Storylines through halfway point of 2017-18 season

The 2017-18 season eclipsed the halfway point Saturday. Here is a look at ongoing storylines through the first 640 games of the season:

-- The expansion Vegas Golden Knights (28-10-12) lead the Pacific Division and Western Conference with 58 points. Vegas' points percentage (.725) is higher than the midpoint winning percentage of any expansion team in its inaugural season in either the NBA (since 1961-62), MLB (since 1961) or the NFL/AFL (since 1960), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
-- The Tampa Bay Lightning (29-9-3, 61 points) took control of first place in the NHL for the first time on Oct. 16 and have not relinquished the position since earning their 17th win on Nov. 28. One team in the past 81 years has finished with the League's best record after missing the playoffs the previous season, the New York Rangers in 1993-94 on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.
-- Six different players have reached the 50-point mark, the most at the midpoint of a season in a decade. Ten players hit the plateau by midseason in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.
-- Twenty-four players are averaging at least one point per game (min. 20 GP). The last season to finish with at least 24 players at 1.00 P/GP or better was 2006-07, when 32 players did so.

TRENDING TOWARD MORE PLAYOFF TURNOVER

Eight teams -- including three division leaders (Golden Knights, Lightning, Winnipeg Jets) -- who were not part of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs hold a postseason position (Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Golden Knights, Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche).
-- Twenty-four teams are within five points of a playoff spot, highlighted by races in two divisions where first place and last place are separated by 11 points or fewer, the Metropolitan Division (nine-point differential) and Central Division (11-point differential).
-- Last season, seven teams made the playoffs after not qualifying in 2015-16, matching the largest year-to-year change in NHL history.
-- There has been a playoff turnover of at least five teams in 10 of the past 12 seasons.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS CONTINUE TO RE-WRITE HISTORY

The Golden Knights are in first place in the Pacific Division and Western Conference as they continue to rewrite the record books, shattering benchmarks for new franchises in the NHL and the broader North American professional sports landscape. Vegas, which will play its 41st game Sunday, sits three points behind the Lightning for first place in the NHL.
-- The Golden Knights (.725) are the only NHL franchise in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to carry a points percentage of at least .600 at the League's midpoint of an inaugural season. No NHL team in the expansion era has finished its inaugural season with a points percentage of .500 or higher, according to Elias.

-- With 28 victories through 40 games, Vegas has already matched the third-highest win total by an NHL team in its inaugural season. Four teams finished their first season with more victories: the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim each won 33 games in 1993-94, while the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers had 31 victories apiece in 1967-68,. when their entire division was comprised of expansion teams.
-- The Golden Knights own the best home record in the League, going 17-2-1 in their first 20 games at T-Mobile Arena (35 points) including active home winning and point streaks of eight and nine games (8-0-1), respectively. Five NHL teams concluded their inaugural season with more home wins: the Hartford Whalers (22) in 1979-80, the Kings (20) in 1967-68, the Columbus Blue Jackets (19) in 2000-01 and the St. Louis Blues (18) in 1967-68.
-- Vegas had its overall winning and point streaks end at eight and 13 games (12-0-1), respectively, Thursday. They were the longest such runs by a team in its inaugural NHL season. No team has had a longer winning or point streak this season.
-- The Golden Knights have a different player leading each of the three major offensive categories for them. Jonathan Marchessault has the most points (39), William Karlsson leads in goals (21) and David Perron has the most assists (24).
-- The Golden Knights have four players with at least 15 goals. Only six teams in NHL history have had at least four 20-goal scorers in their inaugural season: the Vancouver Canucks (6) and Buffalo Sabres (5) each achieved the feat in 1970-71, while the Edmonton Oilers (6), Quebec Nordiques (4), Whalers (4) and original Jets (4) all did so in 1979-80.

LIGHTNING LEAD THE WAY

After missing the playoffs in 2016-17, the Lightning have surged to the top of the standings led by forwards Nikita Kucherov (26 goals, 32 assists, 58 points) and Steven Stamkos (17 goals, 33 assists, 50 points), who rank first and fourth (tied) in League scoring, respectively.
-- Kucherov, who has at least one point in 34 of 41 games, leads the League in goals (tied) and points. One Lightning player has finished a season with the most points in the NHL when Martin St. Louis had 94 points (38 goals, 56 assists) in 82 games in 2003-04, and 60 points (17 goals, 43 assists) in 48 games in 2012-13.
* Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy leads the League in wins (26), shutouts (6), goals-against average (2.04) and save percentage (.935), among goaltenders who have played at least 15 games. Since 1955-56, four different goaltenders have finished a season at least tied for the League lead in each of those four categories: Jacques Plante in 1958-59, and Ken Dryden in 1972-73 and 1975-76 with the Montreal Canadiens. Bernie Parent (1973-74) and Bob Froese did it with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1985-86.

OVECHKIN, CAPITALS CONTINUE PURSUIT OF MORE HARDWARE

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin shares the League lead with 26 goals while in pursuit of another Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. He's aiming to join Bobby Hull as the only other player in NHL history to at least share the League lead in goals in seven different seasons.
-- Ovechkin, who has leapfrogged six players to move into 20th place on the NHL's all-time goals list (584), could become the sixth player in NHL history to score 30 goals in 13 or more consecutive seasons at any point in his career; only Mike Gartner (15), Jaromir Jagr (15), Wayne Gretzky (13), Phil Esposito (13) and Hull (13) have done so. Gartner and Gretzky are the only players to achieve the feat in each of their first 13 season. Ovechkin would become the 10th player in League history to total at least 13 different 30-goal seasons (consecutive or otherwise).
-- The Capitals (25-13-3, 53 points), who had the NHL's top record in each of the past two seasons, sit atop the Metropolitan Division and eight points behind the Lightning for first place in the League. Since the inception of the Presidents' Trophy in 1985-86, no team has won it in three consecutive seasons.

ROOKIES ON THE RISE

The rookie scoring race is led by three players who each have reached the 30-point mark: Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser (22-17-39), New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13-24-37) and Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller (14-18-32).
-- Boeser, whose 22 goals are tied for fourth with Islanders captain John Tavares, is eight goals shy of joining Pavel Bure (34 in 1991-92) and Trevor Linden (30 in 1988-89) as the only Canucks rookies to score 30 goals in a season. Bure and Ivan Hlinka share the single-season Canucks record for points by a rookie with 60.