Through the first quarter of the NHL season, there's been plenty of big surprises. The Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils got off to very hot starts, with the Bruins setting an NHL record by landing 13 straight home wins to start the season. The Devils began the 2022-23 season well outside the top 10 in the Stanley Cup NHL Championship odds, but after their first 23 games, the Devils rocketed up to the top five.

The standings in the Western Conference have been much tighter. Through 20+ games, the top seven teams all registered between 24 and 35 points, with the Vegas Golden Knights getting off to the best start in the conference. Unsurprisingly, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid got out to the lead in NHL scoring and emerged as the early favorite to win the Hart Trophy. Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson was the biggest individual surprise in the early part of the season as he registered 36 points in his first 23 games to put himself in the mix in the Art Ross scoring race.

The market for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the top goalie, remains tight with Ilya Sorokin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Linus Ullmark all off to great starts. Sorokin jumped out as the betting favorite to win the Vezina Trophy after his first 17 games saw him produce a .933 save percentage with a 2.18 goals against average.