Since Friday, November 25, the day after American Thanksgiving, the team has found different ways to succeed.
Their rise to the top of the Metropolitan Division has not been paved in gold, nor littered with gifts.
To start, the team has been without Sebastian Aho, Frederik Andersen, Jesper Fast, Ondrej Kase, Brady Skjei, and Teuvo Teravainen for some of, if not all of the team's streaks. Sprinkle in that Max Pacioretty has yet to make his season debut and it starts to cause salivating for what this team could achieve when fully healthy.
Whether it's been Paul Stastny stepping up to log major minutes in the absence of Aho, Jordan Staal producing eight points in eight games since December 10, playing 11-7 when not having 12 healthy forwards, or the challenge of having 19 of the team's first 28 games away from PNC Arena, the team has been resilient in the face of their adversity.
Three back-to-back sets, two including travel? Check.
19 days without a home game? You bet.
A six-game road stretch that entailed the chaotic itinerary of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Raleigh, Long Island, Raleigh, and Detroit? Done.
Four home games in six days against a quartet of teams that arrived in North Carolina with a cumulative record of 73-33-14? No problem.
Six games in nine days to go into the holiday break? Six wins.
No individual performer has been more notable than that of rookie Pyotr Kochetkov though, who is now 8-0-2 with a .937 save percentage since the point streak began. Who could have possibly predicted that when he was recalled under emergency conditions on November 8 that just 46 days ago that at the holiday break he would be one of the most-discussed candidates for the Calder Trophy and inside the top five in the NHL's save percentages?
