EA Sports simulation predicts an upset team as 2020 Stanley Cup Champions.

EA predicts an upset.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
EA Sports simulation predicts an upset team as 2020 Stanley Cup Champions.
Patrick Smith/Getty

The St. Louis Blues will not be repeating as Stanley Cup Champions if this simulation proves to be correct. 

According to an announcement made by EA Sports NHL, the makers of the hugely popular NHL 20, they have run a simulation of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in their game engine and have determined that the Edmonton Oilers will emerge as the 2020 Stanley Cup Champions. Now that may sound like good news for fans in Edmonton but that may not in fact be the case. EA Sports has been running this simulation prior to the playoffs for several years now and I can't remember them being right even a single time in all my years of covering it, so this could mean some bad juju for the Oilers. 

According to the announcement from EA Sports NHL it was the Pittsburgh Penguins who made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final on the Eastern Conference side of the bracket, eventually falling to the Oilers in 6 games. I can't like I would have no problem seeing a clash between four of the biggest stars in the game in the final, I speak of course of Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and Penguins forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, it certainly would make for some very exciting hockey. 

In the image that was included with the update from EA Sports NHL shows Oilers captain Connor McDavid hoisting the Stanley Cup, but most oddsmakers have several teams, including the aforementioned Penguins, ranked ahead of the Oilers in terms of their odds to win it all. Teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers, Las Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs and more have gotten more favorable odds to win it all than the Oilers, so this would be a pretty big upset. It certainly is not one that would be way out there in terms of it being possible however, both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are widely considered to be among the best players in the entire league, and if they get hot this could become a reality.

Will this be the year the simulation finally gets it right? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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