What happens if you load up EA Sports NHL 27, start a fresh season, and simply let the game decide everything?
That’s exactly what HockeyGamedayTV did.
No games were played manually. No playoff matchups were manipulated. No series were restarted. No results were changed.
The entire 2026-27 NHL season was allowed to play out through straight simulation, from the opening months of the regular season all the way through Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
And NHL 27 gave us one of the strangest possible hockey timelines.
Nathan MacKinnon scored 85 goals. The San Jose Sharks became a 103-point team. Edmonton finished first overall and then disappeared in the opening round. Sidney Crosby won the Selke Trophy.
And somehow, that still wasn’t the craziest part.
Edmonton Finishes No. 1 — But Montreal Is Right Behind
The regular season ended with the Edmonton Oilers sitting on top of the entire NHL with 112 points.
They finished just one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens.
Top eight teams in the NHL 27 simulation:
1. Edmonton Oilers — 112 points
2. Montreal Canadiens — 111
3. Tampa Bay Lightning — 108
4. Florida Panthers — 107
5. Colorado Avalanche — 105
6. Carolina Hurricanes — 104
7. New York Islanders — 104
8. San Jose Sharks — 103
Yes, you read that correctly.
The San Jose Sharks finished with 103 points.
Macklin Celebrini and company apparently accelerated the rebuild in a massive way, finishing ahead of several established contenders.
The division champions were Montreal in the Atlantic, Carolina in the Metropolitan, Colorado in the Central and Edmonton in the Pacific.
There were plenty of other surprises.
Chicago finished with 99 points, Seattle reached 100, while several big-name teams struggled.
Toronto finished with only 85 points. Ottawa had 81. Vegas also finished at 81, while Anaheim ended the season with 73 points.
Nathan MacKinnon Scores 85 Goals
This might be the single most ridiculous individual result from the entire simulation.
Nathan MacKinnon finished the season with:
85 goals
53 assists
138 points
410 shots
27 power-play goals
+33 rating
Eighty-five goals.
MacKinnon finished 22 goals ahead of David Pastrnak, who ranked second with 63.
The top goal scorers were:
Nathan MacKinnon — 85
David Pastrnak — 63
Leon Draisaitl — 61
Connor McDavid — 58
Kyle Connor — 56
Kirill Kaprizov — 54
But despite scoring 85 times, MacKinnon barely won the scoring title.
Leon Draisaitl finished with 137 points, only one behind MacKinnon.
Connor McDavid wasn’t far behind either, producing 133 points in 81 games.
Martin Necas recorded 114 points, Mikko Rantanen had 111 and Pastrnak finished at 109.
Not a bad year for offence.
Montreal Gets a Surprise Superstar in Goal
One of the biggest stories of the simulation came in Montreal.
Jakub Dobeš suddenly became one of the best goaltenders in hockey.
His numbers:
46 wins
.922 save percentage
2.42 goals-against average
3 shutouts
Those 46 victories led the NHL.
Brandon Bussi finished second with 44 wins and led the league with seven shutouts.
Dobeš’ performance helped push Montreal all the way to 111 points, making the Canadiens the best team in the Eastern Conference.
And his season was eventually rewarded with something even bigger.
The Vezina Trophy.
Then the Playoffs Went Completely Off the Rails
If the regular season results were surprising, the playoffs were even better.
Edmonton entered as the best team in the entire league.
They were gone almost immediately.
Western Conference First Round
Dallas defeated Minnesota 4-1.
Colorado eliminated Chicago 4-2.
San Jose beat Seattle 4-1.
And Winnipeg stunned Edmonton 4-2.
The 112-point Oilers were eliminated in the first round.
So much for home-ice advantage.
Montreal Makes It Through Round One
In the East, Washington knocked out the Islanders in seven games.
Carolina beat Boston 4-1.
Tampa Bay defeated Florida 4-2.
Montreal eliminated Columbus 4-2.
That set up a second round featuring some extremely interesting matchups.
Colorado survived Dallas in seven.
Winnipeg eliminated San Jose 4-2.
Washington absolutely demolished Carolina with a four-game sweep.
And Tampa Bay ended Montreal’s season in six games.
The 111-point Canadiens were done.
Washington Goes on a Ridiculous Run
Washington’s postseason became one of the strangest parts of the entire simulation.
After beating the Islanders in seven games, the Capitals swept Carolina.
Then they did it again.
Washington swept the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Final.
That meant the Capitals entered the Stanley Cup Final having won eight consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Colorado defeated Winnipeg 4-1 in the Western Conference Final.
The matchup was set:
Colorado Avalanche vs. Washington Capitals
And NHL 27 gave us a classic.
The series moved to 1-0.
Then 1-1.
Then 2-1.
Then 2-2.
Then 3-2.
Then 3-3.
Everything came down to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Colorado won.
The Avalanche were crowned the 2027 Stanley Cup champions.
The NHL 27 Award Winners
The end-of-season awards produced just as many interesting results.
Stanley Cup
Colorado Avalanche
Hart Memorial Trophy
Leon Draisaitl
Interestingly, MacKinnon had 138 points and 85 goals, but Draisaitl received the league MVP award.
Art Ross Trophy
Nathan MacKinnon
Maurice Richard Trophy
Nathan MacKinnon
That makes sense when you score 85.
Ted Lindsay Award
Leon Draisaitl
Frank J. Selke Trophy
Sidney Crosby
This might be one of the most interesting predictions in the entire simulation.
Crosby winning his first Selke this late in his career would make for quite a story.
Jack Adams Award
Lane Lambert
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Filip Hronek
Vezina Trophy
Jakub Dobeš
After his 46-win season, NHL 27 crowned Montreal’s goalie as the league’s best.
Conn Smythe Trophy
Nathan MacKinnon
MacKinnon followed his ridiculous regular season by helping Colorado win the Stanley Cup and earning playoff MVP honours.
Calder Memorial Trophy
Porter Martone
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Nathan MacKinnon
So MacKinnon’s simulated season ended with the Art Ross, Rocket Richard, Lady Byng, Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup.
Not bad.
NHL 27 Basically Created Hockey Chaos
There’s obviously no reason to treat a video-game simulation as an actual prediction.
But that’s what makes this so entertaining.
NHL 27 gave us a world where:
Nathan MacKinnon scores 85 goals.
San Jose finishes with 103 points.
Montreal becomes the second-best regular-season team in hockey.
Jakub Dobeš wins the Vezina.
Sidney Crosby wins the Selke.
Edmonton finishes first overall and loses in Round One.
Washington sweeps two consecutive playoff rounds.
And after all of it, Colorado survives a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final to win another championship.
Again, nothing in this simulation was manipulated by HockeyGamedayTV. Every result came directly from NHL 27’s simulation engine.
Now comes the fun part.
Which result from this simulation could you actually see happening in 2026-27 — and which one has absolutely no chance?
