Take Town: Back from the desert

It's officially the halfway point of the NHL season and I gotta say, it's been loaded with surprises. If you'd told me that top-three candidates for the league's MVP included Connor McDavid, well, sure. But the other two guys being Jack Hughes and Tage Thompson? I would have gotten 9-1-1 on the line because I'd have thought you had a severe head injury. I would have called some much higher authorities if you'd said Josh Morrissey would be at or near the top of the Norris list.

And yet here we are, with the Panthers, Avalanche, Oilers, and Blues all sitting outside a playoff position right now (when you go by points percentage), and Seattle third in the West?

I know the results in this sport can always get a little crazy and it's only half a season, but this stuff is completely out of control