On the eve of the 2013 NHL season, the Hockey Fanatic is sharing our pre-season Stanley Cup predictions. We have already stated how we think each conference will shape up and now we predict the order in which the teams will qualify for the NHL playoffs. Remember the days of the 21 team league where the first overall team played the sixteenth place team, second played fifteenth, third played fourteenth and so on? We loved that format, so we though we would identify how we think the NHL teams will finish the regular season from number one to number thirty. The top sixteen teams makes the playoffs with the others becoming also-rans.
2013 NHL Regular Season Predictions
| Finish | Team |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 2 | New York Rangers |
| 3 | Vancouver Canucks |
| 4 | St Louis Blues |
| 5 | Boston Bruins |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 7 | Los Angeles Kings |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 9 | Nashville Predators |
| 10 | Washington Capitals |
| 11 | San Jose Sharks |
| 12 | Ottawa Senators |
| 13 | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 14 | Detroit Red Wings |
| 15 | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 16 | Minnesota Wild |
| Non-Playoff Teams | |
| 17 | Edmonton Oilers |
| 18 | Phoenix Coyotes |
| 19 | Buffalo Sabres |
| 20 | New Jersey Devils |
| 21 | Winnipeg Jets |
| 22 | Anaheim Ducks |
| 23 | Colorado Avalanche |
| 24 | Montreal Canadiens |
| 25 | Florida Panthers |
| 26 | Dallas Stars |
| 27 | Calgary Flames |
| 28 | New York Islanders |
| 29 | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 30 | Columbus Blue Jackets |
So how will the 16 playoff team fare? Here are our pre-season Stanley Cup predictions.
| Finish | Team |
| 1 | New York Rangers |
| 2 | Vancouver Canucks |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 4 | Los Angeles Kings |
| 5 | St Louis Blues |
| 6 | Boston Bruins |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 9 | Nashville Predators |
| 10 | Ottawa Senators |
| 11 | Minnesota Wild |
| 12 | Washington Capitals |
| 13 | San Jose Sharks |
| 14 | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 15 | Detroit Red Wings |
| 16 | Tampa Bay Lightning |
So it looks like a New York Rangers / Vancouver Canucks rematch from 1994 with the same outcome with the New York Rangers hoisting the Stanley Cup. Hmm not sure about the Canucks, it could be the Blues, Kings or Blackhawks from the West. From the East the Pittsburgh Penguins or Boston Bruins also have a shot. Let’s see how the shortened 48 game regular season pans out.
