Hope you don’t believe in jinxes, Bruins fans.
In what has become an annual tradition, video game developer EA Sports used its “NHL 14” hockey video game to simulate this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Boston Bruins came out on top.
The simulation — which relies on updated rosters, playoff seedings and matchup ratings — predicted every playoff game this season and wound up with a Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and San Jose Sharks, with Boston taking home the trophy in six games.
The projection also predicted a strong performance from Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, who posted a 1.56 goals-against average with four shutouts to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
The Bruins’ road to the Cup included a 4-2 series win over the Detroit Red Wings in the opening round, an easy win in five games over the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference semifinals and a seven-game thriller against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals in which Patrice Bergeron scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 7.
For what it’s worth, EA Sports’ simulator picked the Rangers to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in last year’s Stanley Cup Final. Let’s hope it’s more accurate this time.
Thumbnail photo via Next Impulse Sports
