The hockey season is here! Its always a great time to wake up and know that your favorite team is playing. If you’re a true hockey fan there’s nothing like game day for hockey. All day it’s all you think about, and when it’s game time all you can do is just hope your team gets that first goal to start off strong. Every moment of a hockey game is heart-wrenching, from the time the puck drops to the time the last whistle is blown. Anything can happen in the game of hockey and that’s what makes this game amazing. Then the playoffs come, which is just a whole other level. Two teams fight for the greatest piece of sliver on this planet earth: The Stanley Cup.

Both the East and West Conferences hold top tier teams that dominate in their own ways. Last year, the New York Rangers were the leader in points, which made them the best team in the NHL. The top three teams in the East last year were the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadians, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The top three teams in the West last year were the Anaheim Ducks, the St. Louis Blues, and the Nashville Predators. From last year to now, some of these teams got better and some lost key players. Some teams didn’t have the money to extend the contracts of there key players and had to settle for less. It’s hard to say right now on who will be the top teams in each conference, but that’s why making predictions is so hard.

Season Predictions:

In the Eastern Conference, I think the Montreal Canadians will be the number one team. They have started off the season with a shocking 9-0 and they are unstoppable right now. Placing second will be the Tampa Bay Lightning. Even though they are 4^th in the conference, they are a dominant team in the NHL with the Triplets line and their 6’7″ goaltender Ben Bishop. Only thing stopping them right now is that they have to extend the contract of their best player and captain,Steven Stamkos. The team that will place 3^rd will be the New York Rangers. Even though the Rangers lost some key players like Carl Haglin and Cam Talbot, they also signed some solid players for low price. They won the Presidents Trophy last year, but they might not have the team to win it again.

In the Western Conference, the number one team will be the Dallas Stars. This team finished 10^th in the West last year, but they signed some top-tier players over the offseason. Signing Johnny Oduya and Patrick Sharp were BIG signings, and now the Stars are 2^nd in the Western Conference. By the end of the season, the team who will place 2^nd will be the Nashville Predators. They have one of the top five goaltenders in the NHL in Pekka Rinne. He makes unbelievable saves and is an all-around outstanding player. The team who will place 3^rd will be the San Jose Sharks. They missed the playoffs last year, but they have a new captain and a new head coach. They are playing great right now, and if they stay on this pace, they will be a hard team to beat.

Metropolitan Division Predictions:

• 1^st The New York Rangers
• 2^nd The Washington Capitals
• 3^rd The New York Islanders
• 4^th The Pittsburgh Penguins
• 5^th The Philadelphia Flyers
• 6^th The Carolina Hurricanes
• 7^th The New Jersey Devils
• 8^th The Columbus Blue Jackets

The Atlantic Division Predictions:

• 1^st The Montreal Canadians
• 2^nd The Tampa bay Lightning
• 3^rd The Detroit Red Wings
• 4^th The Boston Bruins
• 5^th The Florida Panthers
• 6^th The Ottawa Senators
• 7^th The Buffalo Sabres
• 8^th The Toronto Maple Leafs

The Central Division Predictions:

• 1^st The Dallas Stars
• 2^nd The Nashville Predators
• 3^rd The St. Louis Blues
• 4^th The Chicago Blackhawks
• 5^th The Minnesota Wild
• 6^th The Winnipeg Jets,
• 7^th The Colorado Avalanche

The Pacific Division Predictions:

• 1^st The San Jose Sharks
• 2^nd The Anaheim Ducks
• 3^rd The Vancouver Canucks
• 4^th The Los Angeles Kings
• 5^th The Calgary Flames
• 6^th The Edmonton Oliers
• 7^th The Arizona Coyotes

The Playoffs. Eight teams with the most points from each conference fight their way through 3 rounds before the Stanley Cup Finals. How the playoffs work is in the first round, the division winner with best record in each conference will be matched against the wild card team with the lesser record; the wild card team with the better record will play the other division winner. The new playoff system is very division based.

In the West, the first round the 1^st seed Dallas Stars will defeat the worst-record wild card team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Then the other top division team, the San Jose Sharks are going to lose to the better wild card team, the Minnesota Wild. The 2^nd seed Nashville Predators will lose to the 3^rd seed St. Louis Blues. The other 2^nd seed Anaheim Ducks will play the other 3^rd seed Vancouver Canucks and the Ducks will win.

In the second round, the Dallas Stars will lose to the St. Louis Blues and the Ducks will defeat the Minnesota Wild.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Ducks will overcome the Blues and move on to the Stanley cup Final.

In the East, the New York Rangers will defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Canadians will beat the Boston Bruins. The Washington Capitals will beat the New York Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning will win over the Detroit Red Wings.

In the second round the Rangers will play the Capitals and the Rangers will win.  The Canadians will play the Lightning and the Canadians will win.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Rangers will play the Canadians and the Rangers will win to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Ducks defeat the Rangers will win in 7 games.

Award Predictions: 

The Hart Memorial Trophy goes to the man who had the most points in the NHL and is MVP. The man who is going to win the Hart trophy is John Tavares. Tavares deserves this because he has had amazing seasons in the past and he is on his way to MVP.

The player who is going to win the Calder Memorial Trophy is going to be Conner McDavid. McDavid was the number 1 pick and he deserves it; last year with the Erie Otters, in 47 games played, he had 44 goals and 47 assists, which equals too 120 points in 47 games…. that’s insane.

The Jack Adams Award, which is awarded for best coach, will go to Peter DeBoer. I believe he will win this because the San Jose Sharks are going to have a great year compared to the year they had last year. They will make the playoffs and have a solid regular season record. All this will happen with a help of Peter DeBoer.

The defensemen who will win the James Norris Memorial Trophy will be Mark Giordano. I think he will win this because last year Giordano had a very big shot of winning it but late in the season he suffered a torn tendon and was ruled out for the season. He is a great player, and if he has the pace and does the things he did last year, he will for sure win the Norris Trophy.

The goalie who will win the Vezina Trophy will be Henrik Lundqvist. Henrik has hands-down been the best goalie in the league in the past five years, but age and other things have slowed him down. Well, in only 8 games in the season, Lundqvist has made 3 nominations for save of the year and has also been putting up good numbers. If Henrik plays the way he is playing for the whole season, I have no doubt in my mind he will win the Vezina.

The last trophy I will name will be the Art Ross Trophy. This trophy I believe is the one everyone cares about. This is awarded to the player with the most goals in the season. I predict that Alexander Ovechkin will win this award. This man is a scoring machine, racking up six 50+ goal seasons and has won the Art Ross Trophy once in 2008. If Ovechkin has another career season, he will for sure win the Art Ross.