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<p align=" " class="none">With the Boston Bruins packing their bags for Vancouver to begin the final battle for the Stanley Cup next week, it’s all coming together as EA Sports predicted.
Before the 2010-11 NHL season started last October, the EA Sports hockey franchise simulated the upcoming season — using the NHL simulation engine or “sim” that is used to create its NHL video games — and correctly predicted that the Vancouver Canucks would face off against the Bruins for the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I’m not too surprised, to be honest. The guys here have spent so much time on simulation,” said David Littman, a former Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender who now works as senior producer for EA’s hockey franchise.
“I’d say we’re beating Paul the Octopus.”
Since playoffs began, the EA team has run the simulation engine for each round – and so far, the engine has correctly predicted the results for 13 of the 14 series that have finished.
“We thought Detroit would beat San Jose in seven games, but it ended up that San Jose beat Detroit in seven games. So it was really close,” said Littman of the one missed prediction. “Obviously, (the sim) will never be perfect, but because we’ve kept at it and made it more realistic each year, it’s going to be pretty close.”
The sim is programmed with about 50 player attributes – including slap shot, wrist shot, passing abilities and offensive awareness – for every NHL player. When programmers want a game prediction, the engine runs all the numbers and pits two teams against each other.
EA programmers have been constantly feeding the sim with up-to-date information — such as player injuries, line changes and trades — since the regular season began last October. Littman said that constant upgrades have helped the sim become more accurate over time.
“At the end of the year, we end up with a sim engine that’s eerily accurate to real life,” he said.
Last year, the sim accurately predicted that the Chicago Blackhawks would win the Stanley Cup. This year, the sim was correct in predicting that the Canucks would take the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the regular season. Canucks fans can only be so hopeful that the EA sim is as accurate with this year’s playoffs predictions -- last October, the sim calculated that the Canucks would beat the Boston Bruins in a seven-game series to win the cup.
“In the finals, it will take all seven games and a career performance from Conn Smyth Trophy winner Daniel Sedin for the Vancouver Canucks to defeat the Boston Bruins in front of an ecstatic crowd at Rogers Arena,” EA Sports said in a release on its playoff predictions last October.
Littman said the EA team will be running the sim again on Monday to get an up-to-date prediction for the final round between Vancouver and Boston. But for now, he’s hopeful that the sim’s October prediction holds true,” he said.
“I have a feeling the Canucks will still win, to be honest. But anything can happen. I think this thing (the sim) knows best ... better than I do, anyways.”
Whatever team the sim selects on Monday, the EA staff in Burnaby will be sporting their Canucks jerseys and cheering on the home team.
“There are no bigger Canucks fans than the guys that work on this game,” Littman said. “On game day, it’s all Canucks fans here.”</p>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <a href="http://www.theprovince.com/health/Video+game+simulator+roll+with+Bruins+Canucks+predicted+take/4853804/story.html" target="_blank">Source</a>
I don't think anyone could have said that Vancouver wasn't going to make the finals and seriously believe themselves with the season they had this year. I'm not a Canucks fan(they actually eliminated my team this year, which I had full expectaions of them doing and would have been shocked if they didn't) , but I am a Hockey fan and Vancouver had an amazing year. Sucks for Manny Malhotra though, although his surgeries were successful, I cant help but wonder if his vision will have any effect on the rest of his career. Oh....and this <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2011-05-28-3389295619_x.htm" target="_blank">Malhotra cleared for Stanley Cup finals</a>
<p align=" " class="none">With the Boston Bruins packing their bags for Vancouver to begin the final battle for the Stanley Cup next week, it’s all coming together as EA Sports predicted.
Before the 2010-11 NHL season started last October, the EA Sports hockey franchise simulated the upcoming season — using the NHL simulation engine or “sim” that is used to create its NHL video games — and correctly predicted that the Vancouver Canucks would face off against the Bruins for the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I’m not too surprised, to be honest. The guys here have spent so much time on simulation,” said David Littman, a former Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender who now works as senior producer for EA’s hockey franchise.
“I’d say we’re beating Paul the Octopus.”
