Kevin Allen

USA TODAY Sports

With the NHL season a month old, USA TODAY Sports looks at the league's most surprising team:

Calgary Flames: Coming into the season, some analysts had the Flames listed among the favorites in the Connor McDavid/Jack Eichel sweepstakes. In other words, those analysts thought the Flames were closer to landing one of the first two draft picks than making the playoffs.

Instead, the Flames have uncorked an 8-4-2 start to rank third among Western Conference teams.

The team's MVP has been goalie Jonas Hiller. He has to be considered the summer's best free agent acquisition. In nine games, Hiller is 6-2-1 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.

Timely scoring and effective defense have also been hallmarks of the Calgary team. Coach Bob Hartley has transformed this team into one of the league's most competitive. The Flames stay strong for all three periods. They lead the NHL in blocked shots (272) and third-period goals (17).

Both of those numbers are evidence of how difficult this team is to play against.

No one expected the Flames to be where they are today, except maybe the Flames themselves. Last September, team President Brian Burke told USA TODAY Sports that the Flames were going to be much better than people realized.

Honorable mention: Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators