The Anaheim Ducks were a trendy preseason pick to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final, including on this website.
Five of the nine NHL.com staffers who were asked to give preseason predictions had the Ducks in the Cup Final; two had them as champs. They were No. 2 in the preseason Super 16.
Anaheim is last in the Western Conference. Should the prognosticators have seen this coming, or should the Ducks be better? The answer to each question is yes.
Here's why:
Last season, the Ducks were tied for second in wins (51), third in regulation/overtime wins (43), and tied for third in points (109) without the statistics to back it up.