Since playoffs began, the EA team has run the simulation engine for each round – and so far, the engine has correctly predicted the results for 13 of the 14 series that have finished.
“We thought Detroit would beat San Jose in seven games, but it ended up that San Jose beat Detroit in seven games. So it was really close,” said Littman of the one missed prediction. “Obviously, (the sim) will never be perfect, but because we’ve kept at it and made it more realistic each year, it’s going to be pretty close.”
The sim is programmed with about 50 player attributes – including slap shot, wrist shot, passing abilities and offensive awareness – for every NHL player. When programmers want a game prediction, the engine runs all the numbers and pits two teams against each other.
EA programmers have been constantly feeding the sim with up-to-date information — such as player injuries, line changes and trades — since the regular season began last October. Littman said that constant upgrades have helped the sim become more accurate over time.
“At the end of the year, we end up with a sim engine that’s eerily accurate to real life,” he said.
Last year, the sim accurately predicted that the Chicago Blackhawks would win the Stanley Cup. This year, the sim was correct in predicting that the Canucks would take the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the regular season. Canucks fans can only be so hopeful that the EA sim is as accurate with this year’s playoffs predictions -- last October, the sim calculated that the Canucks would beat the Boston Bruins in a seven-game series to win the cup.
“In the finals, it will take all seven games and a career performance from Conn Smyth Trophy winner Daniel Sedin for the Vancouver Canucks to defeat the Boston Bruins in front of an ecstatic crowd at Rogers Arena,” EA Sports said in a release on its playoff predictions last October.
Littman said the EA team will be running the sim again on Monday to get an up-to-date prediction for the final round between Vancouver and Boston. But for now, he’s hopeful that the sim’s October prediction holds true,” he said.
“I have a feeling the Canucks will still win, to be honest. But anything can happen. I think this thing (the sim) knows best ... better than I do, anyways.”
Whatever team the sim selects on Monday, the EA staff in Burnaby will be sporting their Canucks jerseys and cheering on the home team.
“There are no bigger Canucks fans than the guys that work on this game,” Littman said. “On game day, it’s all Canucks fans here.”</p>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <a href="http://www.theprovince.com/health/Video+game+simulator+roll+with+Bruins+Canucks+predicted+take/4853804/story.html" target="_blank">Source</a>
The game that predicted last spring’s Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory has called for the same team to be knocked out of the first round of the playoffs this year. While at the same time the Vancouver Canucks look to dominate the season and leave all teams in their wake en route to their first Stanley Cup victory since they were named the Millionaires back in 1915.
Today EA SPORTS released the Official NHL 11 Simulation as the regular season kicks-off tomorrow and teams begin the 82-game journey down the long road to the Stanley Cup. According to the sim, the defending champs will finish fifth and be knocked out in the first round by the ever improving LA Kings, led by eventual James Norris Memorial Trophy winner Drew Doughty in a series that would go seven games. The Kings will advance to the Conference Finals after beating the Sharks who got past the Coyotes in the Quarters.
The Canucks, who will capture the President’s Trophy with 50+ wins on a 109-point season, will cruise through the first round with a 4-1 series win over the Flames before turning away the Blues for the second time in three years in a seven game set. They will then advance to the Stanley Cup Finals after defeating the LA Kings 4-2 knocking them out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
In the East the Sabres, behind Vezina Trophy winner Ryan Miller, will send the Devils packing with one of two sweeps in the simulation. In the other sweep, the Capitals led by Maurice Richard Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin (57 G) will douse the Lightning in the opening round of the playoffs. The Caps will continue their run to the Conference Finals by defeating Sabres in six.
Goaltending would continue to be a key element in the East with the William M Jennings Trophy winners Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas combining for Boston victories in the first round to defeat the Flyers who, like the ‘hawks, will lose in a tight seven-game tilt against the Bruins. After being on the wrong end of the greatest playoff comeback last year, the Bruins will improve on last year’s showing by advancing to the Conference finals with a series victory over the Penguins despite efforts from Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Sidney Crosby. Eventually, it would take a seven game set against the Caps to knock off #1 seed and advance to the Stanley Cup Championship Finals for the first time since 1990 to go to battle against the Vancouver Canucks.
