Final 2018 NHL Regular Season Predictions

The puck is about to drop for the first game in the 2018 NHL regular season, which means that the long wait for the next chase for the Stanley Cup is here. Washington looks to defend their championship from a year ago, but Pittsburgh will be hungry for redemption in the East, and young squads in Philadelphia and Toronto will have their say as well. Out west, the no-name roster in Vegas that almost made it all the way to a championship is set to regroup, but teams like Nashville, San Jose, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Dallas are all eager to climb the ladder. We have some NHL regular season betting predictions for you to consider as you look at futures wagers on the ice.

Final 2018 NHL Regular Season Predictions

Did #NHL19 just predict the end of the longest current Cup drought?! https://t.co/hkm5BkZnYV pic.twitter.com/d5NgXCuwTV

— NHL (@NHL) October 2, 2018

Philadelphia joins Washington and Pittsburgh as Metropolitan contenders

The Capitals will have a major fight against Cup hangover, while the Penguins will be hungry to get back to the Finals again. Sidney Crosby returns to lead the Penguins, but the real mystery they have to solve is how to play defense when it counts. Can Matt Murray return to dependability in goal? If he can, then the players in front of him will have more confidence. The Flyers have given Claude Giroux a new career on the wing, and the younger players are getting better, particularly on the blue line, and if the Capitals’ Cup malaise lingers too long, the Flyers could take that second playoff slot and push the Caps down toward third or even the wild card, depending on how Columbus and New Jersey look.

Boston and Tampa Bay tangle for the Atlantic

Remember just a season or two ago when Montreal looked all-world? And then Carey Price went down for a few months and the team sank to the bottom of the East? Price is back, but the rest of the Habs are still looking like last-place teams. They will likely be fighting Ottawa for that bottom spot. Boston and Tampa Bay will tangle, much like they did in the playoffs last season. The question between those two is whether Boston will be able to find consistency on defense, because no one can keep up with them when they are scoring big. Then there’s Toronto, who added John Tavares and will push hard, possibly ending up in third instead of in the wild card slot.

Dallas wins the Central Division

They already have the best offense in the division, and they just locked down Tyler Seguin to a lengthy contract. Captain Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza make a terrific line with Seguin, and with opportunistic defenseman John Klingberg, the Stars can score goals in a hurry. It’s their defense that has been a house of horrors for them, but goalie Ben Bishop played solid hockey for them for most of the season, but when the defense collapsed in the last month, the Stars saw that historic collapse that pushed them out of the postseason.

San Jose rolls to a Pacific Division title

The Sharks have built a fabulous blue line with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns, which means they finally have a defense that their high-flying offense can trust. They’ve always been able to score in bunches, but once the klieg lights of the postseason came on, their defense would make baffling mistakes at crucial times. It also helps that the rest of the division is either old (yes, Kings, I’m talking to you) or lesser in talent. Vegas did add Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny, but it’s easy to wonder if a team that grew through adversity will work as hard now that they’re the defending Western Conference champions. Marc-Andre Fleury remains in goal with a chip on his shoulder, but I think the Sharks push past them for this division.