One of my favorite sports began its season last night. I'm talking about hockey. While I know most people reading this blog (If anybody actually reads this) won't start paying attention to the sport until the playoffs start in April, there are plenty of reasons to pay attention throughout the season. The regular season provides two of the more exciting aspects of the game which you won't see often in the playoffs: fighting and shootouts. There should also be some very competitive races to qualify for the playoffs this year, especially in the loaded Western conference. Here's how I think the season will shake out.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division: Metro Division:
1. Boston Bruins 1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Tampa Bay Lightning 2.Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Montreal Canadiens 3. New York Rangers
4. Detroit Red Wings* 4. New York Islanders*
5. Toronto Maple Leafs 5. Washington Capitals
6. Florida Panthers 6. New Jersey Devils
7. Ottawa Senators 7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. Buffalo Sabres 8. Carolina Hurricanes
My Take: Boston on paper looks to be the best team in the East. They have a solid goalie in Tuuka Rask as well as many experienced veterans. It has been a while since Pittsburgh has made an appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. Sidney Crosby and Co. should have no problem making the playoffs, but they'll be judged on whether or not they can avoid another disappointing finish like last season. The Rangers made the Cup finals last year behind the great goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist, I think they'll make the playoffs but they lost some important pieces, so a run like last years will be tough to repeat. In Tampa, Steven Stamkos is a star who could carry the Lightning deep in the postseason this year. Also keep an eye on the Columbus Blue Jackets. They gave Pittsburgh a tough time in their playoff series last year, and could be ready to take the next step this year.
Western Conference
Central Division: Pacific Division:
1. Chicago Blackhawks 1. Anaheim Ducks
2. St. Louis Blues 2. San Jose Sharks
3. Dallas Stars 3. Los Angeles Kings
4. Colorado Avalanche* 4. Vancouver Canucks
5. Minnesota Wild* 5. Edmonton Oilers
6. Nashville Predators 6. Arizona (not Phoenix anymore) Coyotes
7. Winnipeg Jets 7. Calgary Flames
My Take: This conference is stacked, and a few quality teams will miss out on the playoffs this year. Chicago has been able to keep its core intact, and the addition of a quality player like Brad Richards should help this team. Anaheim and St. Louis also made key additions. The addition of Ryan Kesler should help the Ducks win their division. Getting Paul Stastny from the Avs was a big move by the Blues and should help them compete with the Blackhawks for the top spot in the Central, which is the toughest division in the league. San Jose is always a great regular season team, but will they be able to avoid another playoff letdown? Blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Kings was extremely disappointing, especially because key players like Joe Thornton are only getting older and their window to compete for a cup may be getting smaller. The defending champion Kings (which hurts to say as a Blackhawks fan) are an extremely deep team and should be one of the league's best again this year. However, it is extremely difficult to repeat as a Stanley Cup champ, as it hasn't happened since 1997-98.
Playoff Picks
East: Boston over Pittsburgh
West: Chicago over Anaheim
Finals: Chicago over Boston
I know I'm a little biased, but after losing that tough series with the Kings last year, the Hawks will use that as motivation this year. They have a loaded roster which they may lose some pieces in the future due to cap issues, and the time is now to win again. I like them to beat Boston in a rematch of the 2013 finals.
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