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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DENVER, CO – JANUARY 19: Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche skates prior to the game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Pepsi Center on January 19, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Kings 7-1. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – JANUARY 19: Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche skates prior to the game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Pepsi Center on January 19, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Kings 7-1. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price

Montreal, against all odds, might make the Eastern Conference playoffs. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for them, but Price has stopped that from happening: His save percentage of .914 is one of the best in the league, and he’s made up for a young, star-less core trying to find its way.

Scoring from Max Domi, Tomas Tatar and Jonathan Drouin has helped this surprising season from the Canadiens. But an elite goaltender can go a long way towards putting you in contention.

Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Just kidding, it’s Connor McDavid. I don’t have much more insight for this section, beyond poor Oilers. Peter Chiarelli is nuking this team and I don’t think it’s going to go well.

Carolina Hurricanes: Regression to the mean

The Canes put up good shot numbers. They should score more based on the quality attempts they generate. If at some point they regress to the mean, they could see some better results.

That will only somewhat mitigate concerns over the quality of this roster, though. It looks like a trade of winger Micheal Ferland to a contender could happen before the trade deadline.

Colorado Avalanche: The first line

Both Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are among the league leaders in scoring, with Gabriel Landeskog rounding out one of the best lines in hockey.

The Avs are in a tight battle in the Central Division and the Western Conference for a playoff spot, sitting on 52 points. They’ll need production from elsewhere in the roster to get this group to the postseason. Once there, it will be a huge showcase for the MacKinnon and Rantanen duo.

St. Louis Blues: Ryan O’Reilly

I don’t think there’s a good chance of this happening!

St. Louis has been one of the worst teams in the league, and could look at trading any of their underperforming pieces. Only O’Reilly has lived up to expectations for a team that was supposed to be one of the most improved teams in the NHL this season.

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