NHL Prediction Contest All-Star Check-In

With only a small handful of games left before the All Star break, we’re taking a look back at the results so far of the 6 RHL GM’s who participated in the totally ripped off of Down Goes Brown prediction contest – Blix900, Doddridge, LedTasso, MixtureBill, Rugged Magikarp, and yours truly. For those who don’t remember, all but the final bonus question allowed each participant to choose up to 5 answers, with progressively more points for each right answer. But a single wrong answer puts you at 0 for the question. Let’s see how the season is progressing:

Playoff teams (Results based on PT% as of 1/30)

With the Oilers refusing to lose games for a month plus saving practically everyone, the one stinker here has been the New Jersey Devils, who sit 5 points back of the Flyers for 3rd in the Metro and 6 back of the Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot, albeit with games in hand on both. However, 4th-7th in the Metro all currently have 51 or 52 points, so the Devils will have to go on a run to separate themselves from the pack to keep Blix, Led, and Rsyzygy from starting out with a 0 here.

Teams who will miss the playoffs (Results based on PT% as of 1/30)

Again, we see only one big spoiler here, the surprising Philadelphia Flyers. As noted above however, the Metro is a tightly packed race at this point, so it’s far from a done deal. For a while the Coyotes were threatening to sneak in, but they have fallen off lately.

Teams who will finish between 9th and 24th overall in the league (Results based on PT% as of 1/30)

This one has been tougher. If the season ended today, all 6 participants would take a 0 in this category. The over performers based on expectations so far have been the Bruins, Panthers, Canucks, Avalanche, Rangers and Jets, while the Canadiens, Senators, Sabres, and Wild all sit 25th or worse.

Coaches who will still have their job on July 1, 2024

Doddridge had a lot of faith in the Minnesota Wild, with Dean Evason being the first of the coaches selected here to have lost his job.

GMs who will still have their job on July 1, 2024

Everyone here is safe so far, with nobody thinking that Pierre Dorion’s job was safe going into the year.

Goalies to reach 50 starts (Results based on goalies with 30+ starts as of 1/30)

Outside of Blix picking Vasilevskiy, who started the year injured (but surprisingly could hit this benchmark if he starts 24 of the Lightning’s last 32 games), Jake Oettinger is the one surprise who is not currently on pace for 50 starts, but only just. He’ll need to start 22 of the Stars’ last 33 games to save Doddridge, Bill, Rsyzygy, and Karp from a 0 here.

Top 10 in Calder voting (Based on DraftKings odds as of 1/30)

Players chosen here that are not currently on pace – Brandt Clark, William Eklund, Fraser Minten, Tyson Foerster, Devon Levi, and Shane Wright

Top 10 in Norris voting (Based on DraftKings odds as of 1/30)

This one is tough to call at the moment, as DraftKings currently has 11 players tied with the 10th best odds for the Norris (+10000), and included in that list is the three players who are not top 9 and have been selected here: Dahlin, Heiskanen, and Karlsson. For the sake of the calculation below, I have given points to all three of those players.

Top 15 in Hart voting (Based on DraftKings odds as of 1/30)

Players chosen here that are not currently on pace – Igor Shesterkin, Jason Robertson, Matthew Tkachuk, Kirill Kaprizov, and Ilya Sorokin.

Players who change teams before July 2, 2024

None of the selections here have moved yet. The only real result that is obvious here is that Bill will take a 0 pending something totally crazy, as William Nylander has signed forever for too much money in Toronto.

BONUS – All or nothing question, name a player that will score 100 points

Three players were chosen here, twice each. Matthew Tkachuk is on pace for 85 points, Jason Robertson is on pace for 84 points, and the only current winner here is Nathan MacKinnon, on pace for a staggering 141 points.

If the season ended today (Granted there is an awfully long time until the coach, GM, and player movement questions are settled), here are the standings:

1. Doddridge – 100
2. Rsyzygy – 60
3. MixtureBill – 0 (90 before bonus wipeout)
4. Blix900 – 0 (75 before bonus wipeout)
5. LedTasso – 0 (60 before bonus wipeout)
6. Rugged Magikarp – 0 (60 before bonus wipeout)

All picks can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WlB0lmGifIlD7LJjb-pjqdqwyFsn4Gerr2ZrBj0gGq0/edit#gid=0