Guaranteed NHL Predictions

The best time of year in sports is here and a major reason for that is the beginning of the NHL season. The NHL had an outstanding 2008-2009 year which ended off with a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals. Hopefully for hockey fans, the players will pick up from where they left off last year. Here are my predictions for the upcoming year:

EAST

1. Philadelphia
2. Boston
3. Washington
4. Pittsburgh
5. New Jersey
6. Atlanta
7. Montreal
8. Ottawa

9. Carolina
10. Florida
11. Buffalo
12. Tampa Bay
13. NY Rangers
14. Toronto
15. NY Islanders

West

1. Anaheim
2. Chicago
3.Vancouver
4. San Jose
5. Detroit
6. St.Louis
7. Calgary
8. Edmonton

9. Nashville
10. Dallas
11. Minnesota
12. Los Angeles
13. Columbus
14. Colorado
15. Phoenix

East Final: Philadelphia over Boston

West Final: Anaheim over Chicago

Stanley Cup Final: Anaheim over Philadelphia

Anaheim's forward group is stacked. If I had to pick anybody on my team other than the Big 3 (Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin) it would definitely be Ryan Getzlaf. He and Cory Perry are one of the best duos in the league. Add Bobby Ryan to the mix and this team will be one of the highest-scoring teams in the league. Don't forget the new Finnish connection of Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu.

Pronger will be a huge loss on defense but Scott Niedermayer still has some game left and he's got Ryan Whitney as his second-in-command. Nobody remembers how good Ryan Whitney was in Pittsburgh, but they will soon. The rest of their D is filled with physical forces, the same way they won the Cup in 2007.

As for goaltending, it appears Jonas Hiller is the go-to guy. He had an outstanding playoffs last year and should be a Top-10 goalie in the league this year.

Remember, this team dominated the President's trophy-winning Sharks last year in the first round and forced Detroit to a Game 7 in the second round as an 8 seed.

As they did 3 years ago in 2007, The Ducks will fly high once again in June of 2010.