NHL 15 Says The Nashville Predators Will..

It is the beginning of September, that time in the year where we can almost feel the cold wind blowing off of the rink as we walk into Bridgestone Arena. This is also the time of the year when EA Sports releases their NHL game for the year.

EA released a new promotion on the Xbox One called EA Access where you can play certain games five-days prior to their release date, so we here at Predlines took advantage of that and got to see what NHL 15 had to offer and how they rated the Predators and individual players. No, it was not free but it was only $4.99 to see the next generation game play and graphics that the new game held within the Xbox One.

NHL 15 is scheduled to be released this Tuesday, September 9.

The first thing we took a look at was of course the lines and player ratings that the game gave each Nashville Predators player. Here is a look at said ratings. Please pardon the not so good picture quality, we thought some of you may like to see the ratings of each player so we thought we would add them regardless of the iffy quality.

Forwards

For your information: Anyone rated 90 overall or higher is an elite player on the game, there are hundreds of players in the 80-89 overall range, and good prospects such as Calle Jarnkrok with his 78 overall rating is a good rating for a good prospect.

We personally edited these lines in accordance to one of our many predictions for the Predators line combinations to start the season. By no surprise, James Neal is the highest rated forward on the Predators roster with an overall rating of 88. I think that is pretty fitting for a 61-point scorer a year ago and former 81-point scorer.

The biggest surprise of the bunch, ratings wise at least, is Paul Gaustad. Yes, he is an incredible face-off man but an 84 overall rating is pretty steep for a fourth-line center that has only surpassed the 30-point mark twice in his NHL career. If he plays like an “84-rated player” this season the Predators could be very dangerous.

Predators forward prospects Filip Forsberg and Mikka Salomaki each had a 77 overall rating; both on the Milwaukee Admirals roster during the season.

Most realistic looking forwards: Mike Ribeiro and Olli Jokinen.

Most unrealistic looking forwards: Craig Smith and Viktor Stalberg.

Defensemen and Goalies

Shea Weber is rated highest overall amongst all defensemen on the entire game with his 93 overall rating. An average overall of 89 between the Predators top-two defensemen is extremely good, and in our opinion very accurate. Overall, the Predators defense, at least via NHL 15, looks very good. Ellis is the surprise rating among Nashville’s blue-line with his 83-overall. Eighty-three seems just a tad high, even with his offensive skill-set.

Pekka Rinne is the fifth highest rated goalie on the entire NHL 15 game with an overall rating of 91. Rinne’s backup, Carter Hutton, was given an overall rating of 80.

Most realistic looking defensemen: Shea Weber and Seth Jones

Most unrealistic looking defensemen: Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis

The 2014-2015 Season

Now let’s get to the real serious stuff; how did NHL 15 say the Predators will do this upcoming season?

It is worth noting that the season was simulated against the computer, with injuries off and the line-pairings the same as pictured above.

The Predators finished the season with a 34-34-14 record making them the number twelve team in the Western Conference and missing the playoffs by a total of 14-points. The regular season Western Conference Champions were the Chicago Blackhawks.

The biggest surprises after the simulation was done were the Dallas Stars finishing the season with a 34-42-6 record and finishing last in the Central Division, the Calgary Flames making the playoffs as the number-seven team out of the West, and the Vancouver Canucks finishing the season as the number-two team in the West.

The Predators longest winning streak in the simulated season came at the end of October where the Predators won six straight games, beating the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames both twice and the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets once.

James Neal, the highest rated forward on the Predators roster, lead the team in total points and goals in the simulated season. Neal recorded 38-goals and 36-assists for a total of 74-points. Second on the team in the goals category was Craig Smith with 31-goals. Predators captain Shea Weber lit the lamp only 11-times but tallied 38-assists for a total of 49-points.

The New York Rangers went on to win the Stanley Cup after it was all said and done, defeating the San Jose Sharks in six-games.

Will the Predators finish better or worse than their 34-34-14 simulated prediction? You tell us.

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All pictures attached were taken by Mark Harris.