NHL, meet PerSources. Let us introduce ourselves. Physical, fast-paced action, where fighting is legal and only puts a player out of the game for five minutes. We shoot, score, and celebrate hard. Our NHL team, whom all participated in these predictions, consists of Mason McFee, Dan Mitchell, and Zachary Swanson. These are your PerSources 2018-2019 NHL Predictions.
Enjoy, Gritty insists.
Mason McFee
Eastern Conference
Sleeper: Carolina Hurricanes
Cam Ward’s departure certainly hurts, as Scott Darling and Petr Mrazek don’t inspire confidence minding the net. Carolina may finally break their playoff drought this season. The team added elite defenseman Dougie Hamilton this offseason and got rid of a locker room cancer in Jeff Skinner. Adding a top-15 defenseman would help any team, but the biggest move of the offseason for the ‘Canes may prove to be getting rid of Skinner. The team also has one of the league’s truly underrated players in Sebastian Aho, who’s somehow still only 21 years old.
Atlantic Division
1: Tampa Bay Lightning | 2: Boston Bruins | 3: Toronto Maple Leafs
Metropolitan Division
1: Washington Capitals | 2: Pittsburgh Penguins | 3: Philadelphia Flyers
Eastern Conference Wild Cards
1: Florida Panthers | 2: Carolina Hurricanes
Western Conference
Sleeper: Arizona Coyotes
The ‘Yotes got off to a putrid 2-18 start last season, digging a hole that arguably no team in the league could’ve dug themselves out of, ending their season “before it began.” Mixed in with Antti Raanta missing a chunk of the season and the Coyotes were looking like they were going to be the laughingstock of the league again. Then the second half happened, in which the Coyotes played to a very solid 20-14-7, due in large part to Raanta’s return.
Arizona still have Derek Stepan manning the first-line center spot and made a sneaky good trade for Vinnie Hinostroza from the Blackhawks. Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s status as a star seems like it won’t be recognized until the Coyotes hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup (slight sarcasm), but this feels like the year it’ll happen.
Central Division
1: Winnipeg Jets | 2: Nashville Predators| 3: Colorado Avalanche
Pacific Division
1: San Jose Sharks | 2: Vegas Golden Knights | 3: Arizona Coyotes
Western Conference Wild Cards
1: St. Louis Blues | 2: Los Angeles Kings
Dan Mitchell
Eastern Conference
Sleeper: New York Rangers
Henrik Lundqvist returns to King Henrik fashion, and the mixed bag of players assembled cracks a playoff spot over the Flyers. However, a first-round exit signals the rebuild is still in progress, despite the successful regular season.
Atlantic Division
1: Toronto Maple Leafs | 2: Tampa Bay Lightning | 3: Boston Bruins
Metropolitan Division
1: Washington Capitals| 2: Pittsburgh Penguins | 3: Columbus Blue Jackets
Eastern Conference Wild Cards
1: Buffalo Sabers | 2: New York Rangers
Western Conference
Sleeper: Anaheim Ducks
They’ve broken out the old Mighty Ducks uniforms as their third this year which is always fun. I think this is the year that the Ducks get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they can stay healthy. They could make some noise in the postseason but probably won’t make it past the Conference Finals.
Central Division
1: Nashville Predators | 2: Dallas Stars | 3: Winnipeg Jets
Pacific Division
1: San Jose Sharks | 2: Vegas Golden Knights | 3: Los Angeles Kings
Western Conference Wild Cards
1: Anaheim Ducks| 2: Chicago Blackhawks
Zachary Swanson
Eastern Conference
Sleeper: Montreal Canadians
HEAR ME OUT. After a few questionable moves over the offseason, with the largest being the move of captain Max, the Canadians making the playoffs, in my mind, hinges off two. factors – Max Domi and Carey Price.
When Domi isn’t in the sin-bin, he’s one of the most intriguing young studs in the entire league. Speed mixed with a dominating physical ability makes Domi a scary match-up down the wings and in the corners. The other, and easily the biggest factor, is the much-needed bounce-back season by goaltender Carey Price. He needs it, and the team needs it for a playoff spot to even be in question. I have the Habs making the playoffs, barely, with the eighth and final seed in the East.
Atlantic Division
1: Toronto Maple Leafs | 2: Tampa Bay Lightning| 3: Boston Bruins
Metropolitan Division
1: Pittsburgh Penguins | 2: Washington Capitals | 3: Philadelphia Flyers
Eastern Conference Wild Cards
1: Florida Panthers | 2: Montreal Canadians
Western Conference
Sleeper: Arizona Coyotes
The youth will reign supreme, at least in Arizona. The ‘Yotes will look to build on what was a mediocre 2017-18 campaign but showed many upsides. Led by last seasons Calder Trophy Finalist Clayton Keller and quietly stellar goalie Antti Raanta, Arizona is poised to take another step in the right direction in the 2018-2019 season, leading to a surprising playoff finish.
The growth of Keller and fellow forward Dylan Strome will find constant success, along with Derek Stepan and Richard Panik who’re both entering the primes of their careers. And how can you not love the clean throwbacks? I’ve got the Coyotes sitting in a Wild Card spot, but don’t be shocked to see them in a divisional playoff spot.
Central Division
1: Winnipeg Jets | 2: Nashville Predators| 3: St. Louis Blues
Pacific Division
1: San Jose Sharks | 2: Los Angeles Kings | 3: Calgary Flames
Western Conference Wild Cards
1: Arizona Coyotes| 2: Dallas Stars