NHL will have new champion in 2016

There will be a new champion in the NHL this season, and for the first time since 2011, it won't be the Chicago Blackhawks or Los Angeles Kings.
The St. Louis Blues defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks 3-2 in Game 7 of their Western Conference First Round series on Monday.

The Blackhawks or Kings, who were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the San Jose Sharks on Friday, won the Cup each of the past four seasons and five out of six. The Blackhawks won it in 2010, 2013 and 2015, and the Kings, who lost to the Sharks in five games, were champions in 2012 and 2014.
That leaves the Pittsburgh Penguins as the most recent Cup champion still alive in the playoffs. They won it in 2009. The Boston Bruins, who won the Cup in 2011, did not qualify for the postseason.

Four of the remaining nine teams have never won the Stanley Cup. Along with the Blues and Sharks, the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators have never won the ultimate prize.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the New York Islanders in one Eastern Conference Second Round series, and the Penguins and Capitals will meet in the other.
The Blues will play the Stars in one Western Conference Second Round series, and the Sharks will face the winner of Game 7 of the first-round series between the Predators and Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports).