Two of the Edmonton Oilers biggest rivals are off to very different starts this season, and were named as two of the most confusing teams in the NHL this season.
The Hockey News recently ranked the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames as some of the most confusing teams, the former for their struggles and the latter for their surprise success.
The Vancouver Canucks are below the Oilers in the standings despite Edmonton's inconsistent start this season, and it's because of their struggles at home.
The Canucks last season built a reputation for being a formidable team on home ice, but this season, that identity has been entirely flipped. Vancouver is 3-5-3 on home ice, but has a shockingly good record of 7-1-0 on the road.
That record will surely even out over the season, but when a team begins to get a stat like that in their heads, it can be difficult to shake.
On the other side completely, the Calgary Flames keep shocking hockey fans by finding ways to win with a roster that no one expected to succeed.
The Flames were originally projected to be finishing near last place in the NHL this season, but instead, they're second place in the Pacific Division with a stellar 12-6-3 record.
Young players for the Flames are beginning to step up, and some of their veterans are still performing well enough to keep them competitive.
The play of their young goaltender Dustin Wolf has been a revelation this year, with a .926 save percentage through 11 games. After losing Jakob Markstrom the Flames were expected to be a bit behind in the crease, but Wolf and Vladar have been stellar.
With their great play in a seasons where they were supposed to be rebuilding, trade rumours from Calgary are wild - ranging from trading to acquire players to help a playoff push, to dealing Nazem Kadri back to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It's hard to predict that either one of these teams will maintain their current state of play for the rest of the season. The Flames making the playoffs with this roster would be a miracle, and Vancouver will certainly find their footing and improve their team at the trade deadline.
