First a quick thought about predictions, which are a necessary evil in the sports-writing game. Unlike some, I’ll play along because essentially what you’re trying to do is weigh the available evidence against a visceral feeling about a team’s progress – and then make as close to an intelligent assessment as possible. However, I do sometimes chafe against the timing, especially for predictions made ahead of any NHL season. Realistically, I have long argued that you can’t make even a reasonable guess about a Stanley Cup champion on the day the season opens because a team’s roster on Oct. 5 is often quite different from its roster on Feb. 26, or the day after the smoke clears from the NHL trading deadline.



Also: By Saturday, we’ll have more than 1,000 games played out of a 1,271-game regular-season schedule, which just gives you more information to better assess where a team is at in terms of its injuries, its goaltending performance,...