traded several of his stronger choices for even more long-term considerations. In the free-agency period that followed, he remained unexpectedly quiet.
Despite that short-term sacrifice, the Golden Knights have started their inaugural season with a 6-1-0 record. To avoid getting too excited, it should be pointed out that their soft schedule has included only two teams that made the playoffs last season, including the Bruins before Patrice Bergeron returned to the lineup. Three of the Knights' six wins occurred in overtime, and two more were by a single goal (not including an empty-net goal against the Bruins). With stronger opponents and/or a few bad bounces, they could just as easily have a record of 1-6-0.
Looking ahead: The Golden Knights will start to fade as the season progresses and miss the playoffs.
Disappointments
Long-term basement dwellers such as the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres have three surprising new roommates this season. Instead of sharing space with the Colorado Avalanche and/or the Vegas Golden Knights, they're with perceived Stanley Cup contenders such as the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers and the defending Atlantic Division champs, the Montreal Canadiens.
Is this just temporary, or should one or more of these teams start unpacking their things?
Edmonton Oilers
Without Connor McDavid, the Oilers might potentially fall from a Stanley Cup contender to a non-playoff team. However, McDavid is in the lineup and is leading the team with eight points in seven games. Why are the Oilers still off to a disappointing 2-5-0 start? Because in those seven games, they have scored just six goals without McDavid's direct involvement.
For teams with a franchise player such as McDavid, the challenge has always been to create a secondary threat. Those who do, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, can win the Stanley Cup, while those who don't, such as the New York Islanders, can miss the playoffs.
With McDavid flanked by Patrick Maroon and either Leon Draisaitl or rookie Kailer Yamamoto, the Oilers are dominating opponents 174-98 in 5-on-5 shot attempts with their franchise center on the ice. However, they have been far more average with second-line players Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (88-82 in shot-attempt differential) or Milan Lucic (83-79) on the ice.
Looking ahead: The Oilers should rally back into a playoff position as soon as the second line gets going.
Montreal Canadiens
We've seen Montreal slump before. In the absence of goalie Carey Price in 2015-16 due to a knee injury, the Canadiens fell from 110 points -- and the Atlantic title -- to 82 points and their first sixth-place divisional finish since 1994-95. Upon his return to health in 2016-17, Montreal immediately bounced back to 103 points and regained the division crown.
This season, Price has a disappointing .881 save percentage in six starts, which has caused Montreal to tumble down the standings once again, with a 1-6-1 record through eight games.
Even if Price were in top form, Montreal has averaged just 1.50 goals per game, which ranks last in the NHL. As a team, Montreal is scoring on 3.9 percent of its shots, compared to 12.6 percent for their opponents. At that rate, the Canadiens could outshoot their opponents by a 3-to-1 margin and still lose.
Looking ahead: Everything is going wrong in Montreal right now, but they won't continue to shoot 3.9 percent. This talented team will get back on track.
New York Rangers
After their third consecutive 100-point season and their 11th playoff appearance in 12 seasons, the Rangers are off to a 2-6-2 start, which finds them last in the Metropolitan Division. Is their window of Stanley Cup contention finally closing?
The Rangers have never been known for strong shot-based metrics, but this season has been worse than most. When adjusted for factors such as the score, home/road split and the type of shot attempt, the New York Rangers rank 29th with a shot attempt percentage of 44.15 percent, according to the data at PuckOn.net.
The Rangers have rallied from a slow start before. In 2013-14, the season in which the Rangers last reached the Stanley Cup Final, they began the season with a 2-6-0 record and a 43.04 adjusted shot attempt percentage, which ranked 28th.
Looking ahead: There's no reason to hit the panic button ... yet.