Rating finest bets to hoist Stanley Cup
The Boston Bruins completed the common season with a historic 65 wins and 135 factors, making them the odds-on favourite to win the Stanley Cup. However their path will not be straightforward: 15 different groups are beginning anew this postseason, and that may be the most important purpose for optimism for the remainder of the league. The common season doesn’t matter anymore. Data imply nothing in the course of the unpredictable, chaotic playoff season.
Thus, it could be straightforward to rank the playoff groups by standings end and award these odds to their Stanley Cup probabilities. However the playoffs usually are not truthful and the convention brackets current completely different challenges.
NHL PLAYOFFS: What are the primary spherical sequence in Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Listed here are USA TODAY Sports activities’ energy rankings of every playoff crew primarily based on their Stanley Cup probabilities:
1 – Boston Bruins
Sixty-five wins. 17 losses (5 in time beyond regulation). League-leading purpose differential of +128. The league stood no probability in opposition to the Bruins this 12 months. How may they not be No. 1?
Observe each recreation: Newest NHL Scores and Schedules
2 – Colorado Avalanche
The defending Stanley Cup champions received 16 of 19 video games after March 9. They’ve two 100-plus-point producers (Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen) and among the best defensemen within the recreation (Cale Makar). And so they’ve been right here earlier than.
3 – Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid (64 targets, 153 factors), by some means, continues to be higher than the 12 months earlier than and has constantly carried Edmonton since he entered the league. This 12 months, although, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave the Oilers three 100-point gamers, and their depth has improved, serving to them rank fifth in anticipated targets, in keeping with Cash Puck.
4 – Dallas Stars
Dallas led the Western Convention with a plus-67 purpose differential, and being in the identical division because the Avalanche is the one main trigger for concern. Aside from that, their mixture of veterans and youth, sturdy protection and physicality and high-end gamers everywhere in the ice, together with in internet with Jake Oettinger, ought to bode effectively. Jamie Benn has returned to being a drive, too.
5 – Toronto Maple Leafs
On expertise alone, the Maple Leafs ought to rank greater. However they should undergo Boston, and that dings them a contact. Their current playoff historical past has not been good – to place it kindly – however finally the names on the again of the jersey should imply one thing, proper?
6 – New York Rangers
New York completed fifth within the convention, however it’s arduous to not take into account it a contender after the additions of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane to a lineup that already had Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox. Due to the expansion of youthful gamers and trades, their depth is best than the model that reached final 12 months’s Jap Convention ultimate. Goalie Igor Shesterkin offers them the power to steal a sequence, too.
7 – Vegas Golden Knights
Well being has not been on the Golden Knights’ aspect this 12 months and right here they’re with probably the most factors (111) within the Western Convention. Why aren’t they greater on this checklist? The highest-end expertise appears a bit mild, and they’re counting on Jonathan Fast and Laurent Brossoit in internet.
8 – Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning usually are not as formidable because the group that received the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 after which reached the ultimate final 12 months … however the core of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Level, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy remains to be right here. And, once more, they’ve reached the ultimate for 3 consecutive seasons. Whereas it is not possible to depend them out, the convention is a juggernaut and makes their path tougher.
9 – Carolina Hurricanes
The underlying analytics are at all times sturdy, although one wonders whether or not the Hurricanes’ model can win all of it. They’ve superior to the playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons, with ousters within the second spherical of the final two.
10 – New Jersey Devils
The lengthy rebuild is clearly over: The Devils are coming, and if they don’t seem to be the category of the East now, it may realistically occur subsequent 12 months. Jack Hughes and Timo Meier lead one of the crucial explosive offenses, particularly in transition. The protection has additionally improved drastically. The large query is whether or not such a younger crew’s time is now, and if their goaltending can maintain up.
11 – Los Angeles Kings
Anze Kopitar, 35, led the Kings with 74 factors, and Adrian Kempe paced with 41 targets. The scoring depth and stability are underrated; they completed with the identical variety of targets per recreation because the Rangers. The underlying metrics are sturdy, too, with a transparent power in limiting probabilities. Goalie Joonas Korpisalo would be the X-factor, particularly in opposition to the high-octane Oilers within the first spherical.
12 – Minnesota Wild
It seemed final 12 months that the Wild had been in bother due to some unhealthy contracts, so mark their 103-point season as a shock. That is the weakest offense within the playoffs: Kirill Kaprizov (75 factors, 40 targets in 67 video games) was their solely point-per-game participant this season. Minnesota will win by taking part in tight video games.
13 – Winnipeg Jets
The Jets have the elite expertise to match up with the groups within the West, however their Stanley Cup hopes journey on goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who’s able to prepared them by means of sequence.
14 – Seattle Kraken
Two years into existence, the Kraken are playoff-bound and won’t be a straightforward out. 13 gamers have notched double-digit targets, together with 20-year-old rookie Matty Beniers, who had 24 targets and 57 factors. Goaltending is a significant deficiency with a team-wide .890 save proportion, third-worst within the league.
15 – New York Islanders
For a crew that lately has thrived by means of idea over star-level people, ahead Mathew Barzal’s potential return may go a protracted strategy to deciding their destiny. Goalie Ilya Sorokin will preserve them in video games.
16 – Florida Panthers
A matchup in opposition to the Bruins within the first spherical with Alex Lyon in internet? Higher luck subsequent 12 months.
