The beauty of predictions is that they’re never dead-on, except when they are.
And then the predictor can bask in his or her omniscience and appear infinitely wise when those told-you-so’s become reality. (Right, Moose?)
Even better: The incorrect predictions are almost certainly forgotten. Quick: Who did Tom Jackson have winning Week 4’s Patriots-Colts game? Better question: Who cares?
Predictions are mostly effortless, understandably flawed and easy to make. So we drummed up 30 of them, one for each NHL team, for this week’s Power Rankings: Bold Prediction Edition.
Good news, Winnipeg. Your Jets — fourth in goal differential in the West; five-point cushion over Calgary; only going to get healthier — and are going to the postseason!
| Rank | Team | Previous | |
| 1 |  |
Scary news this week for the leaders of the Presidents’ Trophy race as Pekka Rinne left a win over the Canucks with a lower-body injury. Prediction: Rinne recovers, wins the Vezina, but the Preds can’t get out of the second round. |
2 |
| 2 |  |
Jonathan Toews was named the All-Star Game captain that’s not Nick Foligno. In terms of captain cred, this could go down as the most lopsided ASG in history. Prediction: Toews captains Chicago to the 2015 Stanley Cup. |
1 |
| 3 |  |
David Backes is en fuego, posting four straight multi-point games during the Blues’ five-game winning streak. Prediction: The ridiculous depth of the Central Division means a talented team like St. Louis fails to advance to the conference final. |
4 |
| 4 |  |
A huge victory for the Islanders at Madison Square Garden vaulted them into first place in the Eastern Conference. Prediction: The Isles’ Garth Snow goes from laughingstock to GM of the Year. |
10 |
| 5 |  |
Despite their loss to the Isles, the Rangers — winners of eight of their last 10 — have been rolling nicely. Prediction: Pittsburgh makes whatever moves necessary to avoid a first-round series against King Henrik and the Blueshirts. |
5 |
| 6 |  |
Riding Braden Holtby and morphing into a more balanced unit, the Caps have dropped just one game in regulation in their last 19 attempts. Prediction: Barry Trotz defeats Peter Laviolette for the Jack Adams. Someone blames eastern bias. |
8 |
| 7 |  |
Marc-Andre Fleury leads all NHL netminders with six shutouts but failed to get an All-Star Game invite until Pekka Rinne went down to injury. Prediction: Fleury enjoys his best postseason since his Cup-winning run in 2009. |
9 |
| 8 |  |
The Lightning suffered a double whammy this week with Tyler Johnson and Victor Hedman both getting banged up during the Flyers game. Prediction: Tampa gets healthy in time for the post-season and makes the Eastern Conference final. |
3 |
| 9 |  |
The most dangerous Atlantic Division team on the road, Montreal is 14-7-1 away from Bell Centre. Prediction: The Habs won’t win their division, but that’s fine. They’ll be just as deadly as a lower seed. |
6 |
| 10 |  |
The Red Wings, accustomed to turning to backup support, will be without all-star Jimmy Howard for about three weeks. Prediction: The Wings make the playoffs yet again, and Mike Babcock signs an extension that makes him the highest-paid coach in the NHL. |
12 |
| 11 |  |
Despite their measly plus-seven goal differential, the Ducks are running away with the Pacific Division crown. Prediction: This is the season Anaheim finds a way to be the last California team standing. |
7 |
| 12 |  |
Free agent pickup Mathieu Perreault scored four goals in one game Tuesday night. Prediction: The Jets make the playoffs for the first time since relocating from Atlanta. |
19 |
| 13 |  |
The best part of the Bruins’ four-game winning streak is that they’re knocking off elite clubs like the Lightning and Penguins again. Prediction: The Bruins’ drift from the playoff picture is coming but not this year. |
20 |
| 14 |  |
He rarely plays, but backup Martin Jones has a comparable save percentage (.908) and better goals-against average (2.20) than Jonathan Quick. Both goalies have three shutouts. Prediction: Another season and a half like this, and Jones goes full Bernier — asking for a chance to be a No. 1 elsewhere. |
14 |
| 15 |  |