In the finals, it will take all seven games and a career performance from Conn Smythe Trophy winner Daniel Sedin for the Vancouver Canucks to defeat the Boston Bruins in front of an ecstatic crowd at Rogers Arena.
Here are the stats from the official simulation:
Final 2010-2011 Standings (W-L-OTL-PTS)
Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks - 51-24-7-109
San Jose Sharks 45-28-9-99
Detroit Red Wings 44-32-6-94
Los Angeles Kings 46-33-3-95
Chicago Blackhawks 38-31-13-89
St. Louis Blues 42-36-4-88
Phoenix Coyotes 41-37-4-86
Calgary Flames 39-35-8-86
Nashville Predators 38-34-10-86
Dallas Stars 40-37-5-85
Colorado Avalanche 38-37-7-83
Edmonton Oilers 36-35-11-83
Anaheim Ducks 39-39-4-82
Columbus Blue Jackets 35-35-12-82
Minnesota Wild 33-42-7-73
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals 51-27-4-106
Pittsburgh Penguins 47-27-8-103
Boston Bruins 45-32-5-97
New Jersey Devils 49-28-5-102
Buffalo Sabres 47-32-3-95
Philadelphia Flyers 43-31-8-94
Carolina Hurricanes 44-33-5-93
Tampa Bay Lightning 45-35-2-92
Ottawa Senators 39-32-11-89
Montreal Canadiens 37-30-15-89
Toronto Maple Leafs 41-36-5-87
New York Rangers 38-37-7-83
New York Islanders 36-38-8-80
Atlanta Thrashers 31-38-13-75
Florida Panthers 32-44-6-70
Leading Scorers (G-A-PTS)
sim15
1 Sidney Crosby 56-51-107
2 Nicklas Backstrom 35-60-95
3 Alexander Ovechkin 57-37-94
4 Joe Thornton 28-64-92
5 Henrik Sedin 22-67-89
6 Evgeni Malkin 26-59-85
7 Daniel Sedin 35-50-85
8 Anze Kopitar 32-52-84
9 Steven Stamkos 40-44-84
10 Ilya Kovalchuk 44-39-83
11 Pavel Datsyuk 33-49-82
12 Patrick Kane 37-45-82
13 Dany Heatley 31-50-81
14 Zach Parise 28-53-81
15 Ryan Getzlaf 33-48-81
16 Martin St Loius 28-52-80
17 Henrik Zetterberg 35-45-80
18 Alexander Semin 26-52-78
19 Paul Stastny 36-42-78
20 Marian Gaborik 41-36-77
21 Corey Perry 37-40-77
22 Eric Staal 33-44-77
23 Jonathan Toews 31-46-77
24 Mike Green 28-48-76
25 Vincent Lecavalier 29-46-75
26 Ryan Kesler 37-38-75
27 Mike Richards 28-46-74
28 Brad Richards 26-48-74
29 John Tavares 28-46-74
30 Jason Spezza 36-38-74
2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs
sim5
Stanley Cup Championship: Vancouver Canucks def Boston Bruins 4-3
Western Conference Quarter Finals
Vancouver Canucks def Calgary Flames 4-1
San Jose Sharks def Phoenix Coyotes 4-3
St. Louis Blues def Detroit Red Wings 4-2 (upset)
Los Angeles Kings def Chicago Blackhawks 4-3
Western Conference Semi Finals
Vancouver Canucks def St Louis Blues 4-3
LA Kings def San Jose Sharks 4-2
Western Conference Final
Vancouver Canucks def LA Kings 4-2
Eastern Conference Quarter Finals
Washington Captitals def Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0
Pittsburgh Penguins def Carolina Hurricanes 4-2
Boston Bruins def Philadelphia Flyers 4-3
Buffalo Sabres def New Jersey Devils 4-0
Eastern Conference Semi Finals
Washington Capitals def Buffalo Sabres 4-2
Boston Bruins def Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2
Eastern Conference Final
Boston Bruins def Washington Capitals 4-3
Award Winners
Stanley Cup - Vancouver Canucks
President’s Trophy - Vancouver Canucks
Clarence S Campbell Bowl - Vancouver Canucks
Prince of Wales Trophy - Boston Bruins
Art Ross Trophy - Sidney Crosby
Hart Memorial Trophy - Sidney Crosby
James Norris Memorial Trophy - Drew Doughty
Lady Byng Trophy - Martin St. Louis
Calder Memorial Trophy - PK Subban
Conn Smythe Trophy - Daniel Sedin
Vezina Trophy - Ryan Miller
William M. Jennings Trophy - Boston Bruins - Tuukka Rask/Tim Thomas
