The National Hockey League's 2014-15 campaign is barely a month old and through the first 30-plus days of the season there are plenty of surprises. Sports World News will take a look at five of the most surprising teams to start the 2014-15 season.
Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning came into the season with high expectations, but they've more than surpassed them thus far. Tampa Bay has stormed out to an 11-3-2 record thus far and are tied for the NHL lead with 24 points. The team has shown no signs of slowing down, having recently rattled off six straight wins from Oct. 28-Nov. 9.
Steven Stamkos has been a huge part of the Lightning's success thus far, showing no ill signs of the broken leg that sidelined him for the majority of last season.
Stamkos is third in the NHL with 10 goals and has 17 points thus far this season. Forward Tyler Johnson has also been a spark as he is fourth in the league with 13 assists and paces the Lightning with 18 points.
Defenseman Anton Stralman, acquired in free agency this past offseason, is tied for second in the NHL with a plus-14 plus-minus rating and leads all Tampa Bay defenseman with 10 points.
Meanwhile in net, Ben Bishop, who missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs due to an injury, is tied for third in the NHL with nine wins and has 2.39 goals-against average to go along with a .915 save percentage.
Tampa Bay is second in the NHL with 3.69 goals per game and ranks fifth in the league on the power play with a 25 percent conversion rate.
New York Islanders: Moving over to the Metropolitan Division, the Islanders upgraded their talent this offseason and it has paid dividends thus far. New York is off to a 10-5-0 start and its 20 points trails the Metropolitan-leading Pittsburgh Penguins by one point atop the standings.
While it was expected that there would be significant improvement for the Islanders, their 10 wins in 15 games is a bit surprising.
Captain John Tavares has once again paved the way for New York, leading the team with 10 assists and 16 points thus far. Brock Nelson (7-8--15) had a torrid start while Kyle Okposo (9-5--14) also continues to thrive on the top line with Tavares.
The Islanders upgraded their blueline by adding Nick Leddy (plus-6) and Johnny Boychuk (plus-5), who are among the leaders on the team in plus-minus. Jaroslav Halak has battled inconsistency in the crease, but he is tied for second in the league with two shutouts thus far this season.
The Islanders recently impressed with a 3-2 road trip to the Western Conference to kick off November -- a month that usually sinks them. New York has also rattled off four straight wins heading into a battle with the Florida Panthers on Friday.
Nashville Predators: Going over to the Central Division, it was widely expected that the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks would once again battle it out for the division crown, but the Predators are the leaders with a 10-3-2 record and 22 points.
Nashville knows it has a long way to go before ending a two-year playoff drought, but the team couldn't ask for a better start under new head coach Peter Laviolette. The Predators have also rattled off three straight wins heading into a game against the Blues on Thursday.
Seventeen has been a big number for Filip Forsberg as he leads Nashville with 17 points and his plus-17 rating paces the NHL. James Neal has taken little time to acclimate to his new team as he leads Nashville with eight goals and has added four assists for 12 points while Shea Weber leads all defenseman with a plus-8 rating.
In net, Pekka Rinne has continued to live up to his reputation as one of the best goalies in the league, ranking second in the NHL with 10 wins and fifth with a 1.83 goals-against average.
Nashville allows just 1.93 goals per game, which is fifth-best in the league.
Vancouver Canucks: After the failed John Tortorella experiment of 2013 that saw the team fail to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008, the Canucks have thrived under the leadership of Willie Desjardins thus far. Vancouver is tied with the Lightning atop the NHL with 24 points and is off to a 12-5-0 start while leading the Pacific Division.
As usual, the Sedin twins are the life blood of the Canucks. Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin are each tied for the team lead with 12 assists while Henrik has added five goals for 17 points and Daniel has four tallies for 16 points.
Nick Bonino has thrived in his first year in a Canucks sweater, pacing the team with seven goals while adding seven helpers for 14 points. Bonino also has a plus-10 rating thus far this season.
In net, Ryan Miller is off to a good start in Vancouver, leading the league with 11 wins while putting up a 2.46 GAA and .910 save percentage.
Calgary Flames: While most people expected the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks and possibly even the Canucks to be in the mix for the Pacific Division lead heading into the season, few picked the Flames to be in third place a month into the season.
Calgary is off to a 9-6-2 start and has more points (20) than the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings (19) and Sharks (18).
Defenseman Mark Giordano is a big reason why Calgary hasn't flamed out as he is tied for third in the NHL with 14 assists and leads the team with 19 points.
Sean Monahan is off to a fast start in his second full season, pacing the Flames with six goals and adding five assists for 11 points while T.J. Brodie (4-10--14) has a team-best plus-9 rating.
There is plenty of season left, but these five teams are off to fast and surprising starts thus far in the 2014-15 NHL campaign.
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