Picking an NHL team, part 1

So, I'm seriously trying to do this now.
I need to find a team to follow.

Of course, this is a bit harder than the NBA (team in the state), MLB (Roberto Clemente's legacy drove me to the Pirates and I was immersed before realizing the mess that was the ownership) and the NFL (they took a Utah guy, that was enough for me at the time).

Like the Panthers, I again would like to follow a relatively new team in the (less catching up on the history to do). But it's not a must.
I'm going to avoid LA, the 2 NYC teams, and Dallas just because I am.
And Detroit too, because I've seen them compared to the Yankees. I hate the Yankees.
And Boston, because I'm sick of the city. Their NFL team wins because they cheat, the NBA team traded a bunch of nobodies for 2 stars... and the NBA approved (almost as bad as the Pau Gasol to the Lakers trade).

But whatever. We're going to pretend that I didn't say any of the italicized stuff, just to make it easier.

I then looked at the final results of all 30 teams over the past 3 seasons (for example, the Red Wings finished 1st in the Central Division all 3 years, and maid the playoffs all 3 years). I didn't look into Stanley Cup wins at the time, but now I have and can say that they were Detroit (this year), Anaheim (last year) & Carolina (2 years back).

Then, just for fun, I looked at when each team entered the league. The newest teams are the Minnesota Wild & the Columbus Blue Jackets. Not far behind are the Atlanta Thrashers & the Nashville Predators. The San Jose Sharks came around in 1991 (just FYI).

Then I isolated the teams (by name) into 3 groups (which ended up, without planning, at 10 each)... with the help of Wikipedia. And I ranked them (1 through 10) based on their record of the recently completed season (regular season only... no impact from the playoffs). Tie breakers were broken by goals scored v. goals allowed differential. The better the differential (in your favor), the higher you were ranked.

Group #1

1. Canadiens
2. Rangers
3. Flyers
4. Senators
5. Blackhawks
6. Canucks
7. Oilers
8. Blue Jackets
9. Islanders
10. Kings

Group #2

1. Sharks
2. Penguins
3. Ducks
4. Devils
5. Bruins
6. Predators
7. Sabres
8. Panthers
9. Coyotes
10. Thrashers

Group #3

1. Red Wings
2. Wild
3. Stars
4. Avalanche
5. Capitals
6. Flames
7. Hurricanes
8. Maple Leafs
9. Blues
10. Lightning

And finally, I put them in brackets (kinda like the March Madness ones). Each of the 3 groups has 2 "play-in games" (7 v. 10, 8 v. 9). The higher seed of the 2 winners "plays" the #2 seed, while the lower one "plays" the #1 seed. I don't know how exactly I'll pick the winner of each "game"... I'm still working on that.

At the end of all the "games", I'll have 3 teams left (1 winner from each group). I will then pick 1 other team (not sure how), and have the Final Four of it. And at the end, hopefully I'll have a team to root for.

So, the 7 v. 10 & 8 v. 9 games...
Group 1: Oilers v. Kings, Blue Jackets v. Islanders
Group 2: Sabres v. Thrashers, Panthers v. Coyotes
Group 3: Hurricanes v. Lightning, Maple Leafs v. Blues

Group 1 will be easy to decide... LA (Kings) & NY (Islanders) are both out because of the above-mentioned italicized stuff. The other 2 are a bit harder. (In fact, the Oilers will keep going, because their next "game" is versus the other NY team... the Rangers, so that's another easy win.)

I actually might end up passing on the Canada teams too, simply because I live in America and it'd be a bit harder to follow them as closely (even with the internet). Not sure though... I wouldn't mind too much. Not like I'll be able to see much hockey before the Stanley Cup Finals anyways.

So... Sabres or Thrashers?
Panthers or Coyotes?
Hurricanes or Lightning?
Maple Leafs or Blues?

Who should "win" in each of the 4 remaining play-in match-ups?
Source