Thanks to the return of the worlds greatest goalie, the Montreal Canadiens are among last seasons nonplayoff teams that could take the NHL by storm this season. When setting the new seasons expectations, teams who were previously stung by injuries or bad luck are often underrated, as are the potential impacts of hot goalies, rookies and new coaches.In fairness, it is incredibly difficult to predict the NHL standings, and which teams will be playoff-bound on April 9, 2017. In fact, a projection based purely on ranking teams by their previous season goal differentials has been shown to be just as accurate as the informed opinions of expert pundits.Making these predictions more difficult are the handful of teams that dramatically defy expectations every season, like last seasons Arizona Coyotes, Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes, who improved by between 15 and 22 points each.Drawing on the experience of these four examples, and many more since 2005-06, the following surprise team index was crafted to provide at least some indication of which todays teams possess the factors that have led to unexpectedly strong seasons in the past; put another way, stash these team names away as your potential dark-horse contenders. Aaron Ekblad Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Cheap Panthers Jerseys Authentic .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. http://www.cheapfloridapanthersjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-roberto-luongo-jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Adidas Aaron Ekblad Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Alex Petrovic Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. STARS-Lamar Jackson, Louisville, accounted for seven TDs and 416 yards in three quarters to lead the No. 5 Cardinals to a 52-7 victory over Boston College.-DOnta Foreman, Texas, had career highs with 341 yards rushing and three TDs, leading the Longhorns over Texas Tech 45-37.-Wilton Speight, Michigan, set a school record with 292 yards passing in the first half and finished with a career-high 362 while accounting for three TDs in the No. 2 Wolverines 59-3 win over Maryland.-Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State, threw for 457 yards and five TDs , helping the No. 22 Cowboys hold on for a 43-37 victory over Kansas State.-Ronald Jones, USC, tied a school single-game record with four rushing TDs and had 171 yards to help the Trojans demolish Oregon 45-20.-Kyle Hicks, TCU, ran for a career-high 192 yards with five TDs to help the Horned Frogs beat 13th-ranked Baylor 62-22.-Chad Chalich, Montana, threw six of his program-record seven TD passes in the first half and had 388 yards in a 62-44 win over Idaho State.-Christian McCaffrey, Stanford, rushed for 199 yards and a TD to help the Cardinal beat Oregon State 26-15.-Aaron Jones, UTEP, ran for 228 yards and two TDs to help the Miners beat Houston Baptist 42-10.-Rawleigh Williams, Arkansas, rushed for 148 yards and a pair of TDs as the Razorbacks defeated No. 10 Florida for the first time since 1982 with a 31-10 victory.-Skyler Howard, West Virginia, threw three TD passes and ran for two more scores to lead the No. 14 Mountaineers to a 48-21 victory over Kansas, sending the Jayhawks to their 40th straight road loss.-Luke Falk, Washington State, threw for 311 yards and four TDs and the No. 25 Cougars beat Arizona 69-7.-Elijah Hood, North Carolina, ran for 168 yards and three TDs to help the No. 18 Tar Heels beat Georgia Tech 48-20.-Devin Singletary, Florida Atlantic, rushed for a school-record 252 yards and three TDs in a 42-25 victory over Rice.-Jeremiah Briscoe, Sam Houston State, threw for 504 yards and six TDs, and broke a school record for touchdown passes in a season 40 in a 56-43 win over McNeese State.-Austin Gahafer, Morehead State, threw for 465 yards and five TDs and set a Pioneer League record with 11,231 career yards in a 54-28 win over Butler.-Carlos Henderson, Louisiana Tech, scored five touchdowns for the second time this season in a 45-24 win over North Texas.---TIDE TESTAlabamas suffocating defense bottled up Leonard Fournette and allowed freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts the lluxury of a few scoreless quarters to get accustomed to operating in deafening Death Valley against a talented, stingy LSU defense.ddddddddddddurts finally broke loose for a 21-yard touchdown run to break a scoreless tie early in the fourth quarter, and No. 1 Alabama remained unbeaten with a 10-0 shutout of the 15th-ranked Tigers on Saturday night.The Crimson Tide won for the sixth straight time against LSU and remained alone in first place in the SEC West -- a game ahead of Auburn.--AGGIES GO DOWNMississippi States Nick Fitzgerald was hit a few yards shy of the end zone as one, two and then three Texas A&M defenders tried to pull him to the ground.But the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder kept stumbling and straining, dragging the Aggies along with him as he finally fell into the end zone for a crucial touchdown late in the fourth quarter.The sophomore quarterback -- and these Bulldogs -- werent going to be denied in a 35-28 upset win over No. 7 Texas A&M, all but ending the Aggies College Football Playoff hopes.Fitzgeralds bruising 4-yard touchdown run was one of the many highlights for Mississippi States running game, which finished with a season-high 365 yards. Fitzgerald ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns while Aeris Williams ran for a career-high 140 yards and a touchdown.The Aggies were ranked No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday, but will now almost certainly tumble out of contention.---JACKSONS HEISMAN STATEMENTForearm cramps and finger numbness threatened to do what Boston Colleges defense couldnt: derail Lamar Jacksons Heisman Trophy run .The Louisville quarterback left the game late in the second quarter after opening a five-touchdown lead, then he returned in the third quarter to run for another two touchdowns and lead the fifth-ranked Cardinals to a 52-7 victory over BC.Jackson ran for a 69-yard score on the games third play and added rushing TDs of 13 and 53 yards in the second half. The Heisman favorite also threw for TDs from 30, 44 and 10 yards out.---NUMBERS9-Straight wins by The Citadel , a school record, after beating Samford 37-34.69-Points by No. 25 Washington State against Arizona, its highest points total since 1997 and the most ever against a Pac-12 opponent.1,521-Career yards receiving by Michigans Jake Butt , most by a tight end in school history. Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Store Wholesale Jerseys China Jerseys NFL China ' ' '