Where’s the offence? The Canucks have mustered just one goal in each of their last three games — all losses. Prediction: Vancouver gets it together in time to grab the final wild-card berth in the West, barely. |
11 |
| 16 |  |
Thanks in large part to an improved defence and the stability of Roberto Luongo, the Panthers — winners of six of their last 10 — are taking a run at a wild-card spot. Prediction: Despite its best effort, Florida comes up short. |
18 |
| 17 |  |
Johnny Gaudreau is reportedly seeking to trademark the nickname “Johnny Hockey.” Prediction: Gaudreau becomes more noteworthy in his chosen sport than Johnny Football does in his. |
17 |
| 18 |  |
Over the course of the last four seasons, Joe Pavelski ranks third league-wide with 51 power-play goals, behind only Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos. Prediction: Pavelski will be named the Sharks’ next captain. |
13 |
| 19 |  |
Rookie John Klingberg is breaking out nicely this season and was the, um, star of Dallas’s first game versus Ottawa since the Jason Spezza deal. Prediction: Dallas rallies and won’t be eliminated from wild-card contention until the final night of the season. |
15 |
| 20 |  |
A new interim head coach, Peter Horachek, has tightened up the Maple Leafs’ shot ratios and instilled a much more boring (read: ultimately more consistent) style of play. Prediction: The Leafs’ failure to make the post-season gives management the green light to hunt a big-name coach this summer. |
21 |
| 21 |  |
Showing spurts of life, the Avalanche has won five of its last eight games, and its last three losses have been one-goal affairs. Prediction: A Ryan O’Reilly trade is something that actually happens. |
24 |
| 22 |  |
Rumour has it GM Bryan Murray is still hoping to be a buyer at the trade deadline, even though the Senators (3-5-2 in their last 10) are 10 points out of a playoff spot. Prediction: Realizing the Sens’ record is not his fault, multiple teams court fired coach Paul MacLean this summer. |
23 |
| 23 |  |
Good individual year with two of the top four scorers (Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux), but the Flyers are a mess defensively: 23rd in goals against, 30th on the penalty kill. Prediction: Craig Berube is not Philly’s head coach to start 2015-16. |
25 |
| 24 |  |
Nick Foligno was named captain of one of the NHL’s all-star teams even though (as Foligno himself would admit) the team’s greatest talent is Ryan Johansen — he of the 11-game active point streak. Prediction: Five years from now we look back and say, “How was this Team Foligno and not Team Johansen?” |
16 |
| 25 |  |
If the Hurricanes are tanking, they’re being awfully subtle about it. This month they’ve beat the Bruins, Avs, Flyers and Sabres and kept things close with Western elite like the Blues and Predators. Prediction: The Hurricanes miss out on both Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid. |
28 |
| 26 |  |
Cory Schneider isn’t getting enough support from the league’s 28th-best offence, and the Devils are in the midst of the dreaded California road trip (albeit with a heck of a start). Prediction: Carolina passes New Jersey in the standings before year’s end. |
26 |
| 27 |  |
Losers of four straight, the once-promising Wild continues to freefall. Prediction: Minnesota will look to upgrade its goaltending at least one more time (even after Devan Dubnyk) before firing head coach Mike Yeo. We don’t believe this slide should result in his head. |
22 |
| 28 |  |
The Coyotes announced they will bring back the 1996 ‘Kachina’ sweaters for a game in March. Prediction: The Coyotes won 38 games when they debuted in 1996-97; they’ll only win 30 this year. |
27 |
| 29 |  |
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gets to represent the Oilers at the NHL All-Star Game, his first. Prediction: RNH leads his team in points during the friendly game of shinny in Columbus. |
30 |
| 30 |  |
Very cool that two Czech goaltenders, the Sabres’ Michal Neuvirth and the Red Wings’ Petr Mrazek, manned the pipes for Dominik Hasek’s sweater retirement this week. Prediction: Sabres begin retiring more jerseys to ensure sellouts. Next up? Brian Holzinger Night! |
29 |