The Penguins were widely expected to contend for a playoff spot in the East Division this season, but were not a popular preseason choice to finish first in it.
And had those doing the predicting known in advance that the Penguins would lose 273 man-games to injury -- many of those involving prominent contributors such as Evgeni Malkin, Kasperi Kapanen and Jason Zucker -- they likely would have been mentioned even less often as viable candidates to win the East.
Which, of course, they have done.
In something of a twist, it was not only an arch-rival, but a team whose season played out at least as surprisingly as that of the Penguins -- albeit in a very different way -- that locked up the top spot for the Penguins, as Philadelphia took second-place Washington to overtime Saturday, assuring the Penguins would have an edge in the regulation victories tiebreaker with the Capitals.
Then, as befitting their season, the Flyers lost, despite taking a lead into the final minute of regulation.
Philadelphia had been projected by many to be a possible East champion -- maybe even a Stanley Cup contender -- but will finish a distant and disappointing sixth in the division.
Every season, there are teams that exceed (or fall short of) most people's expectations, and unusual as 2020-21 has been, it is like all of those that came before it in that regard.
Who, for example, envisioned Minnesota seriously challenging Vegas and Colorado for first place in the West, and potentially finishing about 20 points ahead of St. Louis, which is just two years removed from a Stanley Cup run?
And after Buffalo signed Taylor Hall and made some other promising personnel moves after last season, how many people foresaw the Sabres being anchored at the bottom of the overall standings?
It all goes a long way toward explaining why they play the games rather than just having folks talk about them.
YOUR TURN: Aside from the Penguins, which teams do you think have been the biggest surprises -- positive or otherwise -- in the NHL this season?