People love this time of year for many sports reasons: baseball playoffs start, football is in high gear, and one of the fastest sport ever is starting up full of passion, thrills and determination. What is this sport you may ask? Hockey. Hockey is played with determination by the players on ice from start to finish to win the ultimate prize and arguably the hardest trophy to win in sports, the Stanley Cup.

THE PENGUINS ARE HOPPING INTO A NEW START: The Pittsburgh Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup champions after defeating the Nashville Predators in 2017 and the San Jose Sharks in 2016. This incredible feat of winning back-to-back cups was last accomplished by the Detroit Red wings in 1990-91. They still have some key players from those two years like goaltender Mat Murray, captain Sidney Crosby, and others that all had 20+ goals in the regular season. Some members of those two Stanley Cups are gone, such as Mark Andre Flurry (who went to the new NHL team in Vegas), which will leave a gap in the defense for sure, but they still have a stronger offense than any team in the league. It is a completely new season and teams will fight them harder than they normally would in order to say, “We beat the defending champions.”

NASHVILLE IS STILL ROCKING: After going to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final appearance ever, a 4-2 series loss in the playoffs to the Penguins, this team has a chance to go far in the new regular season. They still have their skilled defense-men, P. K. Suban, who was in his first year with the team and had an exciting run all the way through playoffs last year.  This team seemed to be at the bottom last year going into the playoffs as a wild card team, but swept the floor with the first team they met ( The Chicago Blackhawks) and kept on rolling. The point is to never write them off, considering the whole city was renamed Smashvill just for the playoffs.

EDMONTON HAS FOUND BLACK GOLD: Ever since the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, the Edmonton Oilers have always been in the playoff conversation by acquiring number 97, Conner McDavid. In his third pro season, he has stats that are compared to some of the greatest players ever to play the sport. Last year, as the youngest caption ever, he lead his team to their fist playoff appearance since the 2006 finals, and lost to the Anaheim Ducks in an amazing game 7.  There is still a lot to be happy about though, like having incredible depth on both sides of the ice, but before you root for them, remember that this team has not won a cup since the 90s. It feels like it’s a whole new team, but that is just their attitude toward a new start.

THE DUCKS ARE QUACKING AGAIN: The local Anaheim Ducks are returning as five time consecutive division champions of the Pacific Division, which includes the favored and division rivals, the LA Kings.  Aside from the heated division rivalry, this team has gone up to a team that has a shot at the cup with new additions like Francois Beauchemin, who was on the ’07 team when they last won the Cup, and Ryan Miller (goaltender from Vancouver). They already got rid of their number two goalie Jonathan Bernier, but Miller fills his spot up nicely (358 total wins in 15 career seasons).  If you still think the Ducks will win, let me bring you back down to earth by saying history has never been on their side.  The last time they were in the final was when they won it all eleven years ago in 2007 and have gone to the conference final twice, including last years series loss to the Predators after an epic game 7 victory in round 2.   Anticipation is high as they look for another spot in the playoffs.

THE CAPITALS ARE PUMPED UP FOR ANOTHER RUN IN 2018: The team in our nation’s capital, obviously the Washington Capitals, are ready for this season after winning the presidents trophy (given to the team with the best record in the league), but then lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburg Penguins in round 2. They have been quiet this off season, so they still have their key pieces from last year like Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshi, and Justin Williams who were a big part of this team.  Another thing that you must know is this team has never gone to the 3rd round of the playoffs as long as Alex Ovechkin has been there (who is the captain of the team with 1000+ points in 12 professional seasons).

THE SHARKS ARE SWIMMING AROUND FOR A PLAYOFF SPOT: Although this team has the same colors as our school, it is a little different by calling themselves the San Jose Sharks playing in the Bay Area. If you could imagine a team that is starting to fade from the playoffs, that would be the Sharks. They lost in the first round of the playoffs last year and made it to the finals for the first time in franchise history in 2016.  This team still has a top defender in Brett Burns and a solid goaltender in Martin Jones.  Like I said this team is fading from the playoffs but there still is a chance to raise the cup.

THE KINGS ARE READY TO REIGN OVER CALIFORNIA…OR ARE THEY?:  The Los Angles Kings want to get back into the payoff hunt, but things aren’t looking too hot with the team that they currently have. Sure they won two Stanley Cups in the past four years (2012,2014), but we need to remember that those wins are in the past and focus on the front office additions like a new head coach, general manger and other key positions. They still believe in their core group that was not producing last year, however,  we will have to wait and see what happens when the season starts.

THERE IS A NEW BUNCH IN VIVA LAS VEGAS!: Ever since the NHL has announced that Las Vegas will get there own team, everyone has been keeping up with every move and trade this team has done.  The new team will be called the Vegas Golden Knights and play at the T-Mobile arena in downtown Vegas right on the strip. Historically, new franchises have struggled big time in this situation, but this team is a little different due to being made up of a bunch of players from other NHL teams.  The talking heads will do anything they can to hype up every game this team will play this season. Which is why everyone needs to keep a realistic mind set about this team.

Aside from the additions and subtractions on any team over this off season, every team has a shot at the Stanley Cup.  Every game has 3 periods of speed, exhilaration, and the will to win it all. For these reasons, everyone should watch at least one game of NHL hockey before the playoffs in April. I know it can be hard to see games because every major sport is playing in October, but know this – hockey is the fastest game that is televised across the world.