Blogs and Other Things

For what it’s worth, while the playoffs have already started at the time of this releasing, I made my picks before they began.

(So if it looks like I’m cheating, I’m actually just extremely lucky)

(But I’ll probably be very wrong and you won’t even think twice)

Judge away!

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Eastern Conference

Toronto Maple Leafs (A1) vs Ottawa Senators (WC1)

The battle of…Ontario.

As a Leafs fan, it probably feels sheepish to ever say a year “feels different” given the hilarity of their recent playoff appearances, but this year, they may actually have a point. The team won their division for the first time since 2021, and in the team’s unprecedented consistent regular season success, you can tell that Craig Berube, their new coach, has made his mark.

As for the Senators, some fans expected the team to make the playoffs over the past few years as their rebuild began to take shape, but they’ve always come up short. This year, there were moments where history looked like it was going to repeat itself, but the team battled through various injuries and adversities, and big seasons from Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle helped get them back to the promised land.

Series: The Leafs are currently playing a different style of hockey under Berube, which could see them controlling the play less and looking to expose Ottawa in transition. However, if Ottawa manages to limit the Leafs’ rush chances, the Senators could tire the Leafs D with their forecheck, leading to sustained zone pressure (and eventually goals, if all goes to plan). Ultimately, this series will come down to goaltending and the performances of both teams’ stars.

Prediction: Leafs in 5

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Tampa Bay Lightning (A3) vs Florida Panthers (A2)

The battle of…Florida.

All signs are pointing towards Matthew Tkachuk being available for Game 1, which would be a big boost for Florida now that the salary cap is no longer in effect. It’s hilarious how teams consistently manage to circumvent the cap by overdramatizing a player’s injury just to bring them back in the playoffs, while using the extra cap space to add more players in-season.

Every year, without fail, this process is met with the same reaction: a plethora of backlash from fans and absolutely nothing from the league; thus, as long as this is the case, teams will never stop doing it, and situations like this will always be frowned upon.

That said, Tampa did the same thing when they won the Cup in 2021, so they wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on.

Speaking of the Lightning, Kucherov and Hagel had monster years, Guentzel is the perfect partner in crime and Point is still a top 10 centre in the league, so they could very well win this series from those four alone. That said, it will largely depend on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who, ever since the 2022 playoffs, has looked unimpressive as ever, while Sergei Bobrovsky is coming off a Cup run last year in which he came up large for the Panthers on their road to becoming champions.

Series: While I expect Florida to dictate most of the series, I still see its potential to go the distance. While the Panthers are a more complete team, both teams have Stanley Cup winners on their respective rosters; thus, both sides understand (and have experienced) what it takes to win.

So it’s all about who remembers it better.

Prediction: Panthers in 7

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Washington Capitals (M1) vs Montreal Canadiens (WC2)

The battle of…mid.

With my luck, now that I’ve said this, the Capitals will probably make the Conference Final.

But I really hope they don’t.

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t have anything against Washington; I just think their goaltending performances from early in the year made people think they were better than they are. For one, they lost 8 of their final 12 games, and while they were occasionally resting players, it felt like they were being exposed for a lack of being good once their goaltenders came back to Earth. Thus, as much as I’m enjoying Ovechkin’s resurgence as a veteran goalscorer, I sincerely hope I don’t watch them play more than two rounds.

On the other side, Canadiens fans probably weren’t expecting their team to make the playoffs this year, so this is a welcome bonus as they continue their rebuild. Ivan Demidov has been a welcome late-addition to the team’s middle-six, and Nick Suzuki seems to be coming into his own as a top-line centre, so there’s certainly possibility for an upset, though it won’t be easy.

Series: If there’s any team that the Canadiens could beat in the playoffs this year, it’s the Capitals. The Canadiens have just enough snipers that they could cause real problems for the Capitals goalies if they fail to rediscover their form from the start of the year. Ultimately, this series will come down to 2 things: 1) whether Ovechkin’s scoring rampage continues into the postseason, and 2) defence.

Prediction: Capitals in 6

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Carolina Hurricanes (M2) vs New Jersey Devils (M3)

The battle of…red jerseys (I don’t know).

Carolina had a more dramatic regular season than they’re used to. After trading star Martin Necas for Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen, it became evident that Rantanen did not plan on re-signing with Carolina; thus, the team was forced to field trade offers for him. They eventually landed on one with Dallas that brought the team two conditional first-round picks, two third-round picks and Logan Stankoven (a young stud whose game seems to thrive when it matters most). Ultimately, the team lost a piece of high-end talent, but they’ve had some welcome surprises in terms of depth scoring, and given their easy path, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they made their way back to the Conference Final.

As for the Devils, New Jersey lost their best player Jack Hughes late in the season, which cast a large shadow over any hopes of a deep playoff run. As much as I like the Devils’ depth and style of play, there are simply too many questions that haven’t been answered for the team to solidify themselves as a contender, even with Hughes in the lineup.

Series: It’ll be a fast series with both sides relying on collective team performances given a lack of high-end talent. While I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Devils steal a game or two to keep Carolina on their toes, I’d be shocked if they go any further.

Prediction: Hurricanes in 6

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Western Conference

Winnipeg Jets (C1) vs St. Louis Blues (WC2)

The battle of…underperforming goalies.

Winnipeg had one of the best starts to a season in NHL history and never looked back. The President’s Trophy-winning Jets dominated the regular season (as they often have), which was a surprise given the strength of the West this year. That said, speaking of the strength of the West, I have a hard time seeing Winnipeg get past either of Colorado or Dallas if they make it out of Round One, but for my diehard-Jets-fan-dad’s sake, I hope I’m pleasantly surprised.

St. Louis is probably the hottest team in the league right now (in terms of their play, just to clarify), so I could absolutely see them carrying their recent dominance into the postseason. Given they’d be playing one of LA or Edmonton in the Second Round (who both leave much to be desired), they’re not a bad dark horse pick for the Conference Final.

Series: This will probably the most marketed battle between goaltenders out of any first round series: it’s a Four Nations rematch of Canada vs USA, and both goalies have a lot to prove. Hellebuyck notoriously underperforms in the playoffs, while Binnington hasn’t looked the same since his historic Cup-winning playoff run as a rookie; while Binnington has proven multiple times that he performs better under pressure, Hellebuyck is currently in the form of his life.

So it’s a tossup.

Regardless, in terms of the actual teams, this one is hard to predict. The Jets are missing Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers, two impactful playoff performers who give Winnipeg a completely different look than the one we’ll see in Game 1. Thus, on paper, the Blues should have the upper hand, but I still think the Jets having home ice will be enough of a factor to carry them through. That said, regardless of who wins, I think this series will be short; whoever takes control from the beginning will finish it off fairly quickly.

And again, it could go either way.

Prediction: Jets in 5

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Dallas Stars (C2) vs Colorado Avalanche (C3)

The battle of…the Western Conference (probably).

Dallas (when healthy) has one of the most lethal NHL rosters in recent memory. Despite losing Stankoven, they added an elite goal scorer in Mikko Rantanen and their top-nine has continued to perform as one of the best in the league. That said, Dallas came into the playoffs on a 7-game losing streak, so you never know how much that may factor into a team’s psychology; however, the Stars are experienced (even their young guys), so handling adversity is nothing new to them. I expect them to go down in this series multiple times, but I still think they can win it.

Colorado are a powerhouse in themselves, boasting a lineup with arguably two of the top 3 players in the world. They have also bolstered their lineup as of this year, which some believe could be a deeper roster than the one they won the Cup with in 2022 (as crazy as that sounds). But what’s even crazier is that, with that said, they could still lose in the first round.

Series: As I said, this is arguably the Western Conference Final; it’s a shame these two won’t meet later on. In that vein, I’ll be shocked if this series doesn’t go at least 6 games, as the talent on both sides is simply too much to contain. Plus, both teams have competent goaltending (which for the Avs probably feels like a privilege), so it’ll be all about which team’s big guns can shine in the biggest moments.

Prediction: Stars in 7

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Vegas Golden Knights (P1) vs Minnesota Wild (WC1)

The battle of…vastly different climates.

Vegas haven’t been overly talked about in terms of Cup contenders this year, which probably has to do with the fact that they lost in the first round last year. However, they won the Cup the year before, and last year they lost to Dallas in 7 games (who were a powerhouse that made the Conference Final), and while they let go of aging (but key) playoff performers like Marchessault and Stephenson, they added Tomas Hertl and have seen players like Dorofeyev and Howden take a step, so it’s hard to see them doing much worse than a Conference Final, barring they beat the Wild.

Minnesota is a fun mix of young and experienced guys who don’t have a ton of playoff experience past the first round, though the state of hockey is certainly hoping this year can change that. The Wild started off the season on a tear, but once Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson-Ek got injured, they took a big step back. However, those two players are back now, so if they can rediscover their form from the beginning of the year, we could very well see Vegas go out in the first round for a second year in a row.

Series: There isn’t much of a rivalry between these two teams, but that will surely change over the next couple weeks. Head-to-head, I think Minnesota has the edge in goaltending, Vegas has the edge in depth scoring, and Minnesota has the edge of having the best player in the series (Kaprizov). If Minnesota wins, it will probably take 7 games, but I could see Vegas winning it sooner if the Wild fail to rediscover their early-season mojo.

Prediction: Golden Knights in 6

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Los Angeles Kings (P2) vs Edmonton Oilers (P3)

The battle of…this again?

Los Angeles could finally do it this year! (No, I don’t mean winning the cup…I mean beating Edmonton, which for them may feel the same). Jokes aside, this is probably one of the better teams the Kings have had in recent years, so it’s unfortunate the West is as stacked as it is. Regardless, the Kings had a great year as their best players fired on all cylinders. Darcy Kuemper has also been one of the best goalies in the league in the past few months, which certainly helped, given the Kings’ D core is nothing to write home about.

As for the Oilers, their depth this year is much worse than last, so I can see them having a tough time recreating the magic of last year’s run. As usual, hindsight is 20/20, and the decision to not match the Blues’ offer sheets for Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg was a horrific one. Holloway and Broberg both broke out with the Blues, while the Oilers are dealing with a washed Viktor Arvidsson on the 2nd line and were forced to re-sign Ty Emberson (who?) because they have literally no other D. The Oilers were also urged by their fans and analysts (and everyone really) to pursue a goaltender at the trade deadline, but they didn’t, so we’ll see how that plays out. Stuart Skinner isn’t terrible, but he’s not great, and with that D core, they’re going to need great.

Series: As with every Oilers series, it will depend on how far McDavid can carry the team on his back. If Skinner plays even somewhat well, I think McDavid can will the team forward, but the Kings should have a chip on their shoulder, so in any case, it’ll be a battle.

Prediction: Oilers in 7

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Summary:

Leafs in 5

Panthers in 7

Capitals in 6

Hurricanes in 6

Jets in 5

Stars in 7

Golden Knights in 6

Oilers in 7

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