Frank J. Selke Trophy - Pavel Datsyuk
Ted Lindsay Award - Sidney Crosby
Maurice Richard Trophy - Alexander Ovechkin
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <a href="http://www.easports.com/blogs/inthecrease/post/slug/ea-sports-nhl-11-predicts-the-vancouver-canucks-to-end-their-stanley-cup-drought" target="_blank">Source</a>
Today EA SPORTS released the Official NHL 11 Simulation as the regular season kicks-off tomorrow and teams begin the 82-game journey down the long road to the Stanley Cup. According to the sim, the defending champs will finish fifth and be knocked out in the first round by the ever improving LA Kings, led by eventual James Norris Memorial Trophy winner Drew Doughty in a series that would go seven games. The Kings will advance to the Conference Finals after beating the Sharks who got past the Coyotes in the Quarters.
The Canucks, who will capture the President’s Trophy with 50+ wins on a 109-point season, will cruise through the first round with a 4-1 series win over the Flames before turning away the Blues for the second time in three years in a seven game set. They will then advance to the Stanley Cup Finals after defeating the LA Kings 4-2 knocking them out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
In the East the Sabres, behind Vezina Trophy winner Ryan Miller, will send the Devils packing with one of two sweeps in the simulation. In the other sweep, the Capitals led by Maurice Richard Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin (57 G) will douse the Lightning in the opening round of the playoffs. The Caps will continue their run to the Conference Finals by defeating Sabres in six.
Goaltending would continue to be a key element in the East with the William M Jennings Trophy winners Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas combining for Boston victories in the first round to defeat the Flyers who, like the ‘hawks, will lose in a tight seven-game tilt against the Bruins. After being on the wrong end of the greatest playoff comeback last year, the Bruins will improve on last year’s showing by advancing to the Conference finals with a series victory over the Penguins despite efforts from Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Sidney Crosby. Eventually, it would take a seven game set against the Caps to knock off #1 seed and advance to the Stanley Cup Championship Finals for the first time since 1990 to go to battle against the Vancouver Canucks.
In the finals, it will take all seven games and a career performance from Conn Smythe Trophy winner Daniel Sedin for the Vancouver Canucks to defeat the Boston Bruins in front of an ecstatic crowd at Rogers Arena.
Here are the stats from the official simulation:
Final 2010-2011 Standings (W-L-OTL-PTS)
Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks - 51-24-7-109
San Jose Sharks 45-28-9-99
Detroit Red Wings 44-32-6-94
Los Angeles Kings 46-33-3-95
Chicago Blackhawks 38-31-13-89
St. Louis Blues 42-36-4-88
Phoenix Coyotes 41-37-4-86
Calgary Flames 39-35-8-86
Nashville Predators 38-34-10-86
Dallas Stars 40-37-5-85
Colorado Avalanche 38-37-7-83
Edmonton Oilers 36-35-11-83
Anaheim Ducks 39-39-4-82
Columbus Blue Jackets 35-35-12-82
Minnesota Wild 33-42-7-73
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals 51-27-4-106
Pittsburgh Penguins 47-27-8-103
Boston Bruins 45-32-5-97
New Jersey Devils 49-28-5-102
Buffalo Sabres 47-32-3-95
Philadelphia Flyers 43-31-8-94
Carolina Hurricanes 44-33-5-93
