Fansided

One reason every NHL team could win the Stanley Cup

By Harrison Hamm

SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 30: Dylan DeMelo #74, Brent Burns #88, Logan Couture #39, Joe Pavelski #8 and Evander Kane #9 celebrate Kane's third period goal in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 30, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dylan DeMelo;Brent Burns;Logan Couture;Joe Pavelski;Evander Kane
SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 30: Dylan DeMelo #74, Brent Burns #88, Logan Couture #39, Joe Pavelski #8 and Evander Kane #9 celebrate Kane's third period goal in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 30, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dylan DeMelo;Brent Burns;Logan Couture;Joe Pavelski;Evander Kane /
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NEWARK, NJ – DECEMBER 21: Taylor Hall #9 of the New Jersey Devils is congratulated after scoring a goal against the Ottawa Senators during the game at Prudential Center on December 21, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – DECEMBER 21: Taylor Hall #9 of the New Jersey Devils is congratulated after scoring a goal against the Ottawa Senators during the game at Prudential Center on December 21, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Columbus Blue Jackets: Panarin and Bobrovsky desperation

In case you hadn’t noticed by now, the Blue Jackets are in a bit of a predicament: Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky are UFAs after the season, and their leaving would not bode well for the future of the franchise.

But right now, they’re both still there and Columbus are jostling with the Capitals (and Islanders?) for the top of the Metropolitan Division.

New York Islanders: Defense

The surprising Islanders are the league’s best defensive team. With a tight Barry Trotz defensive system and an offense-averse bottom six (Leo Komarov! Scott Mayfield!), they give up just 2.47 goals per game, the lowest average in the NHL. They’re sticking around at the top of the Metro.

Whether the Isles can maintain this surprising success in the postseason is yet to be seen. Given the presence of the volatile (and aggressive) Penguins, their playing in the playoffs is far from a guarantee. But New York has shown enough to at least get to this spot.

New Jersey Devils: Taylor Hall

With the Devils lagging far behind the playoff pace in the Metro, this has not been the follow-up they had hoped to last season’s surprising playoff appearance.

An injury to Hall, last year’s Hart winner, hurt. But the superstar is averaging more than a point per game. Without depth scoring and goaltending (they most certainly have not had goaltending), the Devils will go as far as Hall and a couple other top players can carry them.

LA Kings: The old stars rebound

This ain’t gonna happen for the Kings. They’re last place in the Pacific and have seen pretty much everything go wrong.

But Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick have been good before (and might still be good!). They’d have to all go on a tear. And management would have to hold back on a Carter trade.

Chicago Blackhawks: Toews and Kane

You guessed it! Chicago won’t make much noise for the rest of the season outside of their inexplicably frequent appearances on NBC Sports Network.

Toews and Kane are still there. We at least know that duo won’t be traded.

Dallas Stars: Benn and Seguin with chips on their shoulders

Dallas’s president, Jim Lites, lit up Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin in unprecedented candid interviews earlier in January. He was not pleased with his two stars’ production, to say the least.

For Dallas to keep clawing away in the Central Division and slip into a Western Conference playoff spot, they’ll need Benn and Seguin to get hot. And they’ll need some production from the other players — many of which, on account of poor management, are not very good.

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