One Reason Why Your Team Can Win the Stanley Cup


It’s anyone’s Cup. In absolutely wild and unprecedented circumstances, any of the 24 teams in the proposed Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket have a legitimate chance of being crowned Champions for the 2019-20 NHL season. In this article, we highlighted one reason why every team in the National Hockey League can win the greatest trophy on Earth.

Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes have incredible offensive depth and can roll four lines every night. Players like Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak, Conor Garland, and Nick Schmaltz among others can help lead the Coyotes to success.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins were dominant all season, and a lot of it was due to their William M. Jennings Trophy-winning goaltending tandem in Tuukka Rask and former Islander Jaroslav Halak. This tandem can help Boston win a lot of tight, low-scoring playoff games.

Calgary Flames

When the Flames top-six forwards are on, they are on. If players like Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan, and Elias Lindholm play at their best, the Flames can do some damage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Carolina Hurricanes

With a healthy roster, the Carolina Hurricanes have one of the best teams in the entire league. On paper, they are loaded, especially on defense. With Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, Trevor Van Riemsdyk, Sami Vatanen, Haydn Fleury, Brady Skjei, and Jake Gardiner on the blueline, Carolina has more solid defensemen than they know what to do with.

Chicago Blackhawks

With the Blackhawks making the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in a few years, their veteran leadership, skill, and experience can help the Hawks surprise a lot of people. Players like Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews will be more motivated than ever to show the world that the Blackhawks’ modern legacy isn’t over.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche’s first line is one of the best lines in the NHL. Nathan MacKinnon is a top-five player, and when Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog are not injured, the line is a goal-scoring machine. When you need a clutch goal the most in an important playoff game, these guys are some of the best in the game to do it.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus can have success with hard work and grit. They are not as skilled as they have been in the past due to the departures of players like Matt Duchene, Artemi Panarin, and Ryan Dzingel, but are one of the most physical teams in the NHL and John Tortorella’s system is meant to wear out the opponent like it did against Tampa Bay last season.

Dallas Stars

Ben Bishop in the playoffs is on a different level. Making over 50 saves and allowing only two goals in Game 7 of the Conference Quarterfinals against the Blues last year, Bishop kept the Stars in every game they played, and Dallas actually ended up being the team that was closest to taking down St. Louis. With more young offensive talent this year in players like Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov, Bishop can lead Dallas to a very deep playoff run, as long as the offense is adequate.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers have the fortune of having the two most offensively productive players in the NHL. With an absolutely absurd 207 points in 135 games this season, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is the best one-two center punch in the league. When either player gets hot, even the best defensive teams have a hard time slowing them down.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers have an absolutely loaded top six and are one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL. As long as players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Mike Hoffman, and Evgenii Dadonov come to play, that offense is quite the burden to shut down.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild have a lot of experienced players on the roster, and that can help them move through the bracket. In an unexpected situation like this, Stanley Cup Playoff experience is very beneficial as a lot of younger players may be in over their heads, and veteran players may be able to adapt more quickly. Players like Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Mats Zuccarello, and Ryan Suter should be more than ready for the task.

Montreal Canadiens

Carey Price has always been one of the backbones of the Canadiens. Despite posting lower numbers than usual over the last couple of seasons, Price is a completely different beast in the playoffs. Price can steal the Canadiens a lot of games when he is on his “A” game, despite his age.

Nashville Predators

The Predators’ top three defensemen are arguably the best in the NHL. Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm are all elite defensive players. The phrase “defense wins championships” is no joke, and the Predators’ defense is Cup ready.

New York Islanders

Barry Trotz’s defensive system is so strong and so disciplined, that it can be the deciding factor in close games. With Adam Pelech returning to the lineup, the Islanders have the ability to do the little things right, such as gap control, reversal breakouts, and boxing out shooters on the defensive end. With such a structured style, any team should have a hard time scoring in large numbers against the Isles.

New York Rangers

As long as at least one of their three goaltenders are consistent, the Rangers have a real chance to do some damage as their offense has clicked in every way the last few weeks of the season. Not only do players such as Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Ryan Strome lead the offensive charge, but defensemen like Adam Fox, Tony DeAngelo, and Jacob Trouba have been a key part in the Rangers’ offensive production.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers were arguably the hottest team in hockey coming into this hiatus. With lights out goaltending from Carter Hart, top-notch defensive performances from players such as Matt Niskanen, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Sanheim, and offensive prowess from players like Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny, the Flyers can be very hard to even score consistently on, let alone beat in a series.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are still a Stanley Cup Championship-caliber team. With offensive superstar Jake Guentzel likely to return from injury, the experienced Penguins will be able to fill in the holes in their roster. With the Penguins playoff experience, their core players know how to win playoff games. This year shouldn’t be much different.

St. Louis Blues

As proven by last season, St. Louis has every piece of the puzzle. The Blues are arguably the most complete team in the league, as they have goal scorers, two-way forwards, penalty killers, elite defensemen, and a spectacular netminder in Jordan Binnington. It is very hard to find a hole in the Blues lineup.

Tampa Bay Lightning

This could finally be Tampa’s year. After years of frustration and unexpected playoff defeats, the Lightning has the most stacked team in the NHL and now can be their time to shine. For example, it took the Washington Capitals many hard playoff defeats to eventually win the cup in 2018. The Capitals always had the “choker” label until they were champions in 2018. it could be the same case for the Lightning in 2020.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Under Sheldon Keefe, the Toronto Maple Leafs have played better defense and gotten more production out of their top players. If players like John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Reilly are all playing their best hockey, the Leafs will be a very difficult team to surpass in the playoffs, as long as their defense holds up.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have built an exciting, young top-six forward group who have won Vancouver a lot of games this year with the help of Jacob Markstrom between the pipes. Players such as JT Miller, Brock Boeser, Elias Petterson, and Quinn Hughes will have to lead the way for Vancouver to make a deep playoff run.

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas is a solid team in all aspects of their roster. While their offense, defense, and goaltending aren’t all near the top of the league, they are all above average and a balanced attack can help Vegas win games in different ways. In other words, Vegas is a team that is capable of winning 2-1, and also 7-6 depending on the situation.

Washington Capitals

With the Capitals winning the Metropolitan Division for the fifth straight season, Washington has one of the most elite offenses in the league. If the Capitals need a big goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there are so many players they can rely on to score, such as Alex Ovechkin, TJ Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, and Jakub Vrana.

Winnipeg Jets

Lastly, the Jets might have the best top-six forward group in the league. If Connor Hellebuyck stands tall, and players like Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Nikolaj Ehlers keep up their offensive production, the Jets are capable of surprising a lot of hockey fans this year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

1 thought on “One Reason Why Your Team Can Win the Stanley Cup

Leave comment