Tampa Bay Lightning 45-35-2-92
Ottawa Senators 39-32-11-89
Montreal Canadiens 37-30-15-89
Toronto Maple Leafs 41-36-5-87
New York Rangers 38-37-7-83
New York Islanders 36-38-8-80
Atlanta Thrashers 31-38-13-75
Florida Panthers 32-44-6-70
Leading Scorers (G-A-PTS)
sim15
1 Sidney Crosby 56-51-107
2 Nicklas Backstrom 35-60-95
3 Alexander Ovechkin 57-37-94
4 Joe Thornton 28-64-92
5 Henrik Sedin 22-67-89
6 Evgeni Malkin 26-59-85
7 Daniel Sedin 35-50-85
8 Anze Kopitar 32-52-84
9 Steven Stamkos 40-44-84
10 Ilya Kovalchuk 44-39-83
11 Pavel Datsyuk 33-49-82
12 Patrick Kane 37-45-82
13 Dany Heatley 31-50-81
14 Zach Parise 28-53-81
15 Ryan Getzlaf 33-48-81
16 Martin St Loius 28-52-80
17 Henrik Zetterberg 35-45-80
18 Alexander Semin 26-52-78
19 Paul Stastny 36-42-78
20 Marian Gaborik 41-36-77
21 Corey Perry 37-40-77
22 Eric Staal 33-44-77
23 Jonathan Toews 31-46-77
24 Mike Green 28-48-76
25 Vincent Lecavalier 29-46-75
26 Ryan Kesler 37-38-75
27 Mike Richards 28-46-74
28 Brad Richards 26-48-74
29 John Tavares 28-46-74
30 Jason Spezza 36-38-74
2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs
sim5
Stanley Cup Championship: Vancouver Canucks def Boston Bruins 4-3
Western Conference Quarter Finals
Vancouver Canucks def Calgary Flames 4-1
San Jose Sharks def Phoenix Coyotes 4-3
St. Louis Blues def Detroit Red Wings 4-2 (upset)
Los Angeles Kings def Chicago Blackhawks 4-3
Western Conference Semi Finals
Vancouver Canucks def St Louis Blues 4-3
LA Kings def San Jose Sharks 4-2
Western Conference Final
Vancouver Canucks def LA Kings 4-2
Eastern Conference Quarter Finals
Washington Captitals def Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0
Pittsburgh Penguins def Carolina Hurricanes 4-2
Boston Bruins def Philadelphia Flyers 4-3
Buffalo Sabres def New Jersey Devils 4-0
Eastern Conference Semi Finals
Washington Capitals def Buffalo Sabres 4-2
Boston Bruins def Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2
Eastern Conference Final
Boston Bruins def Washington Capitals 4-3
Award Winners
Stanley Cup - Vancouver Canucks
President’s Trophy - Vancouver Canucks
Clarence S Campbell Bowl - Vancouver Canucks
Prince of Wales Trophy - Boston Bruins
Art Ross Trophy - Sidney Crosby
Hart Memorial Trophy - Sidney Crosby
James Norris Memorial Trophy - Drew Doughty
Lady Byng Trophy - Martin St. Louis
Calder Memorial Trophy - PK Subban
Conn Smythe Trophy - Daniel Sedin
Vezina Trophy - Ryan Miller
William M. Jennings Trophy - Boston Bruins - Tuukka Rask/Tim Thomas
Frank J. Selke Trophy - Pavel Datsyuk
Ted Lindsay Award - Sidney Crosby
Maurice Richard Trophy - Alexander Ovechkin
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <a href="http://www.easports.com/blogs/inthecrease/post/slug/ea-sports-nhl-11-predicts-the-vancouver-canucks-to-end-their-stanley-cup-drought" target="_blank">Source</a>
I don't think anyone could have said that Vancouver wasn't going to make the finals and seriously believe themselves with the season they had this year. I'm not a Canucks fan(they actually eliminated my team this year, which I had full expectaions of them doing and would have been shocked if they didn't) , but I am a Hockey fan and Vancouver had an amazing year. Sucks for Manny Malhotra though, although his surgeries were successful, I cant help but wonder if his vision will have any effect on the rest of his career. Oh....and this <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2011-05-28-3389295619_x.htm" target="_blank">Malhotra cleared for Stanley Cup finals</a>
