The calendar has changed and we are now in the year 2017. This also means that the NHL season is now officially halfway over. I know, I can't believe we're halfway through, either. Time goes by fast when your having fun watching hockey, eh? That means it's a little overdue for another installment of former NHL bottom feeders on the rise, and boy will this be a fun one to talk about these teams. There have been some major surprises over the past quarter of the season. Now in the past two articles I had an order for the teams, but I'm breaking that for this one as one certain team stands out above the rest.

The Columbus Blue Jackets

The 1st place team in the NHL has certainly been on a roll recently. Yeah, you read that right, the team that ended last season in 27th place and last in the Metropolitan Division is currently leading the entire league. This is in part thanks to their 16 game win streak that ended on January 5th against the Washington Capitals in Washington. If you're wondering, that win streak of 16 is tied for the second longest win streak in NHL history. What led to the Blue Jackets' winning ways you may ask?

For me, I saw two things that really propelled them forward. First is someone I have talked about before, their goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Throughout that 16 game winning stretch, Bobrovsky started for 13 of them. He also has some great numbers this season as well. He only averages 2.03 goals against per game and has a save percentage of 93%. Also, both of those numbers are 5th among the 30 starting goaltenders in the NHL, which is incredibly impressive. The other impact has been the amount of players that are able to score goals and put points on the board for the team. The Jackets have been able to roll 4 lines who all can put up points consistently, which is exactly what you need for a successful hockey team, especially one that can win the Stanley Cup. Hopefully Columbus can keep this pace up, as it will most likely translate into a great post season run.

The Edmonton Oilers

Well since I've changed the order, let's go by the team's standings in the NHL from top to bottom. The Oilers are another team that are having a really good breakout season compared to their past. At the moment, Edmonton is third in the Pacific Division and has won their last two games. This is thanks to the team's top line of Jordan Eberle, Connor McDavid, and Patrick Maroon. Actually, in the Oilers game against the Boston Bruins on Thursday January 5th, Maroon scored the first hattrick of his career. All three of those players are also in the top three on the Oilers in either goals or assists. Success seems to finally be coming for Edmonton after years of high first round draft picks and wild trades.

The Calgary Flames

At the moment, the Flames are in a good position for the midway point of the season. They currently sit in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. From this point of the season, almost 75% of teams in a playoff position will remain there until the end of the season. Calgary had a strong second quarter of the season, winning all but 3 games in the month of December, which is the bulk of that period of the schedule. This is probably due in part to their first and second lines, which include center Mikael Backlund and left wing Johnny Gaudreau who currently sit in 63rd and 64th for points in the league. Keeping up at this pace, the Flames are likely to be successful until the end of the season.

The Carolina Hurricanes

Right now Carolina is about five points out of a wild card playoff spot. Despite adding new players to the mix from waivers and their minor league team, the Hurricanes haven't quite yet found the right combination. Led by Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask in goals and assists, the Hurricanes have been able to pull off getting one point in their games 64% of the time. While those numbers aren't great by most NHL teams standards, for Carolina, this is about the same. But there is still half of a season of hockey left, so who knows where they will end up by that time.

The New Jersey Devils

I'll be honest, of the five teams I picked to look at this year, the Devils are not the one I expected to be so close to the bottom. Last season they were in 20th place, just barely in the lower third of the NHL, while they are now 25th and a game below .500 despite making a key trade in the off season for top line left wing Taylor Hall. Unfortunately for New Jersey, key players in their lineup have not lived up to last season's expectations.

One player who has not lived up to expectations is their standout goalie Corey Schneider, who played extremely well for the United States in the World Cup of Hockey in the early fall. His win record is currently under .500 and only has a save percentage of .908, which puts him at 45th among all NHL goalies that have played at least one game. The Devils need to step up both their goal tending and their differential to potentially have a shot at the playoffs.

Now it's only halfway through the season and just about anything can happen in hockey. Take what is here at just face value for the moment as it could change drastically before the finale of the season in April. I'm still surprised that the season is this far along. But let's enjoy the rest of the season. I bet it will be over before we even realize it.