With the NHL's All-Stars set to be on display on Jan. 25 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, there are a lot of teams near the top of the standings that weren't playing quite this well at this time last year.
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There have been several teams that have broken out this season after being bottom-dwellers while the reverse has also happened with many top teams from a year ago struggling.
Parity is a good thing in the NHL and keeps things interesting, so before the All-Stars take the ice at the Columbus Blue Jackets home arena next weekend, here is a look at the Top 3 surprise teams at this point in the season.
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3) Tampa Bay Lightning: Though the Lightning were a playoff team last season and finished second in Atlantic, Tampa Bay has surged to even greater, somewhat unexpected heights this season.
The Lightning are off to a 27-14-4 start with 58 points, which ranks them atop the Atlantic Division and second overall in the Eastern Conference.
A huge part of Tampa Bay's success has been Steven Stamkos, who ranks second in the NHL with 25 goals and has 43 points this season, but the young captain isn't the only reason for the team's outbreak.
Nikita Kucherov leads the entire NHL with a 27 plus-minus rating and is third on the Lightning with 42 points while Tyler Johnson paces Tampa Bay in points (46) and assists (29) while ranking second in the league with a plus-25 rating.
The Lightning's key to success has been its ability to find the back of the net as the team leads the NHL with 3.22 goals per game. Tampa Bay was expected to be good this season, but they have surpassed projections halfway through the season.
Lighting All-Stars: Stamkos and Johnson; Rookie Jonathan Drouin
2) New York Islanders: The Islanders have made the postseason just once in the last six seasons -- in what came in a lockout-shortened campaign -- but New York is currently the best team in the Eastern Conference.
The Isles lead the conference with 29 wins and 59 points and are currently riding a three-game winning streak.
Jaroslav Halak has arguably been the team's MVP as he is tied for third in the NHL with 23 wins and four shutouts and owns a stingy 2.22 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
Captain John Tavares has continued to show his knack for dominating offensively as he leads the Islanders with 19 goals and 39 points. Kyle Okposo has had his struggles in finding the twine with just nine goals, but he leads the team with 28 assists.
Brock Nelson has been a force, notching 15 goals overall with nine of the tallies coming on the power play while rookie Anders Lee has been hot as of late and has found the twine 11 times.
Another key to New York's success was the acquisition of defenseman Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk to shore up its blue line.
The playoffs are a strong possibility for the surging Islanders in what would be the first time since 2006-07 that New York makes the postseason in an 82-game season.
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1) Nashville Predators: After missing the postseason for the last two seasons, the Predators are surging under Peter Laviolette in his first year behind the bench. Nashville is tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the NHL lead with 62 points and with the Islanders for first in the league with 29 victories.
The Preds are on a four-game winning streak that has continued their meteoric rise to the top of the standings.
The driving force behind the Predators has been goaltender Pekka Rinne, though he left Tuesday's game with an injury and will be out until after the All-Star break.
Rinne leads the NHL with 29 wins and ranks second in the league with a 1.96 GAA and a .931 save percentage. Rinne has been in net for every Predators win this season.
Rookie Filip Forsberg has been another pleasant surprise for Nashville, pacing the team with 15 goals and 39 points while ranking fourth in the league with a plus-23 rating.
Nashville has been very good on the defensive side of things, which is flanked by captain Shea Weber. The Predators have allowed just 2.17 goals per game, which is the best mark in the NHL.
The Predators have been a great surprise this season and have emerged as one of the best teams in the NHL after finishing sixth in the Central Division a year ago.
Predators All-Stars: Rinne (doubtful) and Weber; Rookie: Forsberg, Coach: Laviolette
These three teams are rolling as the NHL enters its All-Star break and not many people projected them to top the standings entering the 2014-15 campaign.
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