The National Football League (NFL) season is already 20 percent over, the Major League Baseball (MLB) season is finishing, with only the playoffs still left to play, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) preseason starts Oct. 1. As all of these sports come to an end or hit the long-dreaded weeks of the middle of the season, the National Hockey League (NHL) kicks off with the defending champions Chicago Blackhawks playing host to the nation’s team, the Washington Capitals.

The Blackhawks and Capitals met twice during the preseason in preparation for the season opener, last which occurred on Oct. 1  in Chicago. The teams won’t face each other again until April 11 at the Verizon Center in D.C., which will be the second-to-last game of the season for both teams.

As the season kicked off for both the Blackhawks and the Capitals, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadians also set to the ice in Montreal.The Winnipeg Jets faced the Edmonton  Oilers in the Jets’ first Western Conference matchup. Last season, the Jets were in the Eastern conference along with the Capitals, but due to the new alignment of the conferences, the Winnipeg Jets will be playing in the Western conference.

The beginning of the season means it is time for the experts to make their pick who they believe will win the Stanley Cup this year.

On NHL.com, expert Dan Rosen believes that the San Jose Sharks will take on the Detroit Red Wings and the Sharks will win the Cup, while expert E.J. Hradek believes the Chicago Blackhawks will face the Pittsburg Penguins in the finals with the Blackhawks winning. This would make them championship winners two times in a row, which would make them the second team to go back to back championships since 1997-1998 when the Redwings  won back-to-back championships.

Unlike the two experts from NHL.com, I believe that the Montreal Canadians will face the Vancouver Canucks, and the Canadians will win the Stanley Cup at the end of the season.  The season will be the full 82 games, different from last year, where 48 games were played in 99 days, due to a disagreement between the players and the owners about money.

With many new additions to each team and a new addition to the Western conference and the Eastern conference, this NHL season is sure to be one to be remembered.