NHL Picks and Analysis

5 games: Panthers vs Hurricanes, Canadiens vs Maple Leafs, Rangers vs Bruins, Canucks vs Oilers, Blackhawks vs Golden Knights.

Boston went from the bottom of the East to 100 points on Jeremy Swayman's goaltending and a season of elite finishing. Our model keeps part

Carolina won the Stanley Cup by doing what it has done for eight seasons: owning the puck and giving up almost nothing. The same team is bac

Chicago spent the summer adding Bowen Byram, Patrick Kane and two rookies who start in the top six. Then Connor Bedard hurt his shoulder in

Colorado won the Presidents' Trophy on merit and then got swept in the West Final. Our model rates the Avalanche the best team in hockey, by

The Oilers still have the two best forwards in hockey, and the sportsbooks price them like a Cup favorite. Our model sees a team that got ol

Florida went from two straight Cups to 25th in the league, then got its captain back and traded for Brady Tkachuk. Our model agrees the line

Los Angeles controlled play well enough for a stronger season than 90 points, then lost Anze Kopitar to retirement and hired Peter Laviolett

Montreal jumped to 106 points and a conference final on elite finishing, a young goalie's red-hot March and the league's youngest core. Our

Ilya Sorokin saved the Islanders more goals than any goalie saved any team last season, and they still missed the playoffs. The captain is g

The Rangers finished 29th, traded Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, and still look better on paper than a year ago. Our model has them ne

Philadelphia went from eight points out of a playoff spot in midwinter to a playoff series win in April, with Dan Vladar as the story of the

Pittsburgh's return to the playoffs was earned on the ice, not in the shooting luck column. But the goalies who steadied it are gone, the de

A new general manager, a new coach, a No. 1 pick and a future Hall of Fame goalie. Toronto rebuilt almost everything around Matthews and Nyl

Vancouver finished last in the NHL, and the underlying numbers say it deserved to. The summer sent away the team's best defensive defenseman

Vegas had one of the best underlying profiles in the league, the 29th-best goaltending, three coaches in three months and a run to the Stanl