The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tonight after a full season of hockey that had more than a few COVID scares, records broken, and new contenders emerging. This is the most exciting time as a hockey fan. Crazy things happen in the playoffs and it can be nearly impossible to predict the outcomes, but I will do my best to pick the winners in each series.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 1 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario – Monday, May 2 at 4:30 PT/7:30 ET on ESPN2
It can’t be very fun being a Leafs fan over the last several decades as they have not won a Stanley Cup since the original six era in 1967. They haven’t even made it out of the first round of the playoffs since 2004. This year, they do not have it any easier as they are facing Andrei Vasilevsky and the defending Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning has not had many personnel changes and is nearly the same team as last year. However, the Maple Leafs have the leading goal scorer in the league in Auston Matthews who has had a historic season, scoring 60 goals alongside winger Mitch Marner and backed by solid goaltending in Jack Campbell. This is going to be a tough hard-fought series, but can Toronto’s troubled playoff history change course? This may be the year.
Prediction: Leafs win in 7 games
Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes
Game 1 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina – Monday, May 2 at 4:00 PT/7:00 ET on ESPN
The Carolina Hurricanes looked like the best team in the Metropolitan Division all season, but have had recent setbacks losing goaltender Frederik Andersen to injury. The Boston Bruins are a team with significant playoff experience on their current roster and can never be counted out. How will the offensive power of Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov match up against the impressive defense led by Charlie McAvoy? This could be a really fun series to watch.
Prediction: Bruins win in 7 games
Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers
Game 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY – Tuesday, May 3 at 4:00 PT/7:00 ET on ESPN
As a Rangers fan, I am always terrified of having to face Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs, especially in the first round. However, this has been a historic season for the Blueshirts led by Kris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Artemi Panarin. This could very well be a series that comes down to goaltending. Tristan Jarry has been sidelined with a broken foot, thus Pittsburgh will have to rely on Casey DeSmith to go up against arguably the best goalie in the league in Igor Shesterkin. This is Igor’s time.
Prediction: Rangers win in 6 games
Washington Capitals vs Florida Panthers
Game 1 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, FL – Tuesday, May 3 at 4:30 PT/7:30 ET on ESPN2
The Washington Capitals had a scare on April 24 after future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin exited the game with an apparent shoulder injury. While the team appears hopeful that Ovechkin will return for the first round, they have a steep hill to climb facing off against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida Panthers. We’ll see how veteran goalie Sergei Bobrovsky does after his disappointing performance in last year’s playoffs, but the smart money here would be on the Panthers. Although, crazier things have happened in hockey.
Prediction: Panthers win in 5 games
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Minnesota Wild vs St. Louis Blues
Game 1 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN – Monday, May 2 at 6:30 PT/9:30 ET on ESPN
This could be the closest and most difficult matchup to predict in this year’s playoffs. Despite losing all three of their regular-season games against the St. Louis Blues, the Minnesota Wild could benefit from their impressive 31-8-2 home ice record. The Blues have not yet played at Xcel Energy Center this season after playing the winter classic in record-setting sub-zero temperatures at Target Field in January. The difference-maker could be the return of Brayden Shenn to the St. Louis lineup after missing the last four games of the regular season due to an upper-body injury. I will give the slight edge to the Blues in this series, but would not be surprised if the Wild pull it off.
Prediction: Blues win in 7 games
Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers
Game 1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta – Monday, May 2 at 7:00 PT/10:00 ET on ESPN2
After firing head coach Dave Tippett on February 10th, the Edmonton Oilers have since had significant success, posting an impressive 26-9-3 record under Jay Woodcroft. The Los Angeles Kings are coming out of a rebuild, but have done surprisingly well on defense after losing Drew Doughty to a season-ending injury with the rookie pairing of Sean Durzi and Jordan Spence. The numbers do favor the Oilers in this series, particularly on special teams. The offensive power of Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should be enough to propel the Oilers into the second round.
Prediction: Oilers win in 6 games
Nashville Predators vs Colorado Avalanche
Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver, CO – Tuesday May 3 at 6:30 PT/9:30 ET on ESPN
The Colorado Avalanche has had a rough go at it in the playoffs recently, losing in the second round in each of the last three seasons. However, they looked to be the team to beat in the Western Conference for much of the regular season led by a stacked roster including Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, and Gabriel Landeskog. The Avalanche also has one of the best goalies in the league in Darcy Kuemper. The Nashville Predators’ goalie Juuse Saros is questionable after suffering an apparent lower-body injury against the Calgary Flames last Tuesday. All signs point to a big advantage for the Avalanche in this series, but again, crazy stuff happens in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Prediction: Avalanche win in 5 games
Dallas Stars vs Calgary Flames
Game 1 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta – Tuesday, May 3 at 7:00 PT/10:00 ET on ESPN2
The Calgary Flames have lived up to their name this season, having one of the best top lines in the league in Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm, with each player scoring at least 40 goals. The Dallas Stars fought their way to make the playoffs, but have some offensive power in Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson. The Stars could shock the world if they are able to contain the Flames’ first line, but the easy money again here should be on the Flames.
Prediction: Flames win in 5 games
Check back here in a couple of weeks when I will preview the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
