2016 Stenley Cup will host two new teams

By: Jacob Jensen

With the preseason all wrapped up and the NHL regular season starting on Oct. 8,  the craziness has begun. I am going to attempt the impossible and make my 2015-16 NHL season predictions.

In the Atlantic I think the top two teams at the end of the season will be the Montreal Canadians and last year’s Eastern Conference champion, the Tampa Bay Lightning.  I picked it to be the same as last year because the Canadians are coming off consecutive successful seasons, and the Lightning were two games away from being crowned the Stanley Cup champs.

In the Metropolitan Division, I have the Rangers and Penguins being the top two teams. The Rangers will once again be the top team because they won the President’s Trophy last year, and I think they will continue their success this year. The Penguins were doing great last year until they had a late season collapse. This year they will continue their success and skip the collapse.

Now moving to the Western Conference, in the Central I have the top two teams being the defending champs, the Blackhawks, and the team they swept in the playoffs, the Wild.  If Patrick Kane can stay out of jail, I see the Blackhawks making another Cup run. For the Wild, I think they will have a breakout season due to the young playmakers in Mikael Granlund and Mathew Dumba, along with the refurbished gem in goalie Devan Dubnyk.

In the Pacific Division I have two teams that didn’t even make the playoffs last year being the top two teams in the standings at the end of the season: the San Jose Sharks and L.A. Kings. The Kings had a Stanley Cup hangover from winning it all two years ago. Well, today is Monday and the horrors from a hungover Sunday are gone, and now the Kings are ready to go to work. The Sharks couldn’t put the pieces together last year, but this year things will change. They will make a deep run into the playoffs thanks to the two Joe’s on the team, Thornton and Pavelski.

In the Eastern Conference finals I have Montreal and the New York Rangers facing off. I think it comes down to game 7 with the Rangers taking home the Prince of Wales Trophy.

In the Western Conference finals, I predict the San Jose Sharks to outlast the Minnesota Wild. Sorry Blackhawk fans, but the uncertainty of Patrick Kane makes it hard to pick them.

Sharks versus Rangers 2016 Stanley cup face off. You heard it here first. My 2016 Stanley Cup Champion prediction is … the San Jose Sharks. Their powerful offense is too much for Henrik Lundqvist to handle as the Sharks win a tight one.