NHL – 2015-2016 Regular Season, Playoff and Stanley Cup Predictions

The festivities in Chicago have long stopped after the Blackhawks won the 2015 Stanley Cup. The 2015-16 NHL Season is about to begin in about a week’s time, when the Blackhawks continue their quest for a fourth Stanley Cup in seven years as a modern dynasty. But tough contenders such as the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings should be looming over the horizon.

The Eastern Conference also has its own excellent teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, all gunning for a shot at the Stanley Cup.

Read on as we take a look at the exciting hockey season ahead. Can’t get enough of that slap-shooting action? Check out our experts picks to see what the brightest hockey minds across the internet think.
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2015-16 NHL Season Preview

Western Conference

Central Division

Standing | Team
1st | Nashville Predators
2nd | St. Louis Blues
3rd | Chicago Blackhawks
4th | Minnesota Wild
5th | Dallas Stars
6th | Winnipeg Jets
7th | Colorado Avalanche

The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the third time in the past six years. They should be the best team to come out of the Central Division, right? Wrong. Those past Blackhawks teams were very much different from the one of today. They bid goodbye to Patrick Sharp to make some cap room, as well as Johnny Oduya, Brandon Saad, Brad Richards and Kris Versteeg.

[sc:NHL240 ]Chicago remains a strong team, though, which should help them still finish third in the competitive Central Division. After all, the Blackhawks still have their core of team captain Jonathan Toews, 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith and stellar goalie Corey Crawford. Standout Patrick Kane is still in the roster too, but his involvement in a rape case has his status up in the air for now.

With the Blackhawks facing some turnovers and uncertainty, the Nashville Predators should be able to swoop in and finally clinch the division. The Preds came oh so close last year, but a six-game losing streak to end the regular season had them settling for second. Center Filip Forsberg should once again lead Nashville in scoring after racking up 63 points (26 goals and 37 assists) last season. Nashville is +450 to win the Central Division.

The St. Louis Blues finish a close second. While the Blues are solid with Vladimir Tarasenko leading the offense (he scored 37 goals last year), their uncertainty at goaltender remains a hindrance on their chances of clinching the division. Jake Allen is solid, going 22-7-4 with a 2.28 GAA last season. But he has veteran Brian Elliott breathing down his neck.

Meanwhile, Minnesota finishes fourth in the division; their collection of young stars in Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and possibly the best goalie in the West, Devan Dubnyk, should give them a Wild Card spot. Dubnyk finished the 2014-15 regular season with a 2.07 GAA, good for second and just right behind Montreal’s Carey Price.

Pacific Division

Standing | Team
1st | Anaheim Ducks
2nd | Los Angeles Kings
3rd | Calgary Flames
4th | Vancouver Canucks
5th | San Jose Sharks
6th | Edmonton Oilers
7th | Arizona Coyotes

The Anaheim Ducks are the deserved favorites to win the Pacific Division. They have the personnel to make a deep playoff run, possibly even winning the Stanley Cup, which the Ducks are currently priced at +1,000 to win this season. The Ducks have arguably the best frontline duo of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Getzlaf led Anaheim with 70 points and 45 assists last season, while Perry led with 33 goals.

The two will have competent backups this time around in offseason acquisitions Carl Hagelin, Shawn Horcoff, Chris Stewart and Mike Santorelli. The Ducks also signed a tough defenseman in Kevin Bieksa to beef up their blue line. There’s little stopping the Ducks at +150 to win the Pacific.

The Ducks will have a serious challenge, though, in the form of the Los Angeles Kings. The 2014 Stanley Cup champions were disappointing in missing the playoffs last year, but have too much talent to miss out on another trip to the postseason. Plus, the Kings have arguably the best goalie in the division in Jonathan Quick. He’s the most decorated goalie in the division with two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a William M. Jennings Trophy under his belt. The Kings make a run for the division title, but eventually settle for second place.

The Calgary Flames finish third in the division with an amazing balance of youth and experience. 10-year veteran Jiri Hudler should remain solid after racking up a team-high 76 points last season. His understudy, Johnny Gaudreau (also known as Johnny Hockey), should provide the team with nice depth. Gaudreau should start to hit his stride now that he’s in his second year in the league.

You can’t count out the Vancouver Canucks over in the Pacific, too. They finished with the eighth-best offense last year with Daniel Sedin at the helm. Sedin racked up a team-high 76 points as he helped pace the Canucks to second in the Pacific. Expect the Kings and Sharks to bounce back this year, but Vancouver hangs tough to finish fourth and a Wild Card berth in tow.

