The season's 20 biggest surprises at the quarter pole

	You gotta be Leaf: Raycroft has found his 2004 Calder form since leaving Boston. Elsa/Getty Images
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There weren't many -- myself included -- outside of Leaf Nation who believed that Andrew Raycroft could be the answer to Toronto's goaltending woes. Let me stand corrected. Far from the bumbler who looked lost in Boston last season, Raycroft has been stellar in the early going.

Through his first 15 starts for the Buds, Raycroft has been a tonic for the troops. Ed Belfour and Mikael Tellqvist frequently gave up soul-killers last season, but Raycroft has stopped the shots he was supposed to, and more than a few that he wasn't. That has given his mates the confidence to play the more aggressive style championed by new coach Paul Maurice, one that has them ranked among the best teams in the East.

While Raycroft's rebound is one of the most intriguing of the early going, it's far from the only unexpected development. Here are 19 more:

1. The Atlanta Thrashers are icing a squad without a legitimate offensive center, and yet they boast the Eastern Conference's third-most potent offense. Credit Marian Hossa's MVP-caliber quarter (16 goals, 31 points) for putting Atlanta in the thick of the playoff hunt.

2. The rebirth of Alexei Yashin under new Islanders coach Ted Nolan has been one of the season's under-reported stories. The 22 points that Yashin scored in 18 games are eye-opening enough, but the fact he's playing with some jalapenos in his shorts is the real shocker.

3. Everyone knew the Sabres would be one of the league's toughest teams, but 10-1 on the road? That's a true badge of excellence. It wasn't until this past Saturday that Buffalo dropped its first as a visitor, losing 4-1 to the Senators.

4. San Jose's defense is in a state of transition. That typically would translate into "a shambles," but typical transitory defenders don't play with the poise and maturity of rookies Matthew Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Each is averaging more than 20 steady minutes per game while leading the Sharks to a 2.24 goals-against average that ranks third in the league.

5. There weren't many takers at Brendan Shanahan's asking price this summer, despite the 40 goals he scored in 2005-06. When the Rangers finally bit, it looked like one of their classic signings based more on name value than what he could actually provide on the ice at the advanced age of 37. Yet there Shanahan is, tied for the league lead with 16 goals in just 21 games, on pace for the best season of his HOF-caliber career.

6. One of these days, Freddy Kreuger and Jason Vorhees will finally have the decency to lay down and die. Until then, the rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated. It's much the same situation for the Red Wings, a team that has every reason to fall off the map -- the losses of Steve Yzerman and Shanahan, the slow starts of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk -- yet they don't have the common sense to realize that they're supposed to lose. The Wings are giving up 20 shots a game -- by far the fewest in the league -- and are thriving by spreading the offense around.

7. He's not Dion Phaneuf, but the rapid, almost period-by-period development of Shea Weber has been one of the keys powering Nashville's current 8-1-1 run. Despite being fifth in ice time among blueliners, he's second in scoring (3-8-11) and second on the entire team in hits and blocked shots.

8. Sean Avery, a hockey player? Despite a couple of diving penalties and the same number on his back, the reformed Avery is a different player than the one who was waived last season by the Kings. He's still among the league's penalty-minutes leaders, but Avery is giving the Kings a more disciplined style of two-way play that has earned him a promotion from the fourth line to the top six.

9. When the Capitals rewarded free agent Brian Pothier with a four-year, $10 million contract, it was obvious that they regarded him as a go-to guy. What's amazing is that the former fifth wheel in Ottawa has responded, eating up more than 27 minutes per night and contributing to power play and penalty kill units that are much improved from last season.