2018 Analysis
|
Team |
Average Ranking |
#1 Rankings |
Highest Ranking |
Lowest Ranking |
Standard Deviation |
Commentary |
|
The Favourites |
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| Nashville Predators | 2.46 | 22 | 1 | 10 | 1.99 | After reaching the Cup final last year, and winning the President's Trophy this year, it's not surprising that the Predators are the fairly heavy favourite, sitting atop nearly half of all entries... |
|
The
Dark Horses |
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| Tampa Bay Lightning | 4.23 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2.33 | The top team in the east gets enough respect to get the second-highest average ranking, but only four entries actually picked them to go all the way... |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 4.65 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 2.64 | Despite not even winning their division, the defending champs get the third-highest average ranking, and the second-most picks to win the Cup... |
| Winnipeg Jets | 5.04 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2.04 | Several of those who show skepticism in the Predators seem to think it'll be the Jets who take them down, as they they have the second-highest average ranking in the west, and the third-most picks to win the Cup... |
|
The
Longshots |
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| Washington Capitals | 6.12 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3.19 | Although they won their division again, the Caps' playoff history is reflected in the fact that they're ranked on average significantly lower than Pittsburgh... |
| Boston Bruins | 7.08 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3.87 | The Bruins only have one pick to win the Cup (superfan Bryan) but I suspect they may be artificially depressed a bit just because they face the Leafs in the first round... |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 7.33 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3.82 | Vegas is the story of the year, winning the Pacific division in their inaugural year, but only Nicholaus has faith that they can overachieve enough to actually win the Cup... |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 7.38 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 3.56 | If the Leafs make the playoffs (no matter how narrowly) I can always count on somebody to pick them to win the Cup...this year four somebodies...although after setting a new franchise record for wins, Shanny's shiny new Leafs actually seem to have a legitimate shot now, and for the next few years... |
| Los Angeles Kings | 8.56 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 4.09 | The Kings sport the highest standard deviation this year (the highest of any team since 2015) meaning their fate will have a significant impact on the outcome of the pool... |
| San Jose Sharks | 8.73 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 3.42 | The Sharks are in the odd position of having a higher average ranking than their first-round opponent, but still in the bottom half, suggesting that even those who think they'll beat the Ducks think they'll be stopped dead in their tracks in the second round... |
| Anaheim Ducks | 8.98 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 2.61 | Despite climbing their way to second place in the Pacific division in the final days of the season, the Ducks end up the lowest-ranked Pacific division team in the pool... |
|
The
Faint Hopes |
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| Columbus Blue Jackets | 11.46 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 2.41 | The Blue Jackets have an unusually low standard deviation for a team toward the middle of the rankings, suggesting that most entries hedged with them toward the middle... |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 12.15 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3.04 | Aside from Coby's contrarian pick for them to win the Cup, there's little confidence that the Flyers will get past the defending champion Penguins in the first round... |
| Minnesota Wild | 13.40 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 2.05 | The Wild have the odd distinction of being the only team this year not picked by any entry to win their first round matchup, but they're still only third-last in average ranking... |
| New Jersey Devils | 13.81 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 2.26 | The lowest seed in the east doesn't get much love, with only two entries picking them to make it past the Lightning... |
| Colorado Avalanche | 14.62 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 1.91 | Dead last in the NHL for pretty much the first quarter of the season, the Avalanche were quite a story even just making the playoffs, and only one entry picked them to beat the Predators...but MacKinnon would get my vote for MVP... |