The Voices of NHL Network Radio share their 2019-2020 predictions
With four games on the docket this evening in the National Hockey League, the 2018-19 regular season is underway. And with the parity throughout the league, every game counts as they’ve never counted before, meaning the push to the playoffs begins October 2nd.
Can the St. Louis Blues repeat as Stanley Cup Champions? It’s a rare feat to defend the Cup, as only the Penguins (2016 & 2017) and Red Wings (1997 & 1998) have turned the trick in the past quarter-century.
Will somebody pull a “St. Louis Blues” and underperform in the first half, only to resurrect their season and storm all the way to the Stanley Cup come June? Don’t count on it.
What do the Tampa Bay Lightning do? After an amazing 2018-19 regular season, they fell in four straight games to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round of the playoffs. Unacceptable. They know it. They’ll have to hold off the Bruins and Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division, but it’ll be all about the post-season for the Bolts. Pressure? Yes.
There’s also pressure in cities such as Calgary and Nashville. All the first-place finishers didn’t survive the first round this past spring.
Are the Washington Capitals still a Cup contender? (Yes.) Can the Toronto Maple Leafs finally win a playoff series for the first time since 2004? (I think so.)
Is the Stanley Cup window still wide open for a team such as the Winnipeg Jets, who watched a mass defection of D men to supposedly greener pastures?
Are teams such as the Flyers, Panthers, Coyotes, Rangers, and Devils ready for Prime Time? Have they made the necessary changes to facilitate a major increase in points earned during the regular season? Even if they have, is it enough to displace incumbents in the playoff hunt?
Kakko or Hughes? McDavid or MacKinnon? Ovechkin or Matthews? The individual trophy races should be enticing to track over the next six months.
Which NHL head coach will be the first to lose their gig? It’s an unpleasant subject, but it comes with the territory. Some seasons, it takes ‘till around Christmas before somebody’s jettisoned. Other seasons, it’s a mere handful of games before the big change occurs.
What we do know is SiriusXM NHL Network Radio Channel 91 will be there every step of the way, every slap shot, every save, and every storyline. And on that note…
Everybody loves predictions. Then, once the games are actually played, everybody pretty much hates their predictions. Undaunted, we soldier on, as the staff of SiriusXM NHL Network Radio weigh in with their picks for the upcoming 2019-20 NHL campaign. The love for the Lightning and Golden Knights is considerable, though there are interesting outrider opinions to be had.
Scott Laughlin:
Stanley Cup: Vegas over Tampa Bay
Art Ross: Nikita Kucherov
Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon
50 goal scorers: 2
Tie-Breaker (most points this season): Central Division
Gord Stellick:
Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay over Colorado
Art Ross: Nikita Kucherov
Hart Trophy: Aleksander Barkov
50 goal scorers: 2
Tie-Breaker: Atlantic Division
Steve Kouleas:
Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay over Vegas
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon
50 goal scorers: 0
Tie-Breaker: Central Division
Matthew Barnaby:
Stanley Cup: Nashville over Tampa Bay
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid
50 goal scorers: 0
Tie-Breaker: Central Division
Mike Johnson:
Stanley Cup: Vegas over Tampa Bay
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid
50 goal scorers: 1
Tie-Breaker: Central Division
Jim Boomer Gordon:
Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay over Colorado
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon
50 goal scorers: 0
Tie-Breaker: Atlantic Division
Peter Berce:
Stanley Cup: Vegas over Washington
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Auston Matthews
50 goal scorers: 10
Tie-Breaker: Atlantic Division
Mick Kern:
Stanley Cup: Colorado over Tampa Bay
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon
50 goal scorers: 2
Tie-Breaker: Metropolitan Division
Bruce Bolton:
Stanley Cup: Toronto over Vegas
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid
50 goal scorers: 1
Tie-Breaker: Atlantic Division
Michael Lippa:
Stanley Cup: Vegas over Tampa Bay
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon
50 goal scorers: 5
Tie-Breaker: Central Division
Ryan Paton:
Stanley Cup: Toronto over Vegas
Art Ross: Auston Matthews
Hart Trophy: Nikita Kucherov
50 goal scorers: 3
Tie-Breaker: Atlantic Division
Joe Thistel:
Stanley Cup: Vegas over Boston
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: David Pastrnak
50 goal scorers: 3
Tie-Breaker: Central Division
Jake Hahn:
Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay over San Jose
Art Ross: Nikita Kucherov
Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon
50 goal scorers: 2
Tie-Breaker: Central Division
Tyler Madarasz:
Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay over Vegas
Art Ross: Nathan MacKinnon
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid
50 goal scorers: 2
Tie-Breaker: Atlantic Division
Rob Conway:
Stanley Cup: Dallas over Toronto
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid
50 goal scorers: 2
Tie-Breaker: Atlantic Division
Ben Miner:
Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay over Calgary
Art Ross: Steve Stamkos
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid
50 goal scorers: 5
Tie-Breaker: Pacific Division
