Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Thankfully, there will be no labor disputes or Winter Olympics disrupting NHL action this season, as the league tries to get back to normal in 2014-15.
After suffering through a lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, the NHL saw last season halted for nearly a month while the league went on hiatus for the Sochi Olympics. However, no such interruptions are expected this season and hockey fans will even get to see the return of the NHL All-Star Game, an event that hasn't been held since January of 2012.
"Dynasty" is a word being thrown around quite a bit these days thanks to the recent success experienced in Chicago and Los Angeles, a pair of franchises with two Cup victories over the past several seasons. Neither team is worthy of the dynasty label yet, but the race is on to see if either club can add to its title haul in 2015.
The Blackhawks won their second Cup title in four seasons in the spring of 2013 and the Kings made it two championships in three years back in June. The clubs battled in the Western Conference finals in last season's playoffs and there's a good chance that both the West crown and the Cup could go through Chicago or L.A. yet again.
The realignment plan instituted at the start of the last season has set the West up as the stronger of the two conferences, with the East lagging far behind. In addition to Chicago and L.A., Anaheim, Colorado, Minnesota, St. Louis and San Jose also have legitimate Cup dreams, but there's a solid chance they'll need to upset either the Blackhawks or Kings in order to reach the promised land.
The top contender in the East, meanwhile, is the Boston Bruins, who won last season's Presidents' Trophy before getting knocked out in the second round by Montreal. The defending conference champion New York Rangers also figure to be among the East's top teams, while the Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning also could be in the mix at season's end.
Odds are the 2015 champion will come from the West. If that happens it would mark the conference's fifth title since 2010, with only the 2010-11 Bruins claiming a Cup for the East so far during the stretch.
Once again the top three clubs from each of the league's four divisions will earn automatic bids to the playoffs, while wild card spots account for the remaining two postseason spots in each conference. The second- and third-place teams from each division will meet in the first round of the playoffs. The remaining opening-round series will feature one matchup between the division winner with the most points against the wild card with the lowest point total and another featuring the other division winner and wild card representative.
Without further ado, it's time to make predictions on which teams are bound for the playoffs. Here it goes:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC
Boston Bruins (champion)
Tampa Bay Lightning (automatic bid)
Montreal Canadiens (automatic bid)
METROPOLITAN
Pittsburgh Penguins (champion)
New York Rangers (automatic bid)
Columbus Blue Jackets (automatic bid)
WILD CARDS
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Boston
Heading into the 2014 playoffs, the Bruins were billed as the only East team with a real chance of beating one of the West's elite clubs in the Cup Finals. However, Claude Julien's club didn't get the chance to test its mettle against the representatives from the NHL's power conference as Boston fell in seven games to the rival Montreal Canadiens in the East semifinals.
The Habs downed Boston with speed in the playoffs before the Rangers beat Montreal at its own game in the conference finals. Both clubs obviously have the skaters to take down the Bruins again, but Boston shouldn't be counted out due to one shaky postseason performance.
The Bruins, after all, have shown the ability to rebound from poor playoff appearances in recent years under Julien and it could be time for them to prove it again. Boston won the Stanley Cup in 2011 just one year removed from a monumental 0-3 collapse against Philadelphia in the 2010 playoffs. Then after getting bounced by Washington in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, the B's went on to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2013 Cup Finals before ultimately falling in six games.
Julien's system, which puts an emphasis on responsible team defense, is the major reason Boston is still a threat. Steady on-ice leaders like star defenseman Zdeno Chara and versatile centerman Patrice Bergeron make sure the team sticks to the plan, and having reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask between the pipes doesn't hurt either.
The Bruins may not be able to stop the trend of Western Conference dominance in the end, but a return to the Cup Finals is well within Boston's reach.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL
St. Louis Blues (champion)
Chicago Blackhawks (automatic bid)
Minnesota Wild (automatic bid)
PACIFIC
Anaheim Ducks (champion)
Los Angeles Kings (automatic bid)
San Jose Sharks (automatic bid)
WILD CARDS
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
WESTERN CONFERENCE/STANLEY CUP CHAMPION: Chicago Blackhawks
No team has been able to claim consecutive Cups since Detroit pulled off the repeat in 1997 and '98, but the Kings are a serious threat to supplant the Red Wings as the most recent back-to-back champions.
Of course, the Blackhawks figure to be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a second straight L.A. title. Chicago not only pushed the Kings to the limit in last spring's classic Western Conference finals battle, it also carried a 4-3 edge into the third period of Game 7 before L.A. rallied for a 5-4 OT victory in the Windy City.
The Blackhawks and Kings are similar in many ways. They boast two of the NHL's deepest rosters with star players littered throughout and both clubs are used to dominating the opposition when it comes to puck possession. Chicago seems to own a slight edge in overall defensive depth, but Kings blueliner Drew Doughty appeared to be the biggest difference maker during last year's playoff battle. L.A. goaltender Jonathan Quick also is a better regarded goaltender than Chicago's Corey Crawford, but both players have proven themselves capable of anchoring a Cup-winning team.
When two teams match up this closely with one another, intangible factors can often tip the balance in one club's favor. What L.A. did in last year's playoffs was amazing, but the Kings did receive their share of "puck luck" along the way and there's a good chance it could run out in 2015. Darryl Sutter's resilient club deserves credit for rallying from down 3-0 to beat San Jose in Round 1 last spring and coming back from a 3-2 deficit to eliminate Anaheim in the conference semis before outlasting Chicago, but a few bounces the other way easily could have ended L.A.'s title hopes prematurely.
After the Kings' magical run to the Cup in 2014, it isn't crazy to think the Blackhawks will have luck on their side this time. One thing is clear: as hockey fans, we'd all be lucky to see another Western Conference battle between Chicago and L.A.
The race to claim a dynasty is on, and in 2014-15 it could be Chicago's turn to take another lap with Lord Stanley's Cup.
