EA Sports has the Oilers defeating the LA Kings in six games in the first round, before taking down the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of the second round.
Edmonton is simulated to face off against the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, a six-game victory for the Oilers to put them into the Stanley Cup Final.
In the East, the Sabres start their simulated playoff run with a seven-game win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, then another seven-game series victory over the Florida Panthers in the second round.
The Eastern Conference Final features yet another seven-game series for the Sabres, this time triumphing over the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, setting up the Stanely Cup Final against the Oilers.
In addition to the Oilers’ Stanley Cup, the EA Sports simulation has Connor McDavid picking up a whole lot more hardware: the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League’s MVP, the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s scoring leader, the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.
Teammate Leon Draisaitl is the simulated winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy as the League’s top goal scorer.
Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna wins the simulated Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy earns the Vezina Trophy as goalie of the year, Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov earns the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the League’s best defensive forward and Avalanche coach Jared Bednar earns the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.
In the simulation, Bednar leads the Avalanche to the Presidents' Trophy with the League’s best regular season record and Cale Makar earns the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the League’s best defenseman.
How close will this simulation be? We’ll find out starting on Tuesday at 5 p.m. during the NHL’s season-opening triple header on ESPN.
