Few expected the Columbus Blue Jackets to be within striking distance of the NHL's best record more than a quarter of the way through the season, but here we are.
John Tortorella's club now sits three points back of the league-leading New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, with three games in hand on both following a 58-shot performance and shootout victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.
The Blue Jackets have gotten a little bit of luck early on, but much of their success has been well deserved.
Here's how they've done it:
Scoring aplenty
The cannon has been getting a workout.
Related: Blue Jackets set franchise record with 10-goal destruction of Canadiens
Only the Rangers have scored more goals per game (3.65) than the Blue Jackets, who've poured in an average of 3.13 in 23 contests. It's been a marked improvement from 2015-16, when Columbus ranked 18th with 2.6 goals per game over the full season.
The Blue Jackets also boast the league's second-best power play so far, scoring at a 23.8 percent clip. Columbus' power play is the NHL's best on home ice, where it's converted 10 of 30 opportunities.
Strong play in their own end
Sergei Bobrovsky struggled last season and was limited to only 37 games due to injury, but he's been one of the NHL's best goaltenders early on this season.
Bobrovsky is 13-5-2 with a 2.08 GAA, a save percentage of .929, and three shutouts, all while shouldering a heavy workload by appearing in 20 of Columbus' 23 games.
He's had help, too. The Blue Jackets have allowed the 11th-fewest shots on goal per game, and the sixth-fewest goals per contest at just 2.22.
Respectable possession numbers
Tortorella has Columbus playing a different game than in seasons past - and it's paying off.
The Blue Jackets rank ninth in the NHL in 5-on-5 shots for percentage (51.66), meaning they're out-shooting opponents and controlling play.
They're eighth in the league in shots per game (30.9) and 12th in even-strength Corsi For percentage (50.64), which shows they're not only generating shots on net, but also creating more shot attempts than they've allowed.
The Blue Jackets also have the fifth-best offensive zone-start percentage, meaning only four teams are taking faceoffs in the opponent's end more often than Columbus.
There is one concerning trend amid the Blue Jackets' hot start, however. Their PDO is sixth in the NHL (101.75), and that figure - which combines the primarily luck-driven categories of shooting percentage and save percentage - typically regresses over time when it's above 100.
Still, there are some definite signs of improvement in Columbus, and if they can be sustained over the full 82-game schedule, a playoff berth could certainly be within reach.
(Statistics courtesy: Corsica.hockey, NHL.com)
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