NHL Predictions: 6 Teams Primed for Regular Season Dominance

The NHL has perhaps the most topsy-turvy playoff format in American sports. Although the NBA has a very similar style that hockey does, bottom seeds in the NHL have a much greater history of success than those in basketball.

The regular season isn't quite an indicator of playoff success, but from season to season, there a handful of teams that have maintained their position atop the NHL.

There are minor adjustments as to what teams reign supreme with the President's Trophy, but typically there are about three teams per conference that remain strong regular season teams from one year to the next.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks went as far as any team can go without feeling the thrill of success. In fact, their major Stanley Cup collapse to the Boston Bruins last season was made worse by the actions of their devastated fans.

Vancouver has made it into the playoffs each of the past three seasons and have picked up 100-plus points in all of them. Last season, the Canucks finished the year with the best record in the league. Postseason collapse be damned, this team can flat out play. 

There is no reason to believe that there will be any drop-off in this team's play as they strive to right the wrongs of last season. With the Sedins signed for the long haul, this team is always a scary one to face.

Washington Capitals

Like the Canucks, the Washington Capitals are an offensive powerhouse.

They have made it into the Eastern Conference playoff bracket the past four seasons, but have continuously struggled to figure out how to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Caps have taken a lot of flak for getting swept out of the playoffs last season, but I can guarantee they will be back in the playoffs again next season. The team transitioned into playing some tighter defense in 2010, so maybe we'll continue to see progress in that regard as well.

San Jose Sharks

The last time the Sharks didn't make the playoffs was when I was just entering my junior year of high school back in 2002-03. Since then, San Jose has been home to a team that has finished the regular season with either the first or second seed in five of the last seven seasons.

To point out the obvious, the San Jose Sharks are an elite hockey club. They continue to ice some of the finest players in the NHL in Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle and more.

This past offseason, however, the team traded away Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi to the Minnesota Wild and let defenseman Ian White walk in free agency.

The way the Sharks were dismantled by the Canucks in the Western Conference Finals last season inspired the team to add more speed to its lineup. So they brought in Brent Burns and Martin Havlat in the trades with the Wild and signed Michal Handzus in free agency.

Count on this team finishing in first or second for yet another season out West. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

This may hinge on the health of superstar center Sidney Crosby.

Last season, Crosby was on his way to a legendary season. He finished the season with 66 points in 41 games after suffering concussions in consecutive games.

During the first half of the season, Sid the Kid put together a 25-game point streak—tied for the 11th longest point streak in NHL history. Fellow Penguin superstar Evgeni Malkin, who only managed to play in 43 games last year, also will have some bearing on how well the Pens perform.

With their two star players out for huge portions of the season, the Penguins still finished with the third best record in the Eastern Conference. If even one of them returns, let alone both, this Pittsburgh team may find itself Stanley Cup bound yet again.

Detroit Red Wings

You knew the Red Wings had to be on this list. They have made the playoffs 20 consecutive seasons.

Sophomores in college have lived their whole lives knowing Detroit WILL be in the Western Conference playoffs.

Gone are Brian Rafalski, Chris Osgood and Kris Draper, but the legend that is Nicklas Lidstrom has returned for another run at the Cup.

The team has called up defensive prospects to help fill the hole left by Rafalski, but General Manager Ken Holland has also signed Ian White and Mike Commodore to fight for the position.

There are always questions of age with this team, but we are yet to see any major drop-off in play. For the first time in a while, Holland will have some room under the salary cap to add some talent at the trade deadline and possibly get them back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins players and the city of Boston would like to keep the Cup for a while longer. In order to do that, the team needs to reproduce the success that they had last year in the regular season.

Not much has changed from last year's roster. Marc Savard does not appear likely to be available to play at the beginning of the upcoming season, if not the whole year. The Bruins need to make it a point not to rest on their laurels.

They have everything it takes to play with the grit and determination necessary to become a Stanley Cup champion, they just need to prove they want to win it all again.