EA sent out the following
On the eve of Wednesday’s puck drop to start the 2017-18 NHL regular season, EA SPORTS™ NHL® 18 today released the results of its annual season simulation.
Powered by NHL® 18, the season simulator predicts the Tampa Bay Lightning will triumph over the Edmonton Oilers and take home the Stanley Cup® for the first time since 2004. After an eventful 7-game series and an action-packed 3-2 win in the final game, Tampa Bay Captain Steven Stamkos will lead the team to victory, resulting in the team’s second Stanley Cup® win in franchise history after narrowly missing out in 2015.
A link to the EA SPORTS NHL® 18 blog post detailing the full regular season standings can be found here.
Some other notable predictions from the season simulation include:
- The Pittsburgh Penguins, led by captain Sidney Crosby, continue their dominance of the Eastern Conference during the regular season and take home the President’s Trophy.
- NHL® 18 cover athlete Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, for the second year in a row, becomes the most decorated athlete at the NHL Awards®, with back-to-back wins of three major awards – the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. McDavid joins an elite group of multi-year winners of these coveted awards, including Hockey Hall of Famers Guy Lafleur and Wayne Gretzky.
- Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning will take home the Conn Smythe Trophy for an exceptional post-season performance, as well as the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as highest goal scorer.
- In their inaugural season, the Vegas Golden Knights fall short a playoff spot finishing 14th overall in the Western Conference.
The EA SPORTS NHL® season simulation is conducted annually by artificial intelligence that uses real-life data from each player. Results are determined by the videogame when two teams match up based on player ratings, line combinations, and include variances such as injuries and hot streaks to give a realistic outcome of a game or series.
After launching for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on September 15, NHL® 18 delivers the creativity of today’s young NHL stars with new Creative Attack controls and the Defensive Skill Stick. Play the fast-paced, arcade-inspired 3-on-3 EA SPORTS™ NHL® THREES mode, or reshape the league entirely with the new Expansion Draft and your own custom 32nd NHL team. Do it all with the most co-op and competitive multiplayer options ever delivered in an EA SPORTS NHL® game.
NHL, the NHL Shield and the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup are registered trademarks and NHL Awards is a trademark of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams. © NHL 2017. All Rights Reserved.
Hmm, interesting results, now to see if they pan out.
Source: EA PR