2015-16 NHL Preview and Predictions

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The puck drops Wednesday night as the 2015 NHL regular season gets going.  Using our proprietary formula, we’ve predicted the 2015 NHL season.  We’ve got your week 1 NHL Power Rankings plus predicted point totals for the regular season and playoff predictions.

We’ve given you the Stanley Cup Champions in the preseason every year we’ve been in business so you’ll want to keep reading and get our pick for this season!

Here are our NHL Power Rankings for 2015 Week 1:

RANK TEAM
1 Anaheim
2 St. Louis
3 Montreal
4 NY Rangers
5 Chicago
6 Pittsburgh
7 Boston
8 Tampa Bay
9 Minnesota
10 Detroit
11 Washington
12 Los Angeles
13 San Jose
14 Nashville
15 Vancouver
16 Ottawa
17 Colorado
18 NY Islanders
19 Winnipeg
20 Dallas
21 Columbus
22 Calgary
23 Philadelphia
24 New Jersey
25 Florida
26 Toronto
27 Carolina
28 Arizona
29 Edmonton
30 Buffalo

Now let’s get to our 2015 NHL Predictions:

We start with the Eastern Conference.  The Atlantic Division we project to have 5 of the 8 playoff spots compared to 3 for the Metropolitan Division.  The Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers are predicted to be repeat division champions.

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Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Montreal 105
Boston 101
Tampa Bay 101
Detroit 96
Ottawa 94
Florida 79
Toronto 74
Buffalo 55
Metropolitan Division
NY Rangers 105
Pittsburgh 102
Washington 96
NY Islanders 92
Columbus 89
Philadelphia 86
New Jersey 80
Carolina 73

In the Western Conference, we predict 4 playoff teams from each division.  The St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks we project to be the best in their divisions again this season.   The defending Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks will be contenders again in the Western Conference.

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Rickard Rakell #67 of the Anaheim Ducks skates with the puck against the Los Angeles Kings during preseason at Staples Center on September 29, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 29: Rickard Rakell #67 of the Anaheim Ducks skates with the puck against the Los Angeles Kings during preseason at Staples Center on September 29, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Western Conference
Central Division
St. Louis 107
Chicago 104
Minnesota 97
Nashville 95
Colorado 93
Winnipeg 92
Dallas 89
Pacific Division
Anaheim 110
Los Angeles 95
San Jose 95
Vancouver 94
Calgary 87
Arizona 68
Edmonton 64

2015-16 NHL Playoff Predictions:

Eastern Conference Playoffs

First Round

Montreal Canadiens over Ottawa Senators

Pittsburgh Penguins over Tampa Bay Lightning

New York Rangers over Detroit Red Wings

Washington Capitals over Boston Bruins

Conference Semi-finals

Montreal Canadiens over Pittsburgh Penguins

Washington Capitals over New York Rangers

Conference Finals

Montreal Canadiens over Washington Capitals

Western Conference Playoffs

First Round

Anaheim Ducks over Vancouver Canucks

Chicago Blackhawks over San Jose Sharks

St. Louis Blues over Nashville Predators

Los Angeles Kings over Minnesota Wild

Conference Semi-finals

Anaheim Ducks over Chicago Blackhawks

Los Angeles Kings over St. Louis Blues

Conference Finals

Anaheim Ducks over Los Angeles Kings

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Stanley Cup Finals

Anaheim Ducks over Montreal Canadiens

Get our daily data driven NHL predictions for every game all season long.