Boston Bruins: Predictions for the 2017-2018 NHL season

The NHL regular season starts tonight.  The Boston Bruins start their season tomorrow.  Where will each NHL end up at the regular season and how will the playoffs shake out?

Predicting how any professional sports season will go is a difficult task.  First, you have to make your predictions in a vacuum.  Anything can happen during a season (injuries, trades, etc.) that change the trajectory of a team’s season.  So any reasonable prediction can go down the tubes with one major injury to a star player, or can improve with a move to bring in solidifying pieces.  For proof of both, look at the 2016-2017 Tampa Bay Lightning and 2010-2011 Boston Bruins respectively.

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So, with that in mind, any prediction at this point is based upon the composition of the roster as it stands now, the bench boss in control at the moment, and the strength of the divisional opponents as the season starts.  So let’s take a stab at how I think the NHL season will go this year.

I’ll go division by division, projecting how I think the division standings will be at the end of the year.  I’ll make my picks for the two conference Wild Card spots.  Then, I’ll make my Eastern Conference and Western Conference champion selections, and ultimately, who I think will hoist the Stanley Cup next June.