EA SPORTS NHL 09 Predicts Boston Bruins will Win the Stanley Cup

April 13, 2009 - The Boston Bruins will win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 37 years, defeating original six rival Chicago Blackhawks in a six game series, according to the official EA SPORTS simulation of the 2009 NHL playoffs on the award-winning NHL 09 videogame.

Boston, led by shutdown defenseman Zdeno Chara, outmuscled the Blackhawks and received timely scoring from Conn Smythe Trophy winner Phil Kessel to capture its sixth Stanley Cup, and first since 1972. Kessel, playing on the Bruins top line with playoff leading scorer Marc Savard, delivered two overtime game-winners during the Finals. He finished with 14 goals in the playoffs, including five in the Finals.

The EA SPORTS simulation predicts Boston and Chicago will appear in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 17 and 15 years, respectively. Boston last appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1990, losing 4 games to 1 to the Edmonton Oilers. Chicago lost in four straight games to Pittsburgh in the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.

2009 Stanley Cup Finals

Game 1 - Boston 4 Chicago 2
Game 2 - Boston 3 Chicago 2 OT
Game 3 - Chicago 3 Boston 1
Game 4 - Boston 4 Chicago 3 OT
Game 5 - Chicago 4 Boston 3
Game 6 - Boston 5 Chicago 3

Boston reached the Stanley Cup Finals with 4-2 series wins over Montreal, and Carolina, and a thrilling seven games series victory over the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Finals, according to NHL 09. Chicago, making its first playoff appearance since 2001-02, upset President's Trophy winner and top seed San Jose in seven games in the Western Conference Finals after series wins over Calgary (4-2) and Vancouver (4-2).

The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings were upset by Columbus Blue Jackets, who were making their first playoff appearance, in a seven game first round series.

The NHL 09 computerized simulation is conducted using artificial intelligence that uses real-life data from each team, such as player ratings and line combinations, and includes variances such as injuries and hot streaks to predict a realistic outcome of each game and series.

EA SPORTS NHL 09 has won 12 Sports Game of the Year awards and is the highest rated* sports game on Xbox 360. Feel what it's like to be an NHL superstar in Be A Pro mode. Create yourself in game, choose your position, insert yourself onto the roster of your favorite team and then lead them to the Stanley Cup in NHL 09.

Assets:

B-roll footage of the EA SPORTS Stanley Cup Final playoff simulation between Boston and Chicago is available by contacting Steve Frost. Screen shots of the playoff simulation are available at info.ea.com.

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 1 - Boston 3 Washington 2 OT
Game 2 - Boston 4 Washington 3
Game 3 - Washington 4 Boston 1
Game 4 - Washington 4 Boston 2
Game 5 - Boston 2 Washington 1
Game 6 - Washington 4 Boston 3 OT
Game 7 - Boston 3 Washington 2

Western Conference Finals

Game 1 - Chicago 5 San Jose 4
Game 2 - San Jose 5 Chicago 3
Game 3 - Chicago 4 San Jose 3 OT
Game 4 - San Jose 3 Chicago 1
Game 5 - San Jose 4 Chicago 3
Game 6 - Chicago 4 San Jose 2
Game 7 - Chicago 4 San Jose 3

Eastern Conference
Round 1
(1) Boston defeats (8) Montreal , 4-2
(2) Washington defeats (7) NY Rangers, 4-2
(4) Pittsburgh defeats (5) Philadelphia, 4-3
(6) Carolina defeats (3) New Jersey, 4-2

Round 2
(1) Boston defeats (6) Carolina, 4-2
(2) Washington defeats (4) Pittsburgh, 4-3

Eastern Conference Finals
(1) Boston defeats (2) Washington, 4-3

Western Conference

Round 1
(1) San Jose defeats (8) Anaheim, 4-2
(3) Vancouver defeats (6) St. Louis, 4-2
(4) Chicago defeats (5) Calgary, 4-2
(7) Columbus defeats (2) Detroit, 4-3

Round 2
(1) San Jose defeats (7) Columbus, 4-1
(4) Chicago defeats (3) Vancouver, 4-2

Western Conference Finals
(4) Chicago defeats (1) San Jose, 4-3

Stanley Cup Finals
Boston defeats Chicago, 4-2

Playoff Scoring Leaders

Player                         GP       G          A          PTS
Marc Savard               25        8          19        27
Alexander Ovechkin    20        15        11        26
Patrick Kane                25        10        14        24
Phil Kessel                   25        14        9          23
Joe Thornton               19        7          15        22
Patrick Marleau          19        10        11        21
Jonathan Toews          25        10        11        21
Alexander Semin         20        9          12        21
David Krejci                 25        6          14        20
Martin Havlat             25        12        8          20
Nicklas Backstrom      20        6          14        20

*according to metacritic.com