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)

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.