The No. 1 Team in Hockey: Who Will Claim the Top Spot This Season?
The NHL season has officially begun, but the real question on everyone's mind is, Who will be the No. 1 team in hockey this year? The Chicago Blackhawks? The Los Angeles Kings? Perhaps even the San Jose Sharks or Tampa Bay Lightning could claim the title. Here's a look at the top contenders and why they could be crowned hockey's No. 1 team this season and bring home the Stanley Cup trophy once again.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the defending
champions of the NHL, and they're looking to defend their title again this year.
With a stacked lineup, it's hard to argue that they're not the best team in
hockey right now. They have a great mix of veteran players like Nikita
Kucherov, who leads the league with eight goals, and young talents like
Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy, who are top-three goalies in the NHL
this season. The Lightning also has incredible depth at every position, with
Steven Stamkos on the wing and Victor Hedman anchoring their defense corps on
D. The only downside for the Lightning so far has been their lack of scoring
from beyond the blue line. Dan Girardi was the most prominent defender to score this season, but he retired before the 2018-19 season started. They could
use a player like Justin Schultz or Ryan McDonagh up front more often, but
neither player has reached his offensive potential yet with the Bolts. The
Nashville Predators are the closest competition for the Lightning as they have
one of the deepest rosters in the NHL, led by Pekka Rinne and Roman Josi. The
Predators' one major weakness might be Mike Fisher, as he's struggled with
injuries over the last few seasons and can't contribute much offensively
anymore. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the Stanley Cup favorites when the season
started, but they've been inconsistent all season. Despite
having an excellent power-play unit, the Maple Leafs struggle defensively when
Morgan Rielly isn't on the ice. The Pittsburgh Penguins don't quite stack up
against the other three teams due to having arguably the worst goaltender
tandem in all hockey. Matt Murray is coming off an injury, while Casey
DeSmith has had some ups and downs this season. In addition, Sidney
Crosby hasn't scored a single goal yet this year which has put a damper on what
should be an explosive offense for them. The Boston Bruins have emerged as the
No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference, with David Pastrnak heating up alongside
Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins are deep across the board,
but they'll need more out of guys like David Krejci if they want to get past
Tampa Bay and Montreal (who will be discussed later). The Montreal Canadiens
deserve a lot of credit for how well their roster has developed after trading
away two key players this offseason.
The Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, and Columbus Blue Jackets are playing well enough to sneak into the playoffs if everything goes according to plan for them down the stretch.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators have been the top team in the Western Conference for the past two seasons, so it's easy to see why they are the favorites to win their division again this year. The Predators finished second in the Western Conference last season with 117 points and were only a few points behind the division winners, Winnipeg Jets. They were led by veteran center Ryan Johansen who had 34 goals and 47 assists for 81 points, his highest career total as a member of the Preds. He was also selected to play for his first NHL All-Star Game and finished fourth in voting for the Ted Lindsay Award as league MVP which is given to the best player as voted by their peers. It doesn't hurt that he has another offensive dynamo playing on the wing with him in Filip Forsberg. The 23-year-old Swedish forward had scored more than 20 goals in three straight years and was one of the most feared players during the postseason when he led all scorers with 11 points in 12 games. The Predators' defense might not be its strongest point, but if there is one position where the Preds are deep on talent, it would be goaltending. Veteran netminder Pekka Rinne, a Vezina Trophy finalist last season after leading the league with 42 wins, is set to start another campaign between the pipes for Nashville. Rinne will be backed up by Juuse Saros, who was named the AHL goaltender of the year after going 35-8 with a .927 save percentage and 2.24 GAA in 51 games for the Milwaukee Admirals last season.
Winnipeg Jets
The No 1 team in hockey? It's tough to say, but the Winnipeg Jets have a legitimate shot at claiming the top spot this season. They were one of two Canadian teams to make it to the playoffs last season, but they ended up losing out to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Round 2. Winnipeg fans had some strong opinions about how their team lost, which has been directed at head coach Paul Maurice, with some questioning if he's still the right man for the job. The Jets have made a few changes this offseason - bringing back forward Adam Lowry on a three-year deal and extending defenceman Jacob Trouba on a two-year contract - which could go some way towards answering questions about Maurice's coaching prowess going forward. The success of the Jets' season will depend largely on the performance of players like Patrik Laine and Blake Wheeler. If those two can stay healthy, then the sky's the limit for Winnipeg. The Jets are the only Western Conference team ranked in the top five in both goals scored and goals against per game, so they should be set when it comes to scoring and stopping the puck as well. The other thing working in Winnipeg's favor is experience; 13 players return from last year's squad, while only four new faces joined the club this season. Several high-profile prospects who may play key roles with the big club before long are coming down the pipeline.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights came out of
nowhere and shocked the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup last year in their first
season as a team. The Knights had an incredible inaugural season and will look
to defend their championship this year, but who are the other top contenders
for the title of No. 1 team in hockey?
The two teams expected to be at the top of the Western Conference this year are the San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets. However, it appears that these teams have some work ahead of them if they hope to get there, as they've both lost their opening games while Vegas has won theirs; so far, Vegas is out to a 3-0 start while San Jose is 0-2 with Winnipeg at 1-1. But the regular season is long, and the second game is always said to be the most important. If these three teams stay undefeated until November 4th, they'll probably win the President's Trophy. But we can't count out teams like Nashville or Toronto just yet, who have started off hot too. As the oldest active professional sports league in North America, it's always hard to predict what will happen next in hockey! One thing that I know for sure, though, is that the stakes are high every time the puck drops.
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Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional
ice hockey team that plays in the Eastern Conference of the NHL. The Leafs are one
of the Original Six teams and have won thirteen Stanley Cup Championships,
including 1967, 1969, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, and last season's
2017-2018 season.
The Leafs' home rink is the Scotiabank
Arena, located at 40 Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, with a seating capacity of
19,000 people. They have played there since February 2018 after spending more
than 50 years playing at Maple Leaf Gardens (MLG) until it was demolished to
make way for condominiums. The modern arena has many new facilities like the
Sport Chek Team Locker Room retail store, the Fan Central gathering space, and
the Fan Hub games room.
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished the
2017-2018 season first in the Eastern Conference but lost 4-2 against Boston
Bruins during the playoffs. Their coach Mike Babcock will be coaching Canada at
this year's Winter Olympics, so who knows how they will do without him! The
current goalies for their roster include Frederik Andersen, who is 6 ft 3 inches
tall, and Jonathon Bernier, who is 6 ft 2 inches tall. The team's captain is
43-year-old center Auston Matthews, and the assistant captains are Morgan
Rielly, who is 25 years old; Mitchell Marner, who is 21 years old; and Ron
Hainsey, who is 37. The youngest player on the team by age 20 is Andreas
Johnsson, while the oldest player is on the team by age 38. The No 1 Team in
Hockey: Who Will Claim the Top Spot This Season?
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