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NHL thread of sorts

over 6 years

Year 2 of Anthony's crazy predictions this time I'll be more accurate hopefully but god how can you predict the central and metro those divisions are disgusting. What I'm going to do is basically say what I think the divisions will look like, what the playoff picture will look like (spoilers, Sharks win the cup) and then at the end have 8 teams I think are 100% making the playoffs, 7 teams I think have a 0% chance of making the playoffs, and then the top 8 bubble teams and bottom 8 bottom teams. I might have someone winning the division but being a bubble team purely because there are so many variables and even if I have them high up in the seeding, they could also just not make the playoffs. Okay that's enough talking this is my blog anyway here we go.

PAC:
1. EDM - Led by McJesus the only way this team doesn't make the playoffs is if him and Talbot both get injured.
2. ANA - They're aging but honestly they still have a killer defense and I can't see them missing the playoffs.
3. SJS - My boys. I'll spare the details but I think they have one of the best top 4 defensemen in the league, and their offense should be better this year. Last year was a fluke crosses fingers
4. CAL - Jagr is a flame lmao well Monahan/Jagr/Gaudreau is terrifying too bad their goalie situation is questionable at best. I don't think they nab a wildcard spot.
5. ARI - Arizona this high??? Yeah well they have some great prospects and I think they can actually make a push to the playoffs (and fall short).
6. LAK - Yes I have them under Arizona. Yes I truly believe that. They did nothing to fix their scoring (their only problem last year) and instead got rid of the backup goalie that carried them. I love that they suck.
7. VGK - Hey these guys will probably score, and one of their 90 defensemen will hopefully be an asset, plus Fleury in net? Yeah they're still gonna suck but not as bad as...
8. VAN - Worst team in the league. Worse than Colorado in my opinion. They have nothing going for them anymore. Have fun rebuilding.

CEN
1. DAL - Honestly I have Dallas winning the West, maybe the Presidents trophy. They got Hitch as a coach, fixed their goalie situation, and added to their blueline. That's a scary team.
2. NSH - Best top 4 defensemen in hockey. Scary good forwards. They will go as far as Rinne can take them. I think they could potentially take the division.
3. MIN - This team is super underrated. They have a solid goalie, solid forwards, and solid defensemen. While they don't have a "super star" they know how to win games.
4. CHI - Woah Chicago this low? Yeah this is one of those "I have them low but they're definitely making the playoffs" teams. They're just old and burnt out. Not much else to say.
5. STL - Last team to make the playoffs. That entirely depends on if Jake Allen can play goalie for 6 months. Otherwise Winnipeg will pass them up.
6. WPG - Poor Winnipeg. Wheeler/Laine/Scheifle is one of the best lines I can think of. But their goaltending sucks and they're in a brutal division.
7. COL - See ya later Duchene! Best thing Colorado can hope for is to get good prospects and win the draft lottery.

EDM beats CHI, SJS beats ANA then EDM, DAL beats STL (lmao), NSH beats MIN and then DAL but loses to SJS.

ATL:
TBL - These guys are way too good to not make the playoffs again. Between Kucherov/Hedmen/Stamkos they have no problem scoring. They win the east I think.
TOR - Yeah these guys are good. I think they're still a bubble team but honestly these guys are going to be good for the next 15 years at least.
BUF - Here's my "dark horse" pick or whatever. Buffalo had the number 1 power play last year and there's only going to be more penalties this year. Fix the defense and let Eichel carry them to victory.
MON - Not a whole lot going on besides Price which is honestly all you need. Weber is getting older, most of their forwards are pretty good but not fantastic.
OTT - This team is Erik Karlsson and only Erik Karlsson. Anderson is good their scoring is okay but the reason they went as far as they did was because of Karlsson.
BOS - They're on the downswing, and I don't think Rask is that good of a goalie. They also don't have the defense to back him up.
FLA - This team is...well I don't see anyone on that team and go "hey this guy can take them to the playoffs" everything is just kind of meh.
DET - How the mighty have fallen. RIP detroit and the worst team in the east .

