The 2018-19 NHL® season is underway, and Franchise Hockey Manager 5 is now available worldwide. You can also check out the game trailer on YouTube.
To celebrate, we took the latest season for a spin in the game and shared the results with our friends at NHL Network, who recently featured our forecast on one of their shows. Read on to find out why FHM 5 sees the San Jose Sharks securing their first Stanley Cup® Championship.
FHM 5 sees the Washington Capitals launching a successful start to defending their own first Stanley Cup® Championship by running away with the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division, posting a 61-17-4 record (126 points) that was the best in the NHL®. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Atlantic Division with 99 points, edging out the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had 96 points.
In the Western Conference, the San Jose Sharks won the Pacific Division with a 57-21-4 record (118 points) while the Nashville Predators secured the Central Division with 117 points. The Vegas Golden Knights, who rode their inaugural season all the way to the Stanley Cup® Final last year, finished third in the Pacific Division with 105 points.
Top player performances
Among shooters, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scored 59 goals to top the NHL® while teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov led the league with 75 assists. Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche was tops in total points with 108.
Among goalies, the Capitals’ Braden Holtby had the most wins (52 of his team’s 61 wins) while the Nashville Predators’ Pekka Rinne had the best Goals Against Average with 2.30. Rinne also led the league with 9 shutouts.
Playoffs
In the first round of the Stanley Cup® playoffs, two teams, the Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals, needed seven games to escape their first-round series. The Capitals advanced in the next round against the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games, setting up an Eastern Conference Finals matchup versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, who downed the Boston Bruins.
In the Western Conference, the LA Kings and San Jose Sharks beat the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild, respectively, to set up their finals clash. The Sharks prevailed in five games to return to the Stanley Cup® Final for the first time since 2016 against the defending champion Capitals.
This time, however, fate was not kind to the Caps, who lost the Final to the Sharks in 6 games.
Trophy winners and other news
FHM 5 also forecast the season’s award winners:
President’s Trophy: Washington
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid, Edmonton
Ross Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado, 108 points
Norris Trophy: John Carlson, Washington
Vezina Trophy: Pekka Rinne, Nashville
Calder Trophy: Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo
#1 Overall Draft Pick: Jack Hughes, US National Development Team, to Detroit
And there were some highlights outside the NHL too:
World Junior Championship: Russia over Sweden
World Championship: Canada over Finland
Memorial Cup: Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL
