This story appears in ESPN The Magazines October 17 Great Debates Issue. Subscribe today!LOOKING FOR A Stanley Cup winner? Start with the regular season. For that we turn to Hockey Prospectus VUKOTA, a system that uses past performance to project a teams goal differential. Barry Melrose and I faced off on the predictions -- and give our Cup picks.EASTERN CONFERENCEAtlantic DivisionMATTHEW COLLER:?The Lightning would have seen a dip in their ranking if they had lost superstar Steven Stamkos; instead they bring back all the key players on a roster that was one win from the Stanley Cup finals. This is their time to finally break through. The Panthers should also improve their possession statistics and take some pressure off 2014 No. 1 pick Aaron Ekblad. But VUKOTA throws one big curveball in the Atlantic: Ottawa. Most see the Senators at the back of the field, but the numbers hint that they could be a breakout team with the addition of center Derick Brassard and key young players such as Curtis Lazar and Cody Ceci starting to come into their prime.BARRY MELROSE:?I just think Tampa Bay is great. If Steven Stamkos stays healthy, youve also got Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman -- and the defense is great. The Lightning will score goals. And theyve got two strong goaltenders. This is the year theyll win it.Metropolitan DivisionMATTHEW COLLER: Alex Ovechkin still wants to raise the Cup, and Sidney Crosby just won his second title. The consensus on Columbus is that itll be at the bottom of the league, but the projections tell another story. If the Jackets get the Vezina Trophy version of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, we could see them in the mix for a playoff spot. The Devils got much-deserved praise for making the best trade of the offseason -- dealing young defenseman Adam Larsson to the Oilers for LW Taylor Hall, the 2010 No.?1. But they didnt plug the hole left on D or improve the rest of the roster enough to seriously contend.BARRY MELROSE: Washington has a high talent level. In the regular season, the Caps have always been very, very strong. I dont see any reason for them to fall off. Their star players are still at that age where theyre in their prime.WESTERN CONFERENCECentral DivisionMATTHEW COLLER:?Winnipeg has a great chance to go from last in the Central to one of the best teams in the league. Not only will the goaltending be improved with Connor Hellebuyck getting a a chance to step up, but the Jets also have an outstanding group of rising players and prospects wholl make an impact, including No.?2 pick Patrik Laine, a right winger. Its possible the Predators would have been No. 1 with better goaltending. The projections leave little doubt: The Central is the most competitive division in the league, with only three points separating top from bottom.BARRY MELROSE: I like Winnipeg. Ive been raving about the Jets players. Mark Scheifele is awesome; this Patrik Laine kid is fantastic. Youve got Blake Wheeler. The defense is solid with Dustin Byfuglien. Connor Hellebuyck looks like hes a pretty good goaltender.Pacific DivisionMATTHEW COLLER:?The Sharks are still the best team, barring a major drop-off from veterans like Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. After them, its a toss-up. Anaheim looks vulnerable due to a combination of aging stars and questionable forward depth. Edmonton is a team on the rise but maybe a season away, as Connor McDavid could become the best player in the league. A coaching change should help Calgary maximize its young skill players talents. The Coyotes probably arent ready to run with the best teams in the division, but the numbers hint that they could be in the mix. As for Vancouver? The Canucks are in desperate need of a rebuild.BARRY MELROSE: Id put the Ducks ahead of Calgary. Corey Perry is fantastic. Sami Vatanen has been very good. Ryan Kesler is still a pretty good player. Are they getting older? Yeah. But I still think they are one of the top three teams in that division.*Projected wild card berth Air Max 95 Wholesale Uk . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Air Max 95 Uk Sale . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. http://www.airmax95uk.com/ . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Air Max 95 Cheap Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Nike Air Max 95 Outlet Uk .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. SEPANG, Malaysia -- Nico Rosberg beat Lewis Hamilton to the fastest time by 0.494s during first practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix in a session interrupted by a fire on Kevin Magnussens Renault.The Mercedes drivers were closely matched earlier in the session but on his sixth lap on a set of soft tyres, Rosberg extended his advantage by over 0.5s. Hamilton improved using the slower medium tyre, but did not hook up all his best sectors on one lap and ended up 0.494s shy of his teammate. However, a long run on the medium tyres looked particularly impressive, suggesting Hamilton has yet to show his true pace over one lap.Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest in the Ferrari, a further 0.594s off Hamilton and just 0.016s ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel. Last years race winner complained of vibrations when he set his time on a set of soft tyres early in the session and later returned to the pits to rectify the issue, before completing another seven laps on the same set of tyres.Fernando Alonso was fifth fastest as he debuted Hondas latest power unit upgrade in the back of the McLaren. He will revert to the old-spec engine for qualifying and the race, but will take some satisfaction from being just 0.179s off Vettels Ferrari using the same tyre compound.Daniel Ricciardo was sixth fastest but set his best time on used hard tyres after Red Bull opted not to compplete a time on the softs.dddddddddddd Max Verstappen was 0.220s off Ricciardo despite using the faster medium tyres, but it is unlikely Red Bull showed anything approaching its true pace during the session.The Force Indias of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez were eighth and ninth fastest after they also steered clear of the soft tyres and focused entirely on longer runs using the mediums and hards. Jenson Button, whose McLaren is not equipped with the updated Honda, was tenth fastest after sticking exclusively to the mediums throughout the session.Outside the top ten, only Felipe Nasr set his fastest time on the soft tyres, with the rest clocking their best effort on the mediums. Williams stayed true to its usual Friday form of being well off the pace, with Felipe Massa down in 18th.The fire on Magnussens car occurred as he returned to the pits after just his second lap. The airbox became engulfed in flames as mechanics started to push the car back into the garage, forcing Magnussen to leap from the cockpit as the rest of Renaults pit crew moved in to extinguish the fire. The car had to be drained of fuel before the fire could be brought under control, resulting in the session being suspended for 15 minutes under red flags. ' ' '