don't agree with ^. the Ducks won largely because of their defense and goaltending, not dominant scoring. or the 03 Devils? Jeff Friesen or Sergei Brylin? naw, don't thinks so... again, defense and goaltending. and the Penguins didn't win until they increased their grit... as I recal, they had Malkin and Crosby since '05 and never won.
anyhow, for this year, it is the hardest year to predict, imo.
Washington is the favourite, but I question goaltending. Pittsburgh is playing mostly flat, Buffalo can't score and has no defence, Ottawa goaltending? Philly is really weak lately, Devils are worse with Ilya, Canadiens are too small, Bruins are only there cause everyother team sucks, Phoenix has goaltending, but FAN SUPPORT? I don't trust Luongo for Vancouver, Chicago is the best bet out of the west, 2nd is Detroit- but they may be expired come playoff time... Sharks are Sharks. Nashville is always good to make post-season (sleeper here- may surprise) LA Kings are shitty of late, same with AVS.
so my earlier Sabres/Canucks is still a reality, but so is any other combination you can think of. better bet would be first to get eliminated- my pick is Boston. if they make post-season.