EA Sports predicts Vancouver Canucks will win Stanley Cup in 2011

Come next spring, the Vancouver Canucks will be hoisting the Stanley Cup. At least, that's what the experts at EA Sports are predicting.

The development and support team at the EA Canada studio in Burnaby ran a simulation of the NHL season using the NHL 11 video game to determine the results. If the sim is to be believed, the Canucks will prevail after a seven-game Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins.

Before you scoff, keep in mind that a simulation of the 2010 playoffs using NHL 10 pegged the Chicago Blackhawks as cup winners.

At the time, many sports fans thought that the Hawks lacked the experience to make it through.

The simulations run by EA Sports are worth serious consideration. After all, the games created there, like NHL 11, are built on real-life data for players, coaches, and teams.

"Results are extrapolated by the videogame when two teams match up based on player ratings, line combinations, and include variances such as injuries and hot streaks to give a realistic outcome of a game or series," the company stated in a release.

In the simulation of the 2010-11 NHL season, EA Sports also predicted that the Chicago Blackhawks will be knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the L.A. Kings, the Calgary Flames will be the only other Canadian team to make the playoffs, and the Washington Capitals will advance to the Eastern Conference finals against the Bruins.

The NHL 11 simulation also predicted individual achievements. Look for Sidney Crosby to capture the Art Ross trophy for a league-leading 107 points. The Pittsburgh Penguin captain will also nab the Hart Memorial trophy, according to the sim.

As well, the prediction is that Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Suban will take the Calder Memorial trophy, Buffalo Sabres netminder Ryan Miller will repeat as the league's best goalie with the Vezina, and L.A. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty will be awarded the James Norris Memorial trophy.

The predictions are all made with fun in mind, of course. But these projections seem quite credible to me. And the more accurate they are, of course, the more EA Sports proves that its NHL video games are more like real life each year.

{poll node='352450'}{/poll}