Consensus among NHLers: Niners win Super Bowl

Friday, 02.01.2013 / 12:09 PM NHL.com

The San Francisco 49ers will defeat the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans on Sunday, according to the majority of NHL players who predicted the game this week.

NHL.com compiled the predictions of 17 current players and one retired player -- Wayne Gretzky -- and 14 picked Colin Kaepernick to lead the 49ers to their first Super Bowl victory since Steve Young threw six touchdowns passes in a 49-26 victory against the San Diego Chargers in Super XXIX in 1995.

The only players to pick the Ravens were Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes, Mike Richards of the Los Angeles Kings, Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins and The Great One. Three have the Ravens winning by a field goal, while Seguin, who clearly had his eyes opened when the New England Patriots were soundly beaten in the AFC Championship, predicted a 14-point victory for Baltimore.

Doan pinned his loyalties to a pair of Ravens with ties to Arizona: Terrell Suggs played college football at Arizona State, and Anquan Boldin spent his first seven NFL seasons playing for the Arizona Cardinals.

"It's going to be a miss on the last-second field goal by San Fran for the Ravens to win," Doan said.

Teammate Paul Bissonnette, however, sees things going differently despite his admitted lack of knowledge about the NFL.

"I've been watching their new quarterback over the last nine games, and every week he seems to keep surprising people and getting better," Bissonette said of Kaepernick, who replaced incumbent starting quarterback Alex Smith midway through the season. "He just kind of shows signs of maturity."

Oddsmakers have the 49ers as about a four-point favorite, but the NHL's prognosticators have the 49ers winning by an average of 7.3 points. The over/under for the game is about 47 points, and the aggregate final score of our 18 predictors is 49ers 24, Ravens 20.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nate Thompson shows that despite not having an interest in the game, some people can't resist making a prediction.

"I'm not a fan of either team," he said. "But I think if I'm going to make an educated guess, I think the Niners are going to win. I think they're a little deeper on both sides of the ball."

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Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

San Francisco 20, Baltimore 14

Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins

San Francisco 21, Baltimore 17

Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

San Francisco 27, Baltimore 14

Paul Bissonnette, Phoenix Coyotes

San Francisco 28, Baltimore 24

Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes

Baltimore 24, San Francisco 21