With the NHL Playoffs beginning on Saturday, April 18, 16 teams will compete to hoist the Stanley Cup in June. With the Florida Panthers being eliminated from playoff contention, there will be a new winning team for the first time since 2023. Here is a ranking of every team’s chances of winning.
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1. Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are the clear front-runner to winning the Stanley Cup. They finished the regular season 54 wins and 116 points, which was enough to win the President’s Trophy.
The Avalanche have an explosive offense, led by star Nathan MacKinnon, the best player in the NHL. They average the most goals per game with 3.6 and finished with a +97 goal differential on the season.
If that isn’t enough, they have one of the best defenses too. Led by Cale Makar, the Avalanche allow the least amount of goals per game with 2.4. They also have the best penalty kill in the league and are great at avoiding penalties. Goalie Scott Wedgewood finished with 31 wins and a .921 save percentage on the season.
The only downside, is that the last President’s Trophy winner to win the Stanley Cup was back in 2013. The Avalanche will hope to break a long-awaited curse.
2. Tampa Bay Lighting
The Lightning have stayed a consistent, dominant team this decade. They rely on their core of players, such as Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. This team also went to three straight Stanley Cup Finals from 2020-2022, winning two of them.
The Lightning’s only weakness this time around is depth. Besides their core veterans, the team doesn’t really have that deep of a bench. They are also in a stacked Atlantic Division with high-end competition. In the end, they are the Lightining and they tend to always find a way.
3. Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have had their recent playoff struggles over the years, yet seem to have quite the roster once again. They have six players with at least 50 points this season and offseason signing Nikolaj Ehlers has been quite an addition to the offense.
However, the Hurricanes lack a true superstar to carry them in the playoffs. Sebastion Aho and Seth Jarvis are are true playmakers, but they don’t have that X-factor. It also doesn’t help how the Hurricanes also have won only one Conference Finals game despite being in the Conference Finals three times the last eight years.
4. Dallas Stars
The Stars finished with another stellar 100-plus point season. They only downside is that they play in the Central Division, the same division as the Avalanche.
It has also been a down year for their star forward Mikko Rantanen, scoring only 22 goals on the season. Wyatt Johnson has been able to pick up the slack on the offense, but other than that there has been too much inconsistent play from the centers. Because of the inconsistent play from the centers, its hard to put the Stars as a Stanley Cup Favorite.
5. Minnesota Wild
The Wild are loaded with top talent such as Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Quinn Hughes. However, they often rely a little too much on the goaltending to win them games. It also doesn’t help how they are in the same division as the Avalanche and Stars.
The Wild have still found a way in the playoffs. Unfortunately for them, the last time they won a playoff series was during the 2014-15 season, suffering nine consecutive playoff series losses. They also have to play the Stars, a team that finished above them in the Central Division. The good news for the Wild is that they have plenty of young talent coming up in the next few years, so unfortunately it feels like another first round loss.
6. Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres will be playing in the playoffs for the first time in over 15 years. They have a solid young core and have absolutely turned their season around following a very slow start.
However, the complete lack of playoff experience for this team is concerning. Playoff hockey is a completely different atmostphere that they team may not be prepared for. They also play the Boston Bruins, a team who is loaded with experience and the talent to compete with them. It will be very interesting to see how it plays out.
7. Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are another team who emerged from the gauntlet Atlantic Division to clinch a playoff spot.
Despite being a fun team to watch, on the stats sheet they are incredibly average. They don’t stand out on either side of the special teams, and the bottom-6 are a complete liability at times. They also play the Lightning, a team that is made for the playoffs year in and year out. It should be fun, but it doesn’t feel like this team can compete.
8. Boston Bruins
For the Bruins, it feels like they are the “best bad team” in the playoffs. They too found a way to succeed in the Atlantic Division this year, thanks to David Pastrnak. However, besides Pastrnak the Bruins haven’t found consistent scoring especially from the wings.
Fortunately, the Bruins caught a break. They play the Sabres, a team that completely lacks playoff experience and who the Bruins beat three out of four times they faced this season. Regardless, it should interesting to see who will come out on top.
9. Las Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights fired head coach Bruce Cassidy, and replaced him with John Tortorella with just eight games left in the season. Someone, someway, it has paid off massively as Tortorella is 7-0-1 as head coach.
The Golden Knights have struggled with goal scoring this season compared to last, finishing 14th in goals scored this season. However, there could be some Tortorella magic that could push this team to a deep run.
10. Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are finally back in the playoffs after nearly four years. The 38-year old has been relied on heavily this season, and that is not the best thing to have heading into the playoffs. It’s been an issue for year now where the Penguins struggle to put out a lineup that can compete. An emotional opening round against the Philadelphia Flyers doesn’t help out either.
11. Ottawa Senators
The Senators are the last team from the Atlantic Division to make the playoffs. Brady Tkachuk had led a fun and explosive offense to a wildcard spot, the second time in ten years the team has made the playoffs. The one issue that is plaguing the team is their goaltending, as Linus Ullmark has not lived up to the expectations. Facing off against the diverse Hurricane offense doesn’t help either.
12. Utah Mammoth
For the first time since the franchise’s founding, the Mammoth are in the playoffs. They finished the season strong, ranking top 10 in goals scored and goals allowed. They have a realistic shot at beating the Golden Knights in round one, the issue is the Pacific Division is much weaker than the Central Division, and the Mammoth don’t have the depth to go far.
13. Edmonton Oilers
It’s been a familiar theme for the Oilers these past few season. Connor McDavid is the best player in hockey, Leon Draisaitl is a machine, and Evan Bouchard is great along the blue line. Then there’s the goaltending which is arguably the worst in the league. The team traded Stuart Skinner for Tristan Jarry this season and it hasn’t gotten any better. After making back-to-back finals, it seems the team doesn’t have the production to make it a third time in a row.
14. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are one of the youngest teams in the NHL and making the playoffs is a huge accomplishment. The direction the team is headed is bright, but unfortunately they don’t have the pieces right now to make a deep run. The team is also on a cold streak, losing eight of its last 11 games.
15. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have a lot of talent on their team, yet when you look at the stats it doesn’t make sense how they got in the playoffs. They are below league average in goals scored, goals allowed, and the goaltending has been really inconsistent. Yet with players like Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov, it can be an entertaining series. They play the Penguins, its in-state rivals. It should be quite the emotional rollercoaster.
16. Los Angeles Kings
This years Kings team is arguable one of the worst teams to make the playoffs in NHL history. They have 22 regulation wins, which is one of the lowest in the league. They set an NHL record with 33 overtime games this season (13-0-20 record in those games) and finished with a -22 goal differential. On top of that, they play the Avalanche in the opening round. In addition to the lack of impact players, the Kings stand no chance on paper, but may create some chaos on the ice.
