After snagging back-to-back Stanley Cup victories, the Pittsburgh Penguins are a favorite to win the championship again. But there are other teams out there that have just as good – if not better – chances of hoisting Lord Stanley's Mug this season.
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Easily one of the most impressive teams in last season's playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers proved in 2016-17 that they were growing into a league-leading force. Todd McLellan's tough squad promises to only get better as the team takes shape in preparation for the up-coming season. Expect spectacular play from the likes of Jesse Puljujarvi, Patrick Maroon, and of course, that Connor McDavid guy.
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Yeah yeah, the Pens beat the Preds in last year's Stanley Cup Final. But this in-coming Nashville team is arguably as tough, and is confident that their 2016-17 campaign wasn't just a flash in the pan. Expect the Predators, behind new captain Roman Josi, to be extra hungry after last year's Cinderella run.
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2016-17 was incredibly disappointing for the Bolts – especially since they entered the season as a heavy favorite to hoist Lord Stanley's Mug. The team has reportedly moved on from all of that, according to what winger Nikita Kucherov relayed to the Tampa Bay Times. "The way we're practicing, everybody is focused. They're hungry. You can see it."
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Boston's roster, made up of both seasoned veterans (Brad Marchand) and hungry youngsters (Brandon Carlo), made an impressive turn-around last season. While they might not stand out as a team that could tango with Pittsburgh, these B's have a "sleeper" quality that might surprise their opponents... That is, if anything can be surprising after the massive six-year contract David Pastrnak signed in September.
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Speaking of sleepers, the Leafs might be on the verge of something great. No, not just because Auston Matthews is a juggernaut on skates. Netminder Frederik Anderson already looks more confident between the pipes during preseason, and the acquisition of Patrick Marleau from the Sharks gives the bench more veteran power. Trust this isn't the same group of kids that got booted from the playoffs early last season.
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Team Teal got caught some flack for not replacing Patrick Marleau at the opening of the trade market this summer. But as training camp has kicked into gear, Joe Pavelski and company appear to have the right young guys in the pipeline to have a more successful playoff run than they did last season. And yes, they could even tango with the Penguins, who beat them in the Stanley Cup Final two years ago.
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CBJ took the 2016-17 regular season by storm when they went on a raucous winning streak. Then sadly, Pittsburgh handed them an early exit in the playoffs. But this Blue Jackets team now a bit more experienced, and has an added offensive punch with the addition of former Chicago Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin. The next time Columbus meets up with Pittsburgh, the teams could be better matched.
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Anaheim is gearing up to be a big threat out west yet again. Heck, the Pacific Division squad is already a favorable bet in Las Vegas. Despite their roster getting a little long in the tooth, you can expect them to make their way into the playoff picture yet again.
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If there's a team out east that can compete a bit better with the Pens than they did last year, it's the Rangers. (Because heck, we already know the Capitals can't beat them.) New York had a busy off-season and looks to be shaping up to be the Penguins biggest threat in the Metropolitan Division. The biggest key to New York being more competitive, however, will probably end up being Henrik Lundqvist.
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Chicago Blackhawks
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Because of their ridiculous string of Stanley Cup victories, the Blackhawks have become a regular early season favorite to win again. In all honesty, I didn't see them getting very far last year, even though Vegas made them the heavy favorite to come out of the West. Expect Chicago is coming in extra hungry – especially after getting swept by Nashville in Round 1 last playoffs. A lot of the same players from the Cup years are there, and wouldn't mind fighting the Penguins for another one.
Chelena Goldman grew up on a street where the boys played street hockey and yelling at baseball and football over the radio was a standard -- making life as a sports geek the perfect fit. She believes in dominance on the blue line, good red wine, and the theory that you can never be too overdressed for any occasion. You can find her gabbing away on Twitter at @ChelenaGoldman.