EA Sports NHL Playoff Simulation, Screenshots Included

EA SPORTS NHL PLAYOFF SIMULATION PREDICTS SAN JOSE SHARKS DEFEAT MONTREAL CANADIENS IN 2008 STANLEY CUP FINALS

April 6, 2008 – EA SPORTS™ NHL® 08 has predicted that the San Jose Sharks, led by Conn Smythe Trophy Winner Joe Thornton, will come away winners of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final defeating the Montreal Canadiens in seven games. The simulation also offers complete fantasy results for each of the matchups for each playoff round.

The 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs started off with four of the eight match ups going to a deciding seventh game. First Round blowouts had Pittsburgh walking over the listless Sens in five games, and Jose Theodore putting up a wall against the Wild to knock off Minnesota in four games.

In the Second Round, the Penguins blew out the Rangers, while Carey Price’s strong play helped the Montreal slide past Philadelphia in the East. In the West, Detroit solved Theodore to edge out Colorado in seven, while the Sharks beat the Stars in six.

The Eastern Conference Finals proved to be one of the most exciting series of the 2008 playoffs as Saku Koivu’s return helped Montreal edge out Pittsburgh, making Crosby wait another year for his chance at the Cup. It was a different story in the West where San Jose cruised past Detroit, who won the Presidents’ Trophy in the regular season, but couldn’t go the distance in the playoffs.

San Jose played spoiler to the Montreal Canadiens storybook ending, with Thornton leading the charge. Montreal staved off a San Jose victory in games 5 and 6 with a good offensive effort from Alex Kovalev, who led the NHL with 24 points throughout of the playoffs. The Sharks came out strong in game 7 with an early 3 goal lead and never looked back to win their first ever Stanley Cup.

Eastern Conference

Round 1
(1) Montreal defeats (8) Boston , 4-3
(2) Pittsburgh defeats (7) Ottawa, 4-1
(6) Philadelphia defeats (3) Washington, 4-3
(5) New York defeats (4) New Jersey, 4-3

Round 2
(1) Montreal defeats (6) Philadelphia, 4-2
(2) Pittsburgh defeats (5) New York, 4-1

Eastern Conference Finals
(1) Montreal defeats (2) Pittsburgh, 4-3

Western Conference

Round 1
(1) Detroit defeats (8) Nashville, 4-1
(2) San Jose defeats (7) Calgary, 4-3
(6) Colorado defeats (3) Minnesota, 4-0
(5) Dallas defeats (4) Anaheim, 4-1

Round 2
(1) Detroit defeats (6) Colorado, 4-3
(2) San Jose defeats (5) Dallas, 4-2

Western Conference Finals
(2) San Jose defeats (1) Detroit, 4-2

Stanley Cup Finals
San Jose defeats Montreal, 4-3

A simulation is conducted by artificial intelligence or logic of the videogame that uses real-life data from each player. Results are extrapolated by the videogame when two teams match up based on player ratings, line combinations, and include variances such as injuries and hot streaks to give a realistic outcome of a game or series.

To see all the screenshots from the sim, click on one of the thumbnails below, or click here.