Officially, every NHL team is already past the halfway point of their season. By the time you read this, most teams will have played 50 or more games. But the All-Star Game is this weekend and that marks a sort of unofficial midseason point for the year.

So we’re using the occasion to look back at what’s happened so far and look ahead to the rest of the season.

Can the Bruins carry their momentum all the way to a Stanley Cup win? Who’s landing the No. 1 pick in the draft? Is Connor McDavid a lock for the Hart Trophy? What’s the biggest surprise this season?

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We asked a group of our writers to review the NHL season so far. Here’s what they had to say.

 

Who will win the Stanley Cup and why?

Eric Duhatschek: Boston. I’ve been riding Carolina hard all year, but I’m switching horses here because of the injuries and uncertainty surrounding the Hurricanes’ goaltending, which ultimately undermined them last year. As one GM told me last week: The Bruins are making the NHL look like a rec league. They have scoring, depth, experience, leadership, a deep one-to-six defense and the best one-two goaltending punch in the league. History says the Presidents’ Trophy winners rarely go on to win it all. I say history will be proven wrong this season.

 

Shayna Goldman: I guessed Boston losing in the Cup Final in preseason, so I’m going to stick with it. Who wins it all? While the chances of two back-to-back winners feels slim, I still like Colorado’s chances once they’re healthy and likely add a piece at the deadline.

 

Sean Gentille: I’m not sure if the Bruins losing three in a row immediately after this question was posed was a good sign or a bad one, but it’s still impossible to pick against them. Even after that skid, they’re on pace to tie the 1995-96 Red Wings for the most wins in a regular season.

 

Dom Luszczyszyn: Everyone is picking Boston and right now it feels impossible not to — even after dropping three straight. No sense being contrarian for the sake of it. This is a “Last Dance” season for the Bruins and so far they’ve delivered.

 

Sean McIndoe: I’ve had the Bruins at the top of my rankings for months now, so I guess I have to stick with them. Hurricanes are looking scary, though, and the easier path out of the West could mean we’re sleeping on that conference’s handful of contenders.