NHL predictions: Stanley Cup winner, award picks, more

The NHL season gets underway Tuesday, and theScore's staff got together to predict how it will all play out. The panel consists of Michael Bradburn, Kyle Cushman, John Matisz, Sean O'Leary, Eric Patterson, Levi Smith, Aidan Thakkar, and Josh Wegman.

Eastern Conference

The Lightning are the popular pick to win the Atlantic, but the Maple Leafs and defending champion Panthers each got two votes as well. Our experts couldn't agree on much in what should be a very competitive division.

It's a two-horse race in the Metropolitan, where only Smith believes the Rangers could interrupt Hurricanes-Devils supremacy.

Eastern Conference playoff picture

The Hurricanes show up as the top seed in the Eastern Conference four times, followed by the Lightning (twice) and the Panthers (twice) even though the latter won't have captain Aleksander Barkov for the season. Smith is on an island again in tabbing the Red Wings to snap their nine-year playoff drought.

Western Conference

We've got another two-horse race in the Central, this one heavily favoring the Stars. Thakkar is the outlier this time, convinced the reigning Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets deserve a bit more respect.

The Golden Knights are the popular pick, with Thakkar once again going slightly outside the box and picking the Kings to finish higher than both Vegas and the Oilers. Perhaps the most interesting result here is the wide range of outcomes for the Ducks - they're picked to finish as high as third and as low as seventh.

Western Conference playoff picture

The Stars are tabbed as the top seed in the Western Conference four times, followed closely by the Golden Knights. Everyone picked the Avalanche to make the playoffs, but only Wegman expects them to earn the cushy first-round path of facing the second wild-card seed. Meanwhile, the Mammoth are a popular pick to squeak into the postseason, and the Ducks also get some dark-horse consideration.

Stanley Cup winner

Five of us expect the Cup winner will come from the Central Division, with three taking the Avalanche and two giving the Stars the nod. Cushman and Thakkar believe the Lightning can get back to the mountaintop after three straight first-round exits. Three of us see the Panthers getting to a fourth straight Stanley Cup Final, but nobody has enough faith in them to predict a three-peat.

Award picks

McDavid is an unsurprising runaway favorite, but former winners MacKinnon and Matthews also get some love. Smith thinks Kaprizov will have no issue living up to his $136-million megadeal right away.

No goalie has won three consecutive Vezina Trophies since Dominik Hasek in the late 1990s, and only Cushman thinks Hellebuyck can pull it off. Many panelists expect a strong showing from Oettinger in the wake of a dramatic playoff exit, while Vasilevskiy is a popular pick to be a finalist for the second consecutive year. Shesterkin is coming off the worst statistical season of his career, but several of our writers believe the Rangers star is about to bounce back.

Makar and Hughes will be the league's top Norris candidates for many years to come, but our panel identified a variety of finalist options beyond the consensus favorites. The Canadiens and Stars have two representatives each, while Dahlin and Fox are popular dark-horse choices.

Wegman is the only one who didn't hop on the Demidov hype train. A team hasn't had back-to-back Calder Trophy winners since the Bruins in 1967 and '68, but seven of our eight experts think Demidov can follow in the footsteps of Lane Hutson.

McDavid's gone two seasons without a scoring title, and enough is enough, according to our staff. It's no shock that the league's best player - who's as motivated as ever to let his play do the talking in his contract year - is the overwhelming favorite.

McDavid said he wants to score more goals this season, and who are we to doubt him? The Oilers captain appeared on several ballots, but we're expecting a big year from Matthews. The three-time "Rocket" winner only had 33 tallies a year ago but appears healthy heading into the new season. If he's at full force, 50-60 goals is the expectation.