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New York Rangers: Predicting the 2017-18 NHL season

By Brandon Cohen

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 18: Henrik Lundqvist
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 18: Henrik Lundqvist /
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Let’s look into the Crystal Ball for my 2017-18 NHL Predictions. Where do the New York Rangers land?

Rather than a big intro for this one, let’s get straight into it. The 2017-18 season is just days away, and here is how I believe the year will play out.

Metropolitan Division

  1. Pittsburgh Penguins- 112 points
  2. New York Rangers- 105 points
  3. Columbus Blue Jackets- 102 points
  4. Washington Capitals- 100 points
  5. Carolina Hurricanes- 96 points
  6. Philadelphia Flyers- 88 points
  7. New York Islanders- 86 points
  8. New Jersey Devils- 75 points

Atlantic Division

  1. Tampa Bay Lightning- 108 points
  2. Toronto Maple Leafs- 102 points
  3. Montreal Canadiens- 96 points
  4. Boston Bruins- 93 points
  5. Ottawa Senators- 87 points
  6. Buffalo Sabres- 83 points
  7. Florida Panthers- 75 points
  8. Detroit Red Wings- 65 points

Central Division

  1. Minnesota Wild- 106 points
  2. Nashville Predators- 103 points
  3. Chicago Blackhawks- 100 points
  4. Dallas Stars- 97 points
  5. Winnipeg Jets- 96 points
  6. St. Louis Blues- 86 points
  7. Colorado Avalanche- 64 points

Pacific Division

  1. Anaheim Ducks- 108 points
  2. Calgary Flames- 107 points
  3. Edmonton Oilers- 102 points
  4. San Jose Sharks- 92 points
  5. Arizona Coyotes- 85 points
  6. Los Angeles Kings- 83 points
  7. Vegas Golden Knights- 69 points
  8. Vancouver Canucks- 67 points

Non-Playoff Teams Explained

In the Eastern Conference, I have the Boston Bruins narrowly missing the postseason. While the majority of the Eastern improved this offseason, Boston stood pat. Considering they barely made the playoffs last year, their lack of action will come back to bite them.

Additionally, the Ottawa Senators’ luck runs out, and their slow start to the season without Erik Karlsson comes back to haunt them. They will feel the loss of Marc Methot as well.

The Philadelphia Flyers could make a surprise run behind their strong defense, while the New York Islanders essentially have to make the postseason to impress John Tavares. Both could sneak ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Florida is a case of an organization in disarray, so it’s difficult to project much success. Thus, they finish behind the Buffalo Sabres, who are not quite at the playoffs portion of their rebuild. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings project to be simply awful. Little offense, little defense, fine goaltending. If either make the playoffs I will be stunned.

In the Western Conference, I surprised myself by kicking the San Jose Sharks out. San Jose is a good team, but somebody had to make way for my surprise Winnipeg Jets. St. Louis misses out despite finishing with a high number of points, and the rest of the West simply can’t cut it.

The Los Angeles Kings strike me as a franchise on the decline, and Jonathan Quick is due for some regression. While I hope the Vegas Golden Knights surprise me, their lack of high-end talent in any area should haunt them in their inaugural season.

Related Story: Making sense of the Rangers roster moves

Playoff Predictions

In the Eastern Conference, the matchups go:

Penguins over Hurricanes

Lightning over Capitals

Rangers over Blue Jackets

Maple Leafs over Canadiens

Those matchups set up:

Lightning over Maple Leafs

Rangers over Penguins

Which sets up the big finish:

Lightning over Rangers

Western Conference:

Jets over Ducks (!)

Wild over Stars

Predators over Blackhawks

Flames over Oilers

Which sets up:

Flames over Jets

Wild over Predators

Which sets up the big finish:

Wild over Flames

And for the Stanley Cup….

Lightning over Wild

Everything Explained:

The Pittsburgh Penguins are set up to dominate once again, but winning three championships in a row is nearly impossible. As Pittsburgh’s depth weakens, so do their chances in the postseason. By playoff time, the Rangers should have found their Derek Stepan replacement, providing them with one of the deepest offenses in the league to match their loaded depth on defense.

However, the Tampa Bay Lightning can roll out four lines and three defensive pairings (except for old friend Dan Girardi) and will have an easier regular season as well. Thus, they leap-frog the Rangers.

As for surprising playoff teams, the Carolina Hurricanes will get past their offensive woes and poor luck. Don’t underestimate the addition of Scott Darling as well. The Washington Capitals will suffer mainly from other teams getting better. Losing depth in all areas never helps.

In the Western Conference, I have decided to back the Winnipeg Jets to surprise people. Winnipeg is a historically strong possession team that is loaded with young talent. Their defense is shaky, but Steve Mason is a fancy-stat star. It should all even out into a surprise season.

Next: Rangers defense set to be advantage in present and future

I love what the Calgary Flames have done with their defense, and they are another team who can roll four lines. The Minnesota Wild, however, boast the strongest overall depth, so I give them the nod.

What do you think? Where will the Rangers land? Send us your thoughts!

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