This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
While the NHL season has begun, we are not too deep into the season that making predictions for the postseason feel like cheating. So, in order to have my selections on the record, here are my picks for the final season standings of both the Eastern and Western Conference.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Montreal Canadiens
5. New York Rangers
6. Florida Panthers
7. Boston Bruins
8. Philadelphia Flyers
9. Detroit Red Wings
10. Ottawa Senators
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. New York Islanders
13. Buffalo Sabres
14. Toronto Maple Leafs
15. Columbus Blue Jackets
16. New Jersey Devils
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. St. Louis Blues
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. Nashville Predators
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Minnesota Wild
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Los Angeles Kings
8. Dallas Stars
9. Winnipeg Jets
10. Edmonton Oilers
11. Calgary Flames
12. Arizona Coyotes
13. Colorado Avalanche
14. Vancouver Canucks
OK, so I couldn't completely avoid using the information we have so far in making these picks. That hurts the Kings, for example. For the Cup Final, I'll take the Tampa Bay Lightning over the St. Louis Blues. If I am right, I'll be sure to remind you. If I'm wrong, then preseason predictions are stupid and who cares.
Featured Matchups
Bruins (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Maple Leafs (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Tuukka Rask (31-22-8, 2.56, .915), Jhonas Enroth (7-5-1, 2.17, .922)
Key Injuries:Patrice Bergeron (lower body), Adam McQuaid (abdomen), Frank Vatrano (foot), Matt Hunwick (upper body), Joffrey Lupul (abdomen), Stephane Robidas (knee)
All eyes are going to be on Auston Matthews in this game, obviously. That's what happens when you score four goals in your first NHL game. Obviously, he's not going to do that again, but it will be interesting to see how Matthews performs in his first home game, against a Bruins team that will likely provide a tougher test than the Senators did. Not that two games is much more of a sample size than one is, of course.
However, Matthews isn't the only interesting player in this game. Brad Marchand, fresh off scoring 37 goals last season, notched two goals and three assists in his opener. David Pastrnak added four points as well. Toronto may have scored four goals, all from Matthews, in their season opener, but they gave up five. Sure, that was with Frederik Andersen in net, but Jhonas Enroth has a career save percentage of .911.
Ducks (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Penguins (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:John Gibson (21-13-4, 2.07, .92), Marc-Andre Fleury (35-17-6, 2.29, .921)
Key Injuries:Simon Despres (upper body), Rickard Rakell (abdomen), Nate Thompson (achilles), Sidney Crosby (concussion), Matt Murray (hand), Bryan Rust (undisclosed), Daniel Sprong (shoulder)
The battle of the birds features some of the highest scoring players from the last decade or so of NHL play. Granted, the fact Sidney Crosby is on the injury list dampens that a bit, but many of the highest drafted players in your fantasy league will be on the ice in this game. Ryan Getzlaf suffered through a season last year where he only scored 13 goals. However, luck was not on his side, as he had a 7.3 shooting percentage. He took 10 shots in Anaheim's season opener, and while none of them went in, he's still clearly a capable offensive player. On the other hand, there are those who have questions about John Gibson in net. While he's been considered one of the best goalie prospects for a while, a recent survey conducted by Craig Custance showed little confidence in Gibson. He let up four goals on 20 shots in the opener. That was admittedly against Dallas, but is Pittsburgh any easier to play against?
Stars (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Avalanche (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Antti Niemi (25-13-7, 2.67, .905), Semyon Varlamov (27-25-3, 2.81, .914)
Key Injuries:Blake Comeau (groin), John Mitchell (hip), Mikko Rantanen (ankle), Jiri Tlusty (undisclosed), Cody Eakin (knee), Ales Hemsky (groin), Mattias Janmark (knee)
This is a game that feels like it could have a ton of scoring in it. Neither team is known for their goal prevention, and you can look up at the expected goalies section and see that both Niemi and Varlamov struggled last season. While guys like Tyler Seguin and Nathan McKinnon are no brainers for your fantasy team, this could be a game where some secondary options get to strike gold as well. Perhaps somebody like Patrick Sharp or Jiri Hudler will light the lamp for Dallas, though it was actually defenseman Stephen Johns who led the Stars in shots on goal in their opener, and he found the back of the net as well. This is Colorado's first game of the season. At least they should be well-rested.
Other Matchups
Jets (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Wild (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Connor Hellebuyck (13-11-1, 2.34, .918), Devan Dubnyk (32-26-6, 2.33, .918)
Key Injuries:Bryan Little (lower body)
The decision to rely more upon Connor Hellebuyck than Ondrej Pavelec should make it harder for teams to score on the Jets, and will likely help Winnipeg's plus/minus as well. While he was obviously overshadowed by Matthews, Patrick Laine notched a goal and an assist in his debut as well.
Canadiens (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Senators (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Al Montoya (12-7-3, 2.18, .919), Craig Anderson (31-23-5, 2.78, .916)
Key Injuries:Torrey Mitchell (upper body), Jeff Petry (knee), Carey Price (illness), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
Al Montoya remains a nice short-term play while Carey Price is out. He got a win against Buffalo, and he's got a good chance here. Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher look primed to be a very formidable trio this season.
Devils (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Lightning (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cory Schneider (27-25-6, 2.15, .924), Ben Bishop (35-21-4, 2.06, .926)
Key Injuries:Luke Gazdic (foot), Sergey Kalinin (illness), Jon Merrill (finger), Ryan Callahan (hip)
Cory Schneider is a great goalie, but he's going to have to stand on his head to try and keep Tampa's potent offense at bay. They potted six in their opener against Detroit, and the Devils will likely challenge Ben Bishop less than the Wings did.
Red Wings (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Panthers (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Petr Mrazek (27-16-6, 2.33, .921), Roberto Luongo (35-19-6, 2.35, .922)
Key Injuries:Tomas Jurco (back), Niklas Kronwall (knee), Joe Vitale (concussion), Nick Bjugstad (hand), Jonathan Huberdeau (lower body)
The much-maligned Thomas Vanek took a step toward redemption by scoring two goals in Detroit's opener, but he'll have to keep that up to get people to have faith in him. Still, as a buy low candidate, there are worse options than a former 40-goal scorer.
Islanders (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Capitals (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jaroslav Halak (18-13-4, 2.3, .919), Braden Holtby (48-9-7, 2.2, .922)
Key Injuries:Eric Boulton (lower body), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion)
Halak got everybody excited with his play for Team Europe, but this is a guy who has been a league average goalie the last couple of seasons, and he has less support in front of him now with Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen no longer in Brooklyn. You rarely feel confident in a goalie on the road going against the Capitals, who got two goals in their season opener from Andre Burakovsky.
Sharks (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Blue Jackets (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Martin Jones (37-23-4, 2.27, .918), Sergei Bobrovsky (15-19-1, 2.75, .908)
Key Injuries:Ryan Murray (foot), Timo Meier (illness)
Sergei Bobrovsky didn't do anything to quiet his naysayers in Columbus' opener, letting in five goals on 36 shots. On the plus side, Seth Jones netted a goal and an assist. He has the potential to be a breakout defenseman. The Sharks won't make things any easier on Bobrovsky and the Jackets. Maybe it's time for John Tortorella to justify why he's still an NHL coach?
Rangers (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Blues (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Henrik Lundqvist (35-21-7, 2.48, .92), Carter Hutton (7-5-4, 2.33, .918)
Key Injuries:Kevin Klein (back), Oscar Lindberg (hip), Jaden Schwartz (elbow)
With Jake Allen having started the Blues' first two games, Carter Hutton and his career .910 save percentage will be between the pipes. That'll improve Lundqvist's chances of picking up a win, and could be a boost for the Rangers' forwards as well. That includes new Ranger Mika Zibanejad, who had two assists in his first game with the Broadway Blueshirts.
Flyers (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Coyotes (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Steve Mason (23-19-10, 2.51, .918), Mike Smith (15-13-2, 2.63, .916)
Key Injuries:Dave Bolland (back), Kevin Connauton (lower body), Christian Dvorak (lower body), Jamie McGinn (upper body), Michael Stone (knee), Jarred Tinordi (suspension), Michael Del Zotto (lower body), Radko Gudas (suspension), Brandon Manning (shoulder), Brayden Schenn (suspension)
This will be the Coyotes' first game of the season, so we still have to wait to see what youngsters like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair do this year. With Keith Yandle gone, newcomer Alex Goligoski is a good bet to step into his role. Jakub Voracek is looking to bounce back from a season where bad luck limited him to a 5.5 shooting percentage.
Flames (PP:N/A, PK:N/A) at Canucks (PP:N/A, PK:N/A), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Chad Johnson (22-16-4, 2.36, .92), Ryan Miller (17-24-9, 2.7, .916)
Key Injuries:Anton Rodin (knee)
The Flames have decided to take a break from playing the Oilers. The Canucks don't have the offense the Oilers do, which should be a relief to the Flames' defense, and expected starter Johnson. Meanwhile, Miller's Vezina winning days are behind him, so this is another good matchup for the Flames and their young, talented forwards such as Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett.
Recommended Pickup
Victor Rask, C, CAR – Somebody has to do the scoring in Carolina, and Eric Staal isn't around anymore. Rask seems likely to be in for a bigger role, considering he scored 21 goals and notched 27 assists last season, with 18 points coming on the power play. The 23-year-old scored in Carolina's season opener, and that could just be the start of things for Rask. Don't be surprised if he ends up tallying 50 points this year.