MET
NYR - Look I thought they were on the downswing too but they have such a good blue line and somehow score a ton. These guys are good.
PIT - They haven't gained anyone that good, lost Fleury and Bonino, but they're still the defending cup champions with the undisputed best 1 2 centers in the league.
WSH - They lost so much but they still have 2 amazing centers plus Ovie who's going to make a comback this year since I didn't draft him in fantasy hockey.
CBJ - Last year I predicted them to be bottom of the league but god did they surprise me. Idk what they did but when Bob plays as hot as he did I guess anything is possible
CAR - The only thing stopping them from being in the playoffs is bad goaltending. Otherwise they're a great young team.
PHI - It's a crime to put them this low. But their goaltending is super questionable (there's a trend here) and their defense is mediocre. God can they score though.
NYI - Put them in the atlantic and they're probably a playoff team. They better hope Tavares signs though and they get an actual #1 goalie. Let's go Greiss.
NJD - Another team I hate putting so low but honestly I can't think of a team in the central they're better than. Great defense, Hishier + Hall might surprise everyone and score a lot but the metro is too brutal.

TBL beat CBJ, TOR beats BUF, who then lose to TBL (Sorry Marleau). NYR beat MON, WSH finally overcomes PIT, and WSH beats NYR and TBL to get to the cup finals and lose to the Sharks.

Definitely making the playoffs: EDM ANA NSH CHI PIT WSH NYR TBL
Top tier bubble (prob will make playoffs but might not): SJS MIN DAL STL MON TOR BUF CBJ
Bottom tier bubble (prob won't make plaayoffs but could): LAK CAL WPG BOS OTT CAR PHI NYI
Not making the playoffs: ARI VGK VAN COL DET FLA NJD

Okay that took took long but now I have this on record so I can brag later like how I said Edmonton would make the playoffs last year.

Stanley cup winner?????
5
Other (post if you want)
4
San Jose Sharks
3
Chicago Blackhawks
2
Toronto Maple Leafs
1
Pittsburgh Penguins
1
Nashville Predators
1
Washington Capitals
0
Edmonton Oilers
0
Tampa Bay Lightning
0
Anaheim Ducks
over 6 years

DrGintoki says

Leafs are winning this year.


not this year but in the next three years AT LEAST 1 cup
over 6 years
working at Leafs vs Kings tonight, gonna be a good match hopefully since both teams are doing well
over 6 years
Kucherov is insane. I think he might win the scoring title. It's early to say that but god he's nuts. Sharks play the Devils tonight, playing Hishier who just scored his first (two) goals. I never thought last year I'd say "god I'm so nervous for the Sharks to play the Devils tonight" but here we are. Of course I'll be working the whole time so fuc­k my life. Pavs and Burns both need goals, let's give Couture a couple more and Marle-oh wait RIP
over 6 years
Leafs are winning this year.
over 6 years
Sid's a bit€h lol
over 6 years
The games this year are already so much better

The game is faster this year so far and there's far more scoring. More people are watching and going to games than ever before

And they said for years, decades even... "If you take fighting out of the game, no one will watch!" Fighting is down more than ever. Happens in under 25% of games now. So much for that philosophy, glad that stupid argument has finally been put to rest
over 6 years

Anthony says

Ovie only has 1 goal in his last two games if you have him on your fantasy team you should probably drop him on the basis he is not as good as Sidney Crosby (who is she anyway)


^.^
deletedover 6 years
dont bring her into this
over 6 years
Ovie only has 1 goal in his last two games if you have him on your fantasy team you should probably drop him on the basis he is not as good as Sidney Crosby (who is she anyway)
deletedover 6 years
its like the caps hate beating the pens
over 6 years
Habs offense is trash lmao I'm so glad I didn't rank them higher. VGK first expansion team to win their first 3 games p crazy stuff, then again when Fleury makes 42 saves against Dallas and you play Arizona twice...

Sharks looking awful so far they can't score, defense is sloppy, and Jones can't make a save to (ha) save his life. Fuc­king pissing me off. Buffalo looks pretty bad too. Out of the games that I've watched those are my biggest take aways. I also think Toronto might have the best offense in the league right now. Hard to think of a team that matches their offense, even above the Peguins, Predators and Capitals. They don't even need a defense lmao
over 6 years

Ally says

go blackhawks wooooo


you have good taste
deletedover 6 years
go blackhawks wooooo
over 6 years

Anthony says


GundamTanaka says

"Blackhawks a're just old and burnt out. Not much else to say."

lol


all right bud, just remember this was one game against a tired Pittsburgh team let's see if they can play 81 more games of hockey at a high level


lol again
over 6 years
Also I'll never watch hockey again if the penguins win again
over 6 years
Nah no way. Fleury is gone so if Murray gets hurt or starts having a bad streak it's over for the penguins. Losing Benino is going to really hurt because the reason they won was being able to roll out three disgustingly good lines, now they don't have a solid 3rd line center.
over 6 years
Penguins are gonna threepeat for the first time since the Islanders' dynasty
over 6 years
The nhl is probably the most competitive in terms of how many teams have a shot in making the playoffs of the big four sports because of how the salary cap is. There are 26 teams I could see maybe making the playoffs, 5 teams (Vancouver/Vegas/Colorado/Detroit/New Jersey) who I can't. The only reason Jersey can't is because they're in the metro. It's stupid competitive and when you have a team with Stamkos (who yeah wasn't healthy)/Kucherov/Hedmen not making the playoffs when they had Ben Bishop in goal you know the league is whack.
over 6 years
When you're a fan of a team, you see every insane save that goalie does and remember them, and see the wins they pile up. For everyone else, you see 9.15 save percentage and you go ehhhhh. I'm sure the rest of the league sees Martin Jones the way I see Rask/Rinne/Quick/Elliot/Allen etc. The only consistent top tier goalies I think are Holtby/Price and maybe Talbot now. Everyone else is either streaky or just below that tier. Bobrovsky or whatever who won the vezina was super streaky. I think in regards to Boston, they have a team that probably won't make the playoffs due to lack of defense and discipline but they have solid prospects and young players (signing Pastrnak for an actually good price and not trading him away by the way still enjoying Thornton thanks) was a solid move by the management.
over 6 years

Anthony says

I don't think Rask is a goalie who can carry a team into the playoffs without a decent defense backing him up.


not far off, honestly. the '13-14 finals run had a far superior defense to supplement the vezina-winning performance from Rask. the defense was hot garbage last year but if not for rask, they're tumbling down the bottom of the atlantic instead of the #3 spot

i've just heard that 'rask isn't that good' take so many times and it's vomit-enducing. he's got next to nobody in front of him and still keeps his team in playoff contention
deletedover 6 years

jack says


also i love jake debrusk anders bjork and charlie mcavoy. blow me, nashville


are u trying to hurt my feelings it worked !!
over 6 years

jack says

"I don't think Rask is that good of a goalie" oh please. This narrative has been tried time and time again and it just falls short every time. Last year Tuukka put up career highs in wins and shutouts. you're not wrong on the defense being suspect but c'mon, the bruins are in the playoff bubble at worst every year and that's fundamentally because of Tuukka Rask

also i love jake debrusk anders bjork and charlie mcavoy. blow me, nashville


You're always going to be biased on your team. For instance, I consider Martin Jones a top tier goalie or a notch below despite having a .912 save percentage last year. Maybe Rask is a better goalie than his numbers suggest and it's skewed by the defense but I guess what I mean to say is I don't think Rask is a goalie who can carry a team into the playoffs without a decent defense backing him up. I'm not saying you won't make the playoffs but if you do make the playoffs you have to beat Toronto/Montreal/Ottawa/Tampa and buffalo who I think will be good this year or beat out the Metro for a wild card which is stupid stacked.
over 6 years
"I don't think Rask is that good of a goalie" oh please. This narrative has been tried time and time again and it just falls short every time. Last year Tuukka put up career highs in wins and shutouts. you're not wrong on the defense being suspect but c'mon, the bruins are in the playoff bubble at worst every year and that's fundamentally because of Tuukka Rask

also i love jake debrusk anders bjork and charlie mcavoy. blow me, nashville
over 6 years

GundamTanaka says

"Blackhawks a're just old and burnt out. Not much else to say."

lol


all right bud, just remember this was one game against a tired Pittsburgh team let's see if they can play 81 more games of hockey at a high level
deletedover 6 years
"Blackhawks a're just old and burnt out. Not much else to say."

lol