The weather is cooling, the leaves are turning colors, and hockey finally is back.
That’s right, the 2017-18 NHL season begins Wednesday night with the Pittsburgh Penguins raising their fifth Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters at PPG Paints Arena.
NESN.com’s Nicholas Goss and Andre Khatchaturian provide their picks for the upcoming campaign below.
Nicholas Goss’ Picks
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
1. Boston Bruins
2. Montreal Canadiens
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
No team in this division greatly improved nor is head and shoulders above the rest, making it difficult to predict. The Canadiens have the best goalie in Carey Price, so they’ll definitely be in the mix. The Leafs improved a lot last season and earned a wild-card spot, and if their young players continue to develop, they should be able to grab a division playoff berth. The Bruins have all the ingredients for a bounce-back season — an elite goaltender, veterans still in their prime and young players ready to make a strong impact at the NHL level.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
1. Washington Capitals
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. New York Rangers
The Capitals should take a step back this season after some key departures in free agency, but a step back from a league-leading 118 points should still be enough for a first-place finish. The Penguins return most of the team that repeated as champions last season, and the Rangers will be dangerous thanks to Henrik Lundqvist’s elite goaltending.
WILD CARD
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Lightning’s fate will be determined by injuries. If franchise center and captain Steven Stamkos is healthy, this team could be a top Stanley Cup contender. If not, a wild-card spot is the most realistic target.
The Blue Jackets rode a sensational power play to early success last season, and even if they regress in a bunch of areas, reigning Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and the team’s blue line should be good enough to earn a postseason spot.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Minnesota Wild
3. Nashville Predators
The Predators’ exposed the Blackhawks’ blue line in Round 1 of the playoffs last season, but Chicago still has enough talent here for another strong regular season. The Wild are one of the most balanced teams in the league, and head coach Bruce Boudreau’s teams almost always enjoy plenty of regular-season success. The Preds should take a step forward from wild card to division playoff berth if their talented young players keep progressing.
PACIFIC DIVISION
1. Anaheim Ducks
2. Edmonton Oilers
3. San Jose Sharks
Just two points separated the Ducks and Oilers atop the Pacific last season, but Anaheim’s edge in goaltending talent and depth makes them the favorite in this division. The Sharks, despite being one of the older contenders in the league, still have better goaltending than the Los Angeles Kings or Calgary Flames.
WILD CARD
1. Winnipeg Jets
2. Calgary Flames
Mark Scheifele’s breakout season was encouraging for the Jets, but it wasn’t enough to get back into the playoffs. Winnipeg’s fate will be determined by goaltending, which has been an area that’s sunk them for years.
The Flames have a lot of good young forwards and perhaps the best group of defensemen in the league, but like the Jets, goaltending could be a huge weakness.
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Ducks over Bruins in seven games
The Ducks have been to the Western Conference Final in each of the last two seasons, and this campaign they’ll get over the hump and return to the Cup Final for the first time since 2007. Anaheim’s scoring depth and highly skilled blue line will be a little too much for the Bruins.
Andre Khatchaturian’s Picks
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
1. Boston Bruins
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Bruins were the second-best puck possession team in terms of Corsi-for percentage in even-strength situations last season but were 21st in shooting percentage, meaning they controlled the puck and took many shots, but failed to cash in. They’re too talented to be kept out of the net and should have better puck luck this season.
The Lightning are a year removed from losing in the Eastern Conference finals in seven games. Steven Stamkos only played in 17 games last season and his healthy return should help boost his teammates around him.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
1. New York Rangers
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Philadelphia Flyers
There will be more parity in this division. The Penguins will deal with the fatigue that comes with back-to-back Stanley Cup runs and a depleted bottom-six. If the Penguins don’t add a third-line center, the Rangers might have the most depth in terms of having the ability to roll out four solid lines.
The Flyers acquired Brian Elliott, who struggled in Calgary last season but is only a season removed from leading the NHL in save percentage. The team has plenty of young talent that’s only going to get better on the defensive side (Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov). Their forwards consist of a solid mix of veterans (Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek) to go along with some excellent youthful exuberance (Nolan Patrick, Sean Couturier).
WILD CARD
1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Washington Capitals
As long as Carey Price stays healthy, the Canadiens will be relevant. The Capitals lost some talent but still have enough offensive firepower to make the playoffs.
Where’s Columbus? I think they overachieved last season despite the strong performance from young players. Every year there is one team that, for whatever reason, doesn’t click the way they did the year before. That’ll be the Blue Jackets this season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Nashville Predators
2. Dallas Stars
3. Chicago Blackhawks
The Preds will ride the high of their Stanley Cup run to great success in 2017-18. The Stars addressed their biggest weakness from last year by adding goaltender Ben Bishop. They also hired Ken Hitchcock, who has a knack for helping teams make turnarounds. The Blackhawks still have one of the premier rosters in hockey and will be a threat.
PACIFIC DIVISION
1. Edmonton Oilers
2. Anaheim Ducks
3. Los Angeles Kings
As long as Cam Talbot can play like he did last season, the Connor McDavid-led Oilers will continue to improve. The Ducks’ roster is still stacked and their defense is elite. The Kings, like the Bruins, had horrible puck luck last season. They were the league’s best puck possession team but ranked dead last in shooting percentage. Their shooting percentage should regress to the mean and there’s no way Anze Kopitar scores only 12 goals this season.
WILD CARD
1. Minnesota Wild
2. Winnipeg Jets
The Wild are extremely talented and balanced but will be a wild-card team only because of how stacked their division is. I don’t know if Devan Dubnyk has it in him to continue to play the way he did last year, but the Wild still have enough to make the playoffs.
Thirteen of Winnipeg’s 17 goals in the preseason came on the power play. Four of those 13 came from Patrik Laine. The team has a plethora of young offensive talent but struggled to get consistency from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck last season. He’s still only 24, though, so he should be able to get better as he gets another season under his belt.
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Stars over Lightning in six games.
Raise your hand if you thought San Jose and Nashville would represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup the last two seasons? Yeah, I thought so.
So why can’t Dallas make a surprise run, too? They have an elite offense led by Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. It also appears they’ve fixed their blue-line issues by hiring the defensive-minded Hitchcock and Bishop in net.
Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
