Who are your Stanley Cup favorites right now?

[PenguinSpeed]

-A lot of Pens hype on here.

-Im a realist. We are the 2 time defending champion, but our defense has holes.

-That said, our new backup goaltender is now 5-1 with a 92% save percentage. Issue fixed.

-The schedule has not been kind to the Pens at all, with a ridiculous opening schedule. We are 5-1 in our last 6, and lost on luck against the Rangers.

-This team is still built on offense. Our goals per game is still low, which is concerning. Our GPG against average is misleading, because of Niemi who is garbage and gone.

-Justin Shultz missing almost a 1/3 of the season to date has hurt.

-The Pens have scored 4+ goals in 5 of the last 6, that is a good uptrend.

-Ill put us on hold for now.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Eaves is going to play again?

I think hell play again.. I just don't think itll be this year but I'm not a doctor so who knows.

 

[Fatty McLardy]

Hawks have 3 cups, Penguins got 3 cups. Now is the Kings turn to get that 3rd cup.....

 

[Syckle78]

I think hell play again.. I just don't think itll be this year but I'm not a doctor so who knows.

Oh thought you meant he was about to return.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Oh thought you meant he was about to return.

Rereading it i meant to write henrique not eaves, my mistake

 

[TheAngryHank]

NJ Devils.

 

[kingsfan28]

Didnt go so well for the Kings earlier in the season. Haha

They did only give up 1 pp goal, so there's that. #moralvictory

 

[LeafFever]

I like Columbus in the East actually.

 

[kingsfan28]

The Penguins are the favorites.
No other answer is even remotely acceptable.
They may not win - but their back to back with arguably still the 2 best players in the game gives them that title.

The Pens don't have the same depth as the had the last two years.

 

[Drytoast]

Phoneix/Buffalo.

 

[scorvat53]

I like the Blues

 

[YoSoyLalo]

Personally the teams I could see making a legit run:

Tampa, obviously
Toronto
Calgary
Preds
Columbus

Maybes: St. Louis (like the Bengals and Caps, can't trust em until they do it), LA

Darkhorse: Dallas

 

[Dotter]

Preds are my hope. Probably going to be an underdog year.

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

The Golden Knights

 

[OVrocks]

Either Buffalo or Detroit, both teams look unbeatable at the moment.

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

The Pens don't have the same depth as the had the last two years.

JR will take care of that. You worry about Vegas.

 

[kingsfan28]

JR will take care of that. You worry about Vegas.

I think it's a long way away from worrying about Vegas being a contender.

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

I think it's a long way away from worrying about Vegas being a contender.

Have you been watching them?

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

Where are the Oilers fans at? All we heard about in September was them being a contender.

Blues over Isles in 6

 

[57special]

Team Sweden

 

[Jason316]

1. Tampa by a mile

The rest

Los Angeles
St. Louis
Washington
Columbus
Toronto


Dark Horse:
Dallas
Vegas lol
New Jersey
Winnipeg

 

[ducks8]

Oh this again.... his life mission to jinx the ducks

Maybe this is what we need to get rid of the injury bug

 

[De Montreal]

Three teams I think will do well in playoff.

The Islanders: I look at their groupe of players and I see many players that could potentially step up their play a notch in the playoff. Chimera/Cizikas/Clutterbuck just look like one of those 4th line player that make the difference in a game with their forecheck. They also proven playoff value like Boychuk, Seidenberg, Ladd with tons of experience plus a few wild cards like Eberle and Ho-Sang. Watch for them if Halak catch fire.

The Jets: Before this season, I would have say this team lacked top end talent with the exception of maybe Laine and Scheifle. Now Scheifle has really established himself as a top 10 centre, and Wheeler is having a very good year. Supporting cast is good and that defence is deep.

The Predators: Loving the Turris addition, that team is doing very well even without their no.3 dman in Ryan Ellis. Emelin usually play well and he's an upgrade on the 3rd pairing over Weber or Irving. Bonino, Hartnell bring ton of experience, they have gamebreaker potential with Subban and a few potential darkhorse heroes like Aberg, Sissons, Gaudreau...

Top 6 teams I dont see having success:

The Leafs: success will come sooner than later for the team but I'm expecting a 1st or 2nd round exit for them. They are still growing as a team and I can't see a team going far in the playoff with Ron Hainsey for a consecutive years. Maybe they add a dman at the deadline but I would be patient and stick to Kapanen, Liljegren, etc... if I were them.

The Knights: it would be a nice story for them to make a playoff run and I'd cheer for them, but I can't see them beating the Kings, the Sharks or the Stars in a 4 to 7 series. For obvious reason: they are not talented enough.

The Sharks: they are trying to hold on to their aging core and I dont see it going well for them next playoff, not better than it went for them against the Oilers.

 

[Thiccboiboeser]

Vancouver Canucks