The 2014-2015 NHL season is upon us. This season will be one of the more exciting seasons in recent memory after a great round of playoffs at the end of last year. The Los Angeles Kings, the hometown defending Stanley Cup champs, will have to get through a brutal Western Conference to repeat.

In the Eastern conference, most teams have improved from a season ago and will try unseat the Rangers as the Stanley Cup Finals representatives. Predictions are always fun so here are my predictions for each division standings and the 16 teams that will make the playoffs:

Can King Henrik lead the Rangers back to the Stanley Cup Finals again this season? By Robert Kowal, via Wikimedia Commons

Atlantic Division

Tampa Bay Lightning (2)

Boston Bruins (3)

Montreal Canadiens (5)

Detroit Red Wings

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ottawa Senators

Florida Panthers

Buffalo Sabres

Metropolitan Division

Pittsburgh Penguins (1)

New York Rangers (4)

Columbus Blue Jackets (6)

New Jersey Devils (7, wild card team)

New York Islanders (8, wild card team)

Philadelphia Flyers

Washington Capitals

Carolina Hurricanes

Western Conference:

Central Division

Chicago Blackhawks (1)

Dallas Stars (4)

Minnesota Wild (5)

St Louis Blues (7, wild card team)

Colorado Avalanche

Nashville Predators

Winnipeg Jets

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks (2)

Los Angeles Kings (3)

San Jose Sharks (6)

Vancouver Canucks (8, wild card team)

Calgary Flames

Phoenix Coyotes

Edmonton Oilers

Playoffs:

Eastern Conference:

#1. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #8 New York Islanders, (Islanders in 7 games)

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #7 New Jersey Devils, (Lightning in 6 games)

#3 Boston Bruins vs. #5 Montreal Canadiens, (Bruins in 5 games)

#4 New York Rangers vs. #6 Columbus Blue Jackets (Rangers in 6 games)

Western Conference:

#1 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #8 Vancouver Canucks, (Blackhawks in 4 games)

#2 Anaheim Ducks vs. #7 St Louis Blues, (Ducks in 6 games)

#3 Los Angeles Kings vs. #6 San Jose Sharks, (Kings in 6 games)

#4 Dallas Stars vs. #5 Minnesota Wild, (Wild in 7 games)

Semi Finals:

Eastern Conference:

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #3 Boston Bruins, (Lighting in 7 games)

#4 New York Rangers vs. #8 New York Islanders, (Rangers in 6 games)

Western Conference:

#1 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #4 Minnesota Wild, (Wild in 6 games)

#2 Anaheim Ducks vs. #3 Los Angeles Kings, (Ducks in 7 games)

Eastern Conference Finals:

#2 Tampa Bay Lighting vs. #4 New York Rangers, (Lightning in 5 games)

Western Conference Finals:

#2 Anaheim Ducks vs. #5 Minnesota Wild, (Ducks in 7 games)

Stanley Cup Finals:

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #2 Anaheim Ducks, (Lightning in 6 games)

Jonathan Toews has led his team once again to the Stanley Cup Finals. By Resolute, via Wikimedia Commons

Why isn’t anyone talking about the Stanley Cup Finals? I understand that is isn’t as highly followed as the NBA finals or any other “main” sport but at least I still consider it a top-four sport behind football, basketball and baseball. Nonetheless, the NHL and especially the Stanley Cup Finals should be covered more with more people talking about or at least put every game on national TV. The story lines this season make the series that much more enticing to watch.  Both the Bruins and Blackhawks showed

First off, it is the first time in 34 years that two of the original six NHL teams (Bruins, Blackhawks, Rangers, Red Wings, Canadeins, and Maple Leafs) have met in the Stanley Cup Finals. For the Bruins, getting to the Stanley Cup wasn’t easy, as they had to defeat the Maple Leafs, Rangers and Penguins to do so. In game 7 of the first round, the Bruins came back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period and won 5-4 in overtime.

In the second round, the Bruins routed the New York Rangers four games to one. In the Eastern Conference finals, they cemented their 2013 playoff resume by annihilating Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since they won the title in 2011. From the second the Bruins made the astonishing comeback against the Leafs in round one, I predicted the Bruins to make it to the Stanley Cup.

As opposed to the winding road the Bruins traveled, the Blackhawks were a favorite to make the finals. They stacked-up a 24 game win streak early in the season and never looked back. The Blackhawks would go on to clinch the number-one seed in the Western Conference and plow through the Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, and Los Angeles Kings. The Red Wings series was the only one that was close, including a game-7 overtime game.

As for the current Stanley Cup finals, so far the first two games have gone past regulation with game 1 going to three overtimes and game 2 just going to one overtime. Both games have been amazing to watch. They have played two games this series and as the series shifts from Chicago to Boston for game 3, both teams should feel good about themselves because this series I believe will go seven games. It already feels like one of the best series in any sport that I have watched in a long time. The games have been so close and so physical. Playoff overtime in the NHL is one of the most exciting things in sports The series is tied 1-1 right now and I seriously can’t wait to see what happens from here on out in this series. It doesn’t always happen, but hockey fans lucked out this year and actually got the two best teams playing in the finals. Considering the fact that we almost didn’t have hockey this season, this series makes up for missing half the season and if you miss the rest of it, you’ll be sorry.

The year was 1993. I can still remember watching the series over at Tear-Dog’s house at the age of 13. Incessant rubbing together and clapping of hands echoed through the living room as Terry (my friend’s hockey-crazed father) headed the backwards hat-and-mustache-charge. My appreciation for playoff hockey was officially born.

The game seemed to be different back then. Maybe because I was younger and didn’t quite understand it as well as I do now. Only a few rules have changed, but the speed of the game has significantly increased. The “then and now” comparison between eras is applicable to any sport, but hockey is like football in this way – high-speed decisions and collisions are amplified. Playoff hockey has always been a must-watch, and 19-years later, the Kings are back to the penultimate.

As a Stanley Cup Playoffs underdog, Los Angeles has accomplished what has never been accomplished before. An eye-popping 12-2 playoff on their way to winning their first 3 playoff series has turned the heads of hockey fans in Los Angeles and across the country. The Kings exacted revenge from last season’s playoff loss by beating the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks 4 games to 1 in the first round. In round two, they swept the second-seeded St. Louis Blues. And in the Western Conference Finals, they ousted the third-seeded Phoenix Coyotes 4 games to 1. The Kings have also achieved an unreal 8-0 record on the road during this span. They are the only 8-seed in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to beat a top-seed, second-seed and third-seed respectively en route to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

The big names of 1993 that will live in the lore of Kings fandom for eternity now have a new class of stars to add to the Kingdom’s hall of royalty.

Captain Dustin Brown, assistant captain  Anze Kopitar and veteran center Mike Richards have lead the offensive charge, by combining for a stellar 17 goals and 44 points (goals and assists combined) throughout this unprecedented playoff run.

Drew Doughty has lead a group of defensemen that has not only been the best penalty-killing unit in the playoffs (by a long-shot), but also was the second best penalty-killing unit in the league during the regular season. Assistant Captain Matt Greene, Willie Mitchell and Rob Scuderi have contributed defending their own zone around the net. The Kings’ penalty-kill in the playoffs has been a staggering 91.2% To prevent a goal at that rate while being down a skater rivals a level that has never been seen before when it matters most.

The biggest factor in the penalty-kill, and the run the Kings are currently on overall has undoubtedly been goalie Jonathon Quick. “Quick-crete” has tended goal from start to finish in every game of the playoffs, while going 12-2, and sporting a stone-tough save percentage of .946%. This has been, without a doubt, the number one reason why the Kings may have the chance to drink Pacific Ocean saltwater out of Lord Stanley’s Cup.

While it has been a long 19 years for the Kings to return to this point, their opponents in these Stanley Cup Finals are no stranger to this stage as a franchise. The Devils have won the cup three times in the past 17 years, reaching the top of the mountain in 1995, 2000 and 2003.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftUR6AFTNMA

New Jersey is lead by wingers Ilya Kovlachuk and Zach Parise, who have combined for 14 goals and 32 points this postseason. They have also leaned on 20-year veteran goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has gone 12-5 in these playoffs with a save percentage of .923%. Game one will be Brodeur’s 200th Stanley Cup Playoff game.

The sixth-seeded Devils facing off against the eigth-seeded Kings is the first time two teams with seeds this low have reached the Stanley Cup Finals in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The lowest seed to ever win the Stanley Cup was in 1995 when the fifth-seeded Devils hoisted the cup. Obviously, that record is about to be broken. But what coast will have the pride of hoisting Lord Stanley’s hardware, left or right?

Most talking-heads are picking Los Angeles, due to them being the hotter team coming into the series, which is the new trend in today’s realm of championship matchups in any sport. New Jersey is the experienced franchise that has successfully navigated the gauntlet of the higher-scoring East. They also hold home-ice advantage. The Kings are the younger up-and-comers that have ground-out the lower-scoring, defensive game of the West. Something has to give.

The puck drops for game 1 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey at 5 pm pacific tonight on NBC. Hop on the wagon and be a part of the final push! We need YOU, yes YOU, casual fan, to get behind the Kingdom! 19-years in the making – long time Kings fans will earn their redemption!

The Eastern Conference Final boasts the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, two teams that finished the season tied for the fourth most points in the conference with only 103. Their advancing was seemingly unexpected, but the tightly contested Eastern Conference could have seen any of the top five seeds advance, as they all finished the season only separated by four total points collectively.

Boston has found themselves at this point by coming back from an 0-2 deficit and ultimately getting by Montreal with a 4-3 victory at home in game seven. The Bruins then carried that momentum over to the second round by sweeping the second seeded Philadelphia Flyers by a combined score of 20-7. The command Boston showed in the semis versus their long-time and hated Eastern Conference rival certainly has given bean-towners something to be excited about in the coming weeks.

The Tampa Bay Lightning escaped the first round versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, after overcoming a dire 3-1 deficit in the series to come back strongly with three straight wins, all-the-while outscoring the Penguins 13-4, including a 1-0 squeaker of a win on the road in game seven. In the second round Tampa Bay discarded the Washington Capitals in four straight games, riding the high that you saw Boston engulfed in on the other side of the bracket.

Both the Bruins and the Lightning are coming off sweeps in the semi-finals and have had plenty of time to fortify. Neither holds an advantage in the categories of rest or lack of rust. Expect this series to start off very methodically, eventually culminating into a pinnacle juncture in game seven.

In the Western Conference Final, the San Jose Sharks, who narrowly squeaked by the Detroit Redwings in the semis Thursday night after being up 3-0 and losing three straight close-out games to eventually take the series in seven games, are matched up against the Vancouver Canucks. This is a match-up of favorites from the regular season, as Vancouver dominantly finished with the most points in the conference, and San Jose finished with a somewhat distant second-most, 117 points and 105 points, respectively.

Vancouver clearly dominated the regular season, finishing with 6 more wins and 10 more points than anyone in the entire NHL. They have however, only stayed somewhat true to their scheduled pedigree. In the first round, after sprinting out to a 3-0 series lead, the Canucks were beaten three straight times by the Chicago Blackhawks by a combined score of 16-5. In true nitty-gritty fashion, they closed out Chicago with a 2-1 game seven victory. Round two saw a 3-1 series lead and an eventual 4-2 series win versus the Nashville Predators for Vancouver. These Canucks present a brawny challenge to anyone standing in their way from this point forward.

While its hard for this Los Angeles Kings fan to get behind a nemesis like the San Jose Sharks, who have perpetually kept their little brother down South at bay year after year after year, the Sharks are the last remaining true West coast team, in a sea of Pacific Division talent that includes: the Sharks, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, the Kings, and the Phoenix Coyotes. The Pacific Division was the only division of the six in the NHL to feature four playoffs bids. This bodes well for the future of the competitiveness of West coast NHL hockey.

The Sharks, as mentioned above, have advanced to this point by the skin of their teeth. Allowing a perennial power like Detriot a shot at a game seven after being ahead in the series 3-0 shows that San Jose has trait of vulnerability. The Sharks beating the Kings 4-2 in the opening round was expected by most privy, but after having this lull in the second round, things don’t look so bright for San Jose as they will now face the irrefutable favorite in the Conference Finals.

There are several dynamics that contribute to the overall remaining scene of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, much like an orator who has completed several audible thoughts, yet still has abundantly much more to say.

There is a certain passion that an NHL hockey player holds, a passion that is unmistakably bona-fide and legitimate. This bare truth is what makes the pinnacle of NHL hockey, year after year, a must see.

It is something pure, something flawless, something classic and authentic, something simple and unadulterated.

It is something distant from steroids or lockouts. It is something away from contract negotiations and talking points debating the lack of team chemistry because of selfish reasons.

It is something behind the scenes of all that transparently grasps at the forefront of North American sport…….and proud of it.

Seeing a team of hard-working professionals with toothless smiles laying on the ice, with their beloved Lord Stanley captured at the end of a tumultuous journey, makes paying close attention during playoff hockey season a rewarding investment.

Join the club.