If the video game prediction holds true, 2015 will bring the first repeat Stanley Cup champion in 17 years.
According to a full simulated 2014-15 NHL season on Ea Sports’ NHL 15, the Los Angeles Kings will reclaim their status as the league’s best team, defeating the Boston Bruins in a six-game Stanley Cup final waged between two perennial powerhouses.
Here is how the game imagines the 2015 post-season will shake out:
Some fun surprises see the Columbus Blue Jackets reaching the conference final for the first time in franchise history and the Toronto Maple Leafs trying to avenge their 2013 playoff loss to the Bruins in another seven-gamer. (Although it should be noted that EA’s Eastern Conference bracket is flawed; the divisions are not aligned in this simulation. Tampa would meet Atlantic Division rival Boston in Round 2, and Philly would play Columbus.)
The simulation’s individual results include a Selke Trophy victory for the Kings’ Anze Kopitar and a repeat sweep of the Art Ross, Hart and Ted Lindsay trophies by Sidney Crosby — the game’s top-rated player. The Calgary Flames are predicted to finish first in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes (i.e. last overall).
According to the video game’s producers, the simulation is conducted by artificial intelligence or logic of the game that uses real-life data from each player. When two teams match up, the game’s winner is determined by player ratings and line combinations. Injuries and hot streaks are also accounted for to give a realistic outcome.
Fans should know, however, to take the video game’s simulation with a grain of salt.
Last fall, EA Sports’ simulation had the St. Louis Blues claiming their first Cup. At the start of the 2014 playoffs, another NHL 14 simulation was run. That one had the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins claiming the chalice over the San Jose Sharks.
Neither of those panned out, of course, thanks to this year’s early Cup pick.
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