Lightning are out, so now who is going to win the Stanley Cup and why?

Either Boston or St Louis

The players will lock out due to an outbreak in anal warts. Moldy, stinky, crusty anal warts.

Bruins

I think the Blues will play either the Islanders or the Capitals for the cup and win. They are the most consistent, team out there.

Based on the fact that both top seeds are out, I would say either Columbus or Colorado. Though don't count out Washington.

Let's try the St. Louis Blues first. Then, the San Jose Sharks. And, then, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Otherwise, Tampa Bay viewers will watch NBA Finals.

I want to see the Jets take it since they've never won a Stanley Cup (they do have a couple of

Avco Cups from the WHA back in the 1970s) but they gotta play entire games, not partial ones.

According to Micah McCurdy (whose models have proven to be HIGHLY accurate), as of her most recent model run, Vegas, Dallas and Columbus have the highest odds as of today. Her modeling is somewhat proprietary but I know 5x5 shot differentials along with high danger shots are part of it. Keep in mind that there's no dominant favourite; you're talking about 3 teams with less than a 15% chance (obviously things will narrow as more teams are eliminated).

The Columbus Blue jackets. They just swept the President's Trophy winning team, they're on a roll.