Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders
Pittsburgh won the East division with 77 points, while the Islanders locked up the final spot in the division with 74 points. This is the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with New York winning four of the five previous series. They last met in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round, which New York won in a four-game sweep. Pittsburgh won six of eight games in this year's regular season series.
Here's what has me worried going into this series. Pittsburgh has home ice advantage for this series, and the Islanders haven't been anywhere near as strong on the road this season as they are on home ice. They haven't looked that great at stretches against the Pens either. Plus with the way the Islanders looked over the final few games of the regular season, it's tough to tell if this team is really playoff ready.
Pick: Penguins in 6!
Washington Capitals vs Boston Bruins
Washington finished second in the East with 77 points, losing out on the tie breaker to the Penguins. Boston finished third in the East, finishing with 73 points. This is the fourth playoff series between these two teams, with Washington winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Washington won in seven. These teams split their eight-game regular season series.
From a Boston point of view, goaltending has been a bit of an issue, but with Tukka Rask healthy again and ready to play, the Bruins should be fine. Scoring should be decent with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastranak, all of whom scored more than 20 goals this season. Craig Smith and Nick Ritchie were the only other Bruins who scored double digits in goals this season. Washington has plenty of scoring punch to counter what Boston has, with five guys hitting double digits in goals. But they have a problem without having the goaltending to match Boston.
Pick: Bruins in 6!
Carolina Hurricanes vs Nashville Predators
Carolina locked up a central division title, finishing with 80 points this season. Nashville finished fourth in the division with 64 points. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Carolina won six of eight games in this year's regular season series.
This may be one of the easier series to be able to predict. Nashville has veteran experience come playoff time, but they got into the playoffs in a weak way. This isn't discounting the fact that they are a good hockey team, but when your leading scorer from this season finished with 33 points (Roman Josi) I'm not giving it much hope. Carolina had the more balanced attack with Sebiastan Aho leading the charge. They've gone on deep runs each of the last few seasons into the playoffs and it looks like they got a great chance to do it again this year.
Pick: Hurricanes in 5!
Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Florida finished finished second in the Central Division with 79 points. Tampa Bay picked up 75 points, good enough for third in the Central. This is the first playoff meeting between these two rivals. Florida won five of eight games in this year's regular season series.
Florida surprised a lot of people by playing as well as they have this season. Huberdau and Barkov powered a pretty balanced Florida attack. But here's where it gets interesting. Florida hasn't won a playoff series since 1996. And they facing the defending Cup champions in the Lightning. Yes, Tampa has had stretches where they've looked out of sorts but they know how to turn it on come the post season. Plus there is still the treat of Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos being back healthy and available during this playoff run.
Pick: Lightning in 6!
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Montreal Canadiens
Toronto won its first division title since 2000 by capturing the North with 77 points. As for Montreal, they finished 4th in the North division with 59 points. This is the sixteenth playoff meeting between these two rivals, with Montreal winning eight of the fifteen previous series. They last met in the 1979 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, which Montreal won in a four-game sweep. Toronto won seven of ten games in this year's regular season series.
In order for Montreal to even sniff pulling off the upset in this series is how well Carey Price plays between the pipes, fi he can even go. Don't get me wrong Jake Allen is no slouch between the pipes, but Price needs to be back in the net and the go to guy for the Habs. They can get scoring from Toffoli and Petry but it won't be enough. Toronto high powered offense lead by Matthews, Marner and Tavares is going to be too much for Montreal to handle. The only question the Leafs are going to need to answer is between the pipes as the playoffs roll along as to who's going to be the answer. Campbell or Andersen needs to take charge now or it could be a quick exit for Toronto.
Pick: Leafs in 5!
Edmonton Oilers vs Winnipeg Jets
Edmonton finished second in the North with 72 points. Meanwhile Winnipeg came in with 63 points, good enough for a 3rd place finish. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams, and the first playoff meeting between these two cities since the 1990 Smythe Division Semifinals. Edmonton won seven of nine games in this year's regular season series.
Lets be real here, goaltending is the only real thing that can allow Winnipeg to even possibly pull off the upset in this series. Connor Hellebuyck is going to have to find something that strongly resembles his form from last season to give the Jets a chance. Sure, they have scoring punch with the likes of Connor and Scheifele, but its between the pipes thats going to matter the most. Edmonton we know can score. McDavid hit over 100 points on the year, while Draisaitl managed to add in 31 goals. Mike Smith is going to be key in the Oilers net too, but he's been a lot more sound in the Oilers nets.
Pick: Oilers in 5!
Colorado Avalanche vs St Louis Blues
Colorado not only won the West but also captured the Presidents Trophy with 82 points this year. St Louis finished 4th in the West with 63 points. This is the second playoff series between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 2001 Western Conference Final, which Colorado won in five games. Colorado won five of eight games in this year's regular season series.
The Blues look quite different from the team that won the Cup two years ago. Binnington has been decent in net and O'Reilly still makes this offense go along with Perron. But they going up against the team that has been the best in the league all year long.Grubauer won 30 games in net for Colorado. MacKinnion and Rantanen leading the Avs in scoring. This maybe the easiest matchup of the bunch to pick.
Pick: Avalanche in 4!
Vegas Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild
Vegas finished second in the West with 82 points. Minnesota finished the 3rd place team in the West with 75 points. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Minnesota won five of eight games in this year's regular season series.
Yes I know that the Wild won five of the eight games and on paper may have the Golden Knights number, but Vegas has had a lot more playoff experience and depth to it the last couple of seasons. Minnesota is solid no doubt, but Vegas at the end of the day is going to have the edge and come away with the win
Pick: Golden Knights in 5!
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