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

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

The Metropolitan Division is pretty much the most competitive division in the NHL entering the 2015-16 season. It is home to half of the playoff teams in the East, including last season’s President’s Trophy winners, The New York Rangers.

The Rangers are coming into this campaign off deep playoff runs in back-to-back seasons. They reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2014 and the Eastern Conference finals in 2015. The Rangers should suffer a let-down this season, but the stellar play of Henrik Lundqvist should provide yet another playoff berth as the third-best team in the Metropolitan.

The Pittsburgh Penguins should gain a boost with Phil Kessel now in the frontline. He’ll be a nice asset skating alongside center and captain Sidney Crosby, who finished with 84 points, 28 goals and 56 assists last season (all team-highs). A healthy Kris Letang should also give a boost to Pittsburgh’s blue line. The Penguins are +275 to win the Metropolitan.

The Capitals should be able to exploit the Rangers’ let-down season, as Alex Ovechkin is bound for another excellent season, albeit not exactly up to the tune of his 53-goal output from last season. The New York Islanders miss the playoffs as they adjust to their move to Brooklyn.

Atlantic Division

Standing | Team
1st | Montreal Canadiens
2nd | Boston Bruins
3rd | Tampa Bay Lightning
4th | Ottawa Senators
5th | Florida Panthers
6th | Detroit Red Wings
7th | Buffalo Sabres
8th | Toronto Maple Leafs

The Atlantic was one rowdy bunch at the top last season. Montreal couldn’t beat Tampa Bay; Boston couldn’t beat Montreal; and Tampa Bay struggled against Boston. The trio of teams should make up the top three in the Atlantic this year.

The Canadiens, despite winning the Atlantic last year, failed miserably in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, losing the series 4-2 to Tampa Bay. The Canadiens remain a strong team, and P.K. Subban should continue to become better. Subban led Montreal with 45 assists last year. Montreal should once again clinch the Atlantic, with a rejuvenated Boston side right on their heels. The Canadiens are +250 to win the division.

After winning the President’s Trophy in the 2013-2014 season, Boston failed to get any momentum last year. The Bruins didn’t make the playoffs despite being the favorites to win the 2015 Stanley Cup. They should be better this time around, especially with some big moves in the offseason. First-year general manager Don Sweeney shipped Milan Lucic to Los Angeles and young defenseman Dougie Hamilton to Calgary for starters.

In return, Sweeney did get a handful of new players to bolster the team, led by the signing of free agent forward Matt Beleskey, who scored 22 goals last season with the Anaheim Ducks. That’s actually a tough achievement considering that he shared the ice with Anaheim’s star forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

The Lightning should be one of the top teams in the East. But a deep and emotionally taxing playoff run capped by a loss in the Stanley Cup finals should have the team feeling under the weather. Still, Tampa Bay  has one of the best forward lines in the league with the Triplets line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. The trio scored 31 of the team’s 65 goals in the postseason, and they should come into this campaign hungry to score some more.

The Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers are two young and balanced teams looking for another good performance this season. The two Atlantic Division teams will each likely get Wild Card spots in the upcoming postseason. Stellar defenseman Aaron Ekblad should have another standout season for the Panthers, while Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson is coming in bigger and stronger after going through intense strength and conditioning  regimes this offseason. Karlsson led the Senators with 66 points and 45 assists last year.

Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Series | Result
Canadiens vs. Panthers | Canadiens in 6
Penguins vs. Senators | Penguins in 5
Capitals vs. Rangers | Rangers in 6
Bruins vs. Lightning | Lightning in 5

Western Conference

Series | Result
Ducks vs. Wild | Ducks in 5
Predators vs. Canucks | Predators in 6
Kings vs. Flames | Kings in 7
Blues vs. Blackhawks | Blackhawks in 6

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference

Series | Result
Canadiens vs. Lightning | Canadiens in 7
Rangers vs. Penguins | Penguins in 6

Western Conference

Series | Result
Ducks vs. Kings | Ducks in 7
Predators vs. Blackhawks | Blackhawks in 6

Conference Finals

Series | Result
Eastern Conference Finals: Canadiens vs. Penguins | Penguins in 6
Western Conference Finals: Ducks vs. Blackhawks | Ducks in 7

Stanley Cup Final

Series | Result
Ducks vs. Penguins | Ducks in 7

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