The holiday break is about to end in the NHL, and play is about to resume. With this in mind, all of the teams had a couple of days to rest their legs and refresh themselves. There will be some big games coming right out of the break for many teams. We clearly see who some of the top teams currently are in the NHL for the 2022-2023 regular season.
NHL picks today have the Boston Bruins, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Carolina Hurricanes as some of the favorites to win it all this season. The Colorado Avalanche are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Who are currently some of the top teams in the NHL this year?
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins currently have the top record and the most points in the NHL. Boston is on track to potentially win the Presidents’ Trophy, and we all know how that goes for those teams in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is a major surprise because people thought that the Bruins were finished, but they are still around.
Jim Montgomery might be one of the favorites to win the NHL Coach of the Year Award. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak are one of the top lines in the league. They have solid depth pieces for once and a very structured blue line. Boston is getting solid goaltending this season from Linus Ullmark, and that came out of the left field.
They haven’t won the Presidents’ Trophy since 2013-2014. Boston was bounced in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs that season against the Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins haven’t won it all since 2011 against the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights missed the playoffs entirely last season, and they have made a complete turn for the better this season. Vegas is coached by Bruce Cassidy; the Golden Knights currently have the top record in the Western Conference and are on track to reach over 100 points this season.
Vegas won’t have it as tough in the West as they would if they were in the East. Logan Thompson has stepped up big time as the team’s starting goalie this season because of the Robin Lehner injury. Jack Eichel is finally going to get his crack at the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the NHL.
Chandler Stephenson has also been very good for them this season. They have one of the best bluelines also in the NHL.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are currently leading the Metropolitan Division once again, and they could win a division for the third consecutive season. Carolina is potentially due to take it to distance sooner rather than later. The Hurricanes have elite players on all levels of the ice. What is great news for them is that goalie Pyotr Kochetkov is taking over the reins as the number one goalie for them.
Sebastian Aho is one of their primary goal scorers, and Brady Skjei is one of their primary defensemen. Rod Brind’Amour always has his hockey teams prepared on a night-to-night basis. They have an excellent transition game and have solid speed and skill. Carolina will be fine in this brutal Metropolitan Division, and it will prepare them well for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Hurricanes, for their sake, need to get to at least the Eastern Conference Finals this season, if not further and potentially to the Stanley Cup Finals. Anything less than that would be a complete failure for them this season.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division, and they were once upon a time the hottest team in the NHL by winning 13 of 14 games at one point. New Jersey has cooled off recently, and they will be just fine. The Devils have very good young talent led by Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt up front. John Marino is their glue end on the backend.
Vitek Vanecek and MacKenzie Blackwood is a solid goaltending tandem for them. Lastly, Lindy Ruff, the head coach, has turned this thing around with the help of associate head coach Andrew Brunette.
