2016 Stanley Cup Final: What the experts are saying
Find out what experts from ESPN, USA Today, and CBS Sports think.
It's prediction season, folks. With the Stanley Cup Final matchup between the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins lined up, hockey writers have started to choose who they think will win the series. Soon enough, a video will be posted by a zoo that has a monkey picking up a banana from a Sharks or Penguins themed bowl. That's when you'll officially know who will the Stanley Cup.
But until then, let's see what the experts think:
ESPN: Ten ESPN anchors and hockey writers were asked who they thought would win the Stanley Cup. Seven of the ten chose the Sharks, including John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, Pierre LeBrun, and Steve Levy. Diehard NY Rangers fan Linda Cohn was one of the three to pick Pittsburgh. Click here to see their predictions in full and in how many games.
USA Today: USA Today's NHL staff of six made similar predictions, but with extended analysis on why they made their choices. Four of the six writers choose the Penguins, but Mike Brehm and A.J. Perez believe the Sharks will win. In fact, Perez thinks the Sharks will wrap things up in Game 5. Click here for more.
CBS Sports: CBS Sports' prediction is between their two hockey writers, Chris Peters and Adam Gretz. Peters believes the Sharks will win in six games while Gretz believes the Pens will win in the same amount of games. To read their full analysis, click here.
Be on the lookout for more predictions from other sports media outlets as Monday's Game 1 gets closer.