This may be the most wide-open Stanley Cup chase in the Eastern Conference the NHL has seen in years. Even with a number of Eastern teams making big deals at the trade deadline, nobody created separation.
It’s going to come down to health and matchups and, most likely, a lot of luck. It makes the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup race hard to project, but after analyzing the Western Conference on Wednesday, here’s a look at the East race and awards favorites now that the trade deadline has passed:
The Stanley Cup favorites
They’ve almost become the forgotten team in the Eastern Conference because nobody cares how they perform during the regular season. This is all just a warm-up act for the playoffs, but it’s shaping up to be a good one for the Penguins.