Stanley Cup First Round Preview

Spring time has arrived. That means one thing. The Stanley Cup Playoffs have arrived. We started this journey back in October, with 30 teams all vying for the right to lift Lord Stanley's trophy over their head. Now here we sit in early April with 16 teams left standing. In about two months time, we will have one team left that has proved itself to be the best team in all of hockey. At this time of year, anything can happen and you can get an unsung hero to come out of nowhere. There's a few new fances in this years chase for the championship. Its been a decade since the Edmonton Oilers last saw playoff action. Toronto hasn't seen the playoffs since 2013 and this is only the 2nd time since pre lockout that the Leafs have tasted playoff action. There also leads a lot of questions to be answered over the next couple of months.

Can both the Sharks and Penguins get back to the Finals? Can Washington get out of the 2nd round for the first time in almost twenty years? How far can both Edmonton and Toronto go? How well can both Austin Matthews and Conor McDavid play in the spring? Who's going to be the unsung hero to really step their game up in this years playoffs?

Those questions, and so much more, will be answered between now and the middle of June. So with that being said, lets break down the opening round shall we.

First up, its the Wild Card New York Rangers taking on the Atlantic Division Champion Montreal Canadiens. For the Canadiens, this marks a trip back to the playoffs after missing out last year, and they have now made the playoffs four times in the last five seasons. They did all of this winning the Atlantic division for the 2nd time in the last three years, earning 103 points to get into the playoffs this year. Montreal has gotten out of the opening round of the playoffs in each of the last to post season trips. As for the Rangers, they got into the playoffs as the top wild card spot, collecting 102 points. New York has missed the playoffs just once since the 2004-05 lockout, and that miss came in 2010. Otherwise, New York has enjoyed plenty of playoff hockey and success. New York is trying to rebound a little after getting bounced in the opening round last season. This will be the sixteenth playoff meeting between these two teams with New York winning eight of the fifteen previous series. They last met in the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals, which New York won in six games. Montreal won all three games in this year's regular season series.

Here are the date and times for every game in this series:
April 12 New York Rangers 7:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
April 14 New York Rangers 7:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
April 16 Montreal Canadiens 7:00 p.m. New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
April 18 Montreal Canadiens 7:00 p.m. New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
April 20 New York Rangers TBD Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
April 22 Montreal Canadiens TBD New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
April 24 New York Rangers TBD Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre

This series is going to be a fun one. Last time these two faced off in a playoff series, Chris Kreider got a little up close and personal with Carey Price, which cost Price a lot of playing time with a knee injury. This year, the Habs seemed to have finally found there groove late. They won 16 of their final 24 games under Claude Julian, who took over in late January. Montreal has been playing pretty well this year, Max Pacioretty continues to quietly produce as one of the league's most elite goal scorers, and Carey Price has played like, well Carey Price. Over the final two months of the season, Price had managed to rediscover his game again, and get it back up to where his numbers were near the top five in the league. For Montreal to really shine in this series, they need their role players to really step up, because if the Pacioretty line goes cold like it might, then they could be in for a long series,

Look at this from the Rangers perspective, they can match the Habs in at least the goaltending department, as Henrik Lundqvist could match Carey Price save for save. Granted, Hank had a down year by his standards, posting his lowest save percentage since 2008-09, he still put up very solid numbers. Even with that, this was the 3rd straight year that the Rangers had a 100 point regular season. Last year, they were dispatched quickly by a faster and deeper Penguins team in the opening round, but this year might be a little bit different. The Rangers had seven players reach the 40-point mark this season, the second-most in the league. They've got guys like Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller that have improved their play this year and have taken on a bigger role on this hockey club. That makes the Rangers more capable to deal with that kind of attack and throw a dangerous offence right back at you.

What's going to be a determining factor in this series is how well the Rangers D plays in front of Hank and if Montreal can get their role and depