It's December now, and we're through the first third of the season. And in the case of some teams, we're even beyond the first third of their schedules.
We're at the point in the year where it's hard to dismiss surprising things just because it's early. Those teams we expected to be good that have struggled have legitimate problems. The teams we thought were bad that have played well may actually be for real.
There's still a lot of hockey left to be played, but there's plenty in the rearview mirror, too.
I'll be your host as we go through the happenings of the last week, but the rankings that follow aren't solely based on my opinion.