Western Conference:
P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC) Winnipeg Jets
Vegas came out on top in the West with 111 points, while Winnipeg finished with the 2nd wildcard spot with 95. Its safe to say that goaltending advantage in this series has to go to Winnipeg, because Conor Hellbyuck has been his usual pheonminal self. And yes Winnipeg has a huge weapon in 42 goal man Mark Schiefle. But where Vegas has the edge is they are a more well balanced and overall deeper team. Conor might be able to steal a couple games in this series but there isn't really much to breakdown here.
Pick: Vegas in 6!
P2) Edmonton Oilers vs. P3) Los Angeles Kings
Edmonton finished with 109 points, while the Kings were a little further back with 104. Again picking this series comes down to a depth issue. Sure the Kings are a good team as evident by the 104 points on the year. There's plenty of balance in the Kings lineup. But it again going to come down to who's in net. Whether its Phoneix Coopley or Jonas Korpisalo in net for LA, Stuart Skinner has had a much better year over in Edmonton. Oh yeah, and the Oilers had three players crack one hundred points his year. in Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl and McDavid. The Oilers are too top heave to be beat in the opening round.
Pick: Oilers in 5!
C1) Colorado Avalanche vs. WC) Seattle Kraken
The defending Cup Champs win the Pacific with 109 points, while Seattle makes its first ever playoff appearance with 100. Good on the Kraken for righting the ship and finding their sea skates in their 2nd year in the league. With McCann, Dunn and Eberle leading the charge and Grubauer solid between the pipes, Seattle was able to clinch its playoff spot. But they are going up against the 2nd best team in all the West, and by the way, the defending Cup champions in Colorado. Rantanen scored 55 goals and MacKinninon hit 111 points. Oh and Georgiev won 40 games his first year in Denver. Colorado is just too good and too playoff tested to be trounced in the first round.
Pick: Colorado in 5!
C2) Dallas Stars vs. C3) Minnesota Wild
Dallas finished one point back in the division with 108 points, while Minnesota came in with 103 to close out the year. Nothing against Minnesota, who's really come along in the last number of years. Krill the Thrill hit 40 goals and 75 points to lead the charge again this year. He's becoming one of the big superstars in the game, helping carry the Wild to new heights. Problem is Dallas is a slightly deeper team and in a physical series as this one is going to be, the edge has to go in favor of the Stars.
Pick: Stars in 7!
Eastern Conference
A1) Boston Bruins vs. WC) Florida Panthers
Boston re-wrote the record books with a 135 point regular season and President's Trophy win, while Florida \got in with 92 points. In theory this is the easiest pick of the entire playoffs. Look Florida is in it for the 5th straight year and are coming off a year in which they ended a long playoff losing drought last year. Verhaeghe hit 42 goals and Tkachuk cracked 109 points. That's all well and good. You now have to face a Boston team that re wrote the record books this year for team dominance. This one is almost too easy to pick
Pick: Bruins in 4!
A2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3) Tampa Bay Lightning
We get this for the 2nd year in a row as Toronto finished with 111 points, while the defending Eastern Conference Champs finished with 98. Yes, Toronto had a better record this year. But the thing with the Leafs that worries me is the offense is powered by four guys and the goalteanding hasn't done well in the spring in twenty years. They facing the three time defending Eastern Conference champions and the best money goalie in the game right now come this time of year.
Pick: Lightning in 7!
M1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC) New York Islanders
Carolina took the Metro division this year with 113 points, while the Islanders locked up a wild card spot with 93 points. Mat Barzal looks like he's going to be ready to go for New York for game one, but he hasn't played since February. So there might be some rust and gelling issues. And the Islanders lack of offense at times has given fans cause for concern. Carolina's a deeper and more balanced team right now.
Pick: Hurricanes in 6!
M2) New Jersey Devils vs. M3) New York Rangers
The Devils finished 2nd in the division with 112 points, while the Rangers finished with 107. Its going to be a battle all series long. New York looking to build off last seasons deep run, while New Jersey trying to find its footing in its rebuild to dominance once again. The Devils have had a great season, nothing against what's been happening on Broadway. This is going the distance and is going to be a fun series, but at the end of the day the youth pulls it off.
Pick: Devils in 7!
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