The race to get in final brackets before the start of round one isn’t exclusive to the fans. Some NHL front office staff and executives also have fun with predicting the Stanley Cup Champions recently captured by Harman Dayal and Chris Johnston of The Athletic. They polled nine anonymous NHL front office executives and senior staff to find their playoff favorites. Even when prompted to include three-or-four Stanley Cup favorites, many of the voters had two teams that stood out from the rest – the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
It is no surprise to see Colorado top the list after an unstoppable regular season. The Avalanche finished the year with the most points (55), most goals scored (298), and fewest goals allowed (197), in the NHL. Captain Nathan MacKinnon won the scoring race with 53 goals and ranked third with 127 points in 80 games played. His winger, Martin Necas, wasn’t far behind with the first 100-point season of his career. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood also led the NHL with a .921 save percentage. He backstopped a roster that was strong from top-to-bottom and only got better with the addition of Nazem Kadri, one executive told Dayal and Johnston. The Avalanche will start their playoff race against the Los Angeles Kings and stand as the team-to-beat in the Western Conference.
The only team to rival Colorado’s season was Dallas. The Stars were the only other Western Conference team to reach 50 wins and finished the year with the second-fewest goals allowed (222). They were well-rounded all year long under the lead of returning head coach Glen Gulutzan and surging forward Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston. Robertson finished the year with 45 goals and 96 points while Johnston had a breakout season with 45 goals and 86 points. The duo dominated momentum when they were on the ice, supported by speedy winger Mavrik Bourque in a top-six role. That was the kind of depth that helped Dallas stand out, with Sam Steel and Justin Hryckowian also offering effective roles throughout the lineup. Starter Jake Oettinger also finished third in the league with 35 wins but coupled it with a .899 save percentage that was closer to league average. With every lineup spot filled and healthy, Dallas could be a dangerous playoff team. Unfortunately, they might also face the toughest path to the Stanley Cup Finals – likely having to go through both the Minnesota Wild and Avalanche to get out of the West.
The red-hot Buffalo Sabres topped The Athletic’s tier of dark horse candidates in their return to the postseason. Buffalo is hot at the right time – having posted a 15-4-3 record since March 1st. Their .750 win percentage is second to only the St. Louis Blues’ .761 in that span. The Sabres have also ranked third in goals-per-game (3.64) in that timeframe, behind the Philadelphia Flyers (3.88) and Carolina Hurricanes (3.83). Their run to the playoffs has been spearheaded by Gold Medal-forward Tage Thompson and captain Rasmus Dahlin, who finished with 81 and 74 points respectively. Buffalo’s offense stocked every line this season, marked by 43 points from Zach Benson and 39 points from Peyton Krebs. They also found stability in net thanks to a .910 save percentage from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in 35 games and a .907 from Alex Lyon in 36 games. That might be enough to spark a Cup run. First, Buffalo will have to prove their place back in the postseason with their first round-one win since 2007.
Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.