We’re living in the NHL’s age of parity. That’s been well-established for a while, and whether fans like it or not, most of us have come to accept that this is just how the league works now.
Anyone can beat anyone else on any given night, the loser point means almost everyone finishes over .500, and aside from a few outliers at either end, the gap between good and bad is smaller than ever.
But even given that reality, something weird is happening in the NHL these days.
We're used to parity being something that reveals itself over the course of a season, where there's enough time for the occasional hot and cold streaks to balance out.