The regular season is over. After an 82-game grind, the field of 30 NHL teams has been narrowed to 16—16 teams that now face a harrowing four-round ordeal during which they will need to beat every opponent they face in a best-of-seven series.
This slideshow attempts to tie some kind of odds to each team's chances of running this formidable gauntlet. It wasn't easy.
In the Pacific Division, the perennial contender Los Angeles Kings have faced a stiff challenge all season from their usual California rivals: the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. By record or by goal differential in 2015-16, there's precious little to separate any of those teams. The Nashville Predators, crossing over from the tough Central Division, have been a little less impressive this season but have had a tougher schedule.
That tough schedule featured plenty of games against the trio of the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, with the first two teams well clear of 100 points and the third the most dominant club in the league over the last six seasons. The Minnesota Wild will hope to surprise higher-seeded opponents, as they have each of the last t ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Jonathan Willis
NHL Playoff Odds 2016: Handicapping Every Team’s Stanley Cup Hopes
April 11th, 2016 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
Advertisement