We're more then a quarter of a way through the NHL season and there are some teams that have been red hot to start the season. Some, if not all of them are going to be contenders for the Stanley Cup this season. Here's a look at the top five Stanley Cup contenders as of right now.
Dallas Stars: Dallas has been on fire the entire season. Jamie Benn is second in the NHL in points with 35 which is right behind Patrick Kane for the lead. Tyler Seguin has also been fantastic this season after coming off an injury plagued 2014 season. He is third in scoring right behind Benn with 34 points and has 13 goals thus far.
The defense is also very much improved from last year as John Klingberg has been one of the best defenseman in the league this season. Johnny Oduya also hasn't been bad for the Stars since signing there from Chicago. The goaltending looked to be the weak point of the Stars but Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen have held their own this year and have not been bad at all. I had them picked to win the Central division before the season started and I still think they will as they continue to tear up the league.
New York Rangers: The Rangers have been red hot during the first few months of the season due to the fact that Henrik Lundqvist has shown no signs of slowing down at age 33 and that Mats Zuccarello is having the best season of his NHL career. He has 22 points this season as he has 11 goals and 11 assists apiece. The defense has been good for the Rangers this year as Keith Yandle (who's in a contract year) is proving his worth to the team with his stellar play and Ryan McDonagh has been great as he is every season. New York will make the playoffs this season and will be a contender but their window seems to be closing soon so they need to win a championship now.
Montreal Canadiens: Montreal is a big time contender this season if they weren't already. This Canadiens are clearly legitimate after a nine-game winning streak to open the season and how Max Pacioretty has been a beast for them. He has 25 points this season and 13 of them are goals. Last year, Montreal relied too much on Carey Price to win games which is why he won the Hart Trophy because he bailed them out of so many games. This season, they've started to score way more then they did this time last year and it is paying huge dividends to the team. They currently lead the Atlantic by 11 points and if they survive that Carey Price injury, they're only going to get better as the season goes on.
Washington Capitals: Washington has creeped up on the Rangers for the lead in the Metropolitan division and they are playing some great hockey right now as they've won five in a row. They have a better team than they did last year and it's showing every night. Alex Ovechkin is doing what he does best again this season which is scoring goals and by the time his career is over, he could arguably be one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history. Braden Holtby has had another terrific year in net as he has the most wins in the NHL with 15 and a 1.95 GAA which is suberb. The team is filled with guys who can put the puck in the net and it wouldn't surprise anyone if they won the Metropolitan division at the end of the year. Doing damage in the playoffs though, is a story for another time since they need to prove they can win in there. Right now, they're one of the biggest contenders.
LA Kings: This may come as a surprise to most of you but they're atop the Pacific division right now and once they get into the playoffs, they're awfully tough to beat. So far this season, the Kings have looked much better then they did last year when they missed the playoffs for the first time in over five years. Jonathan Quick has been stellar in goal this season as he has 12 wins and and .918 save percentage which is a bit lower then he usually has. Anze Kopitar is in a contract year and he's looking to have a career year so that he can get a big extension. The Pacific division may be weak this year but three teams at least will make the playoffs in that division and if the Kings do, watch out NHL.