Actually they kinda did, they were (and obviously still are) a team that bleeds chances but gets bailed out on the regular by elite goaltending, and then just manage to score enough both on the power play and penalty kill to win games.The team didn't win the Presidents Trophy last year relying only on special teams and goaltending. Were they a top team analytically? No, but they were clearly on the better third of the league.
Bottom line, they have a *good* team but not great. So yeah, upper third. But unless an insane amount of stuff goes right for them in the postseason, not a legit contender.