EASTERN CONFERENCE
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers
Series Schedule on ESPN:
Game 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY – Wednesday, June 1 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET
Game 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY – Friday, June 3 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET
Game 3 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL – Sunday, June 5 at 12:00 PT/3:00 ET
Game 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL – Tuesday, June 7 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET
Game 5 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY – Thursday, June 9 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET*
Game 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL – Saturday, June 11 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET*
Game 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY – Tuesday, June 14 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET*
*if necessary
The Lightning made quick work of the President’s trophy-winning Florida Panthers in four games after riding the momentum of that first-round game 6 overtime winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Much to the dismay of my blood pressure, the Rangers ground it out against the Hurricanes in seven games. The Hurricanes had to rely on their second-string goalie, former Ranger Antti Raanta after the April 16 injury to Fredrik Andersen. Kris Kreider and the Rangers now have their toughest challenge yet in the form of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Rangers could benefit from having the ever-important home-ice advantage in this series after only losing one home game in the playoffs thus far; that loss being the crushing triple-overtime defeat in game 1 of the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers also won all three of their regular-season matchups against the Lightning. However, it will not be easy due to the offensive prowess and defensive wall of the Tampa Bay Lightning. This has the potential to be an epic series with an all-time goalie matchup between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin. I will repeat myself here yet again on this one, it’s Igor’s time.
Prediction: Rangers win in 7 games
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton Oilers vs Colorado Avalanche
Series Schedule on TNT:
Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver, CO – Tuesday, May 31 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET
Game 2 at Ball Arena in Denver, CO – Thursday, June 2 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET
Game 3 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta – Saturday, June 4 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET
Game 4 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta – Monday, June 6 at 5:00 PT/8:00 ET
Game 5 at Ball Arena in Denver, CO – Wednesday, June 8 at TBD*
Game 6 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta – Friday, June 10 at TBD*
Game 7 at Ball Arena in Denver, CO – Sunday, June 12 at TBD*
*if necessary
The Edmonton Oilers continued their trend of being a drastically different team under head coach Jay Woodcraft by dominating the battle of Alberta in the second round against the Calgary Flames. Despite some heavy scoring outings, the Flames just did not have an answer for Conor McDavid, or as some refer to him as; ‘Conor McJesus’. Despite running into some trouble late in game 5, the Avalanche proved to still be the team to beat in the Western Conference after taking care of the St. Louis Blues in six games. Now it is the battle of Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl against the scoring depth of the Avalanche led by Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog. The goaltending matchup is also an even one between the Avalanche’s Darcy Kuemper and the Oilers’ Mike Smith. Much like the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Oilers will be the toughest postseason test yet for the Colorado Avalanche. I could see this one going the distance as well, but I still believe the Avalanche are the team to beat this year and I think the numbers slightly favor them in this series.
Prediction: Avalanche win in 6 games
Check back here in a couple of weeks when I will preview the Stanley Cup finals.
Make sure to check out our new series, Playoff Beards where Adelia Chamberlain and myself break down each series of the second round and give our thoughts on the Stanley Cup playoffs so far. The second episode will be dropping later this week on the Let’s Get Ready Network podcast feed. Full video will also be available to Patrons, and you can become a Patron by clicking here.
