The St. Louis Blues might have to make the most of their nonconference schedule. The Western Conference is going to be bad enough, but their division is the toughest in hockey right now. Making matters worse, the division’s champion is primed to make a repeat run.
The Nashville Predators won the Central Division in 2017-18. While they won by a razor thin margin of three points, they are primed for a repeat performance.
The Predators enter the 2018-19 season with basically the same roster that took them all the way to 117 points last year. So, there is little reason to think they cannot find that same continuity this coming season.