We’re not quite in the stretch run of the NHL season yet, but we’re past the halfway point and will soon see the true Stanley Cup contenders pull away from the also-rans.

Malkin may not be directing as many pucks on net compared to previous campaigns, but he's still at 33 points in 42 games — including 10 on the power play — and skating his usual elevated minutes. And yet,

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck makes a glove save against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Denver. (David Zalubowski/AP) Three months in, we’re starting to get a feel for how the 2024-25 campaign might just shake out in the end.

"A pleasure to play for him right from Day 1," Stars forward Matt Duchene said. "He pushes guys, he barks a little bit at times, but it's never personal and the message is usually accurate. His X's and O's are really elite. Tough to find many flaws."

With every team now having played 40+ games, it’s a great time to reflect on the season so far and look at some of the incredible performances we’ve seen from players around the league.

To mark the halfway point of the 2024-25 regular season, NHL.com is running its third installment of the Trophy Tracker series. Today, we look at the race for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team in the NHL as selected in a poll by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

This is the obvious one. Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 68 points, seven more than Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl in second place. Also of note, he’s first in points per game at 1.58, narrowly ahead of the Art Ross winner last season, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov at 1.57.

Defenseman Thomas Harley scored on a rebound at 3:01 of overtime and the Dallas Stars beat the Utah Hockey Club 3-2 on Saturday night. Jamie Benn and Oskar Bäck also scored for the Stars, who have won four straight for the first time since opening the season with four wins.

This is the seventh in-season edition of theScore's NHL Power Rankings for the 2024-25 campaign. Check back for updated rankings every other Monday.In this edition, we select every team's MVP at the halfway point.

Past the season's midpoint, our staff's updated picks for Cup winner, dark horse, biggest disappointment, awards, playoff fields and more.

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It’s safe to assume NHL players forgo the usual health-related resolutions the rest of us double-down on this time of year. Being pro athletes in the prime of their lives and all, there are probably other things these fitness freaks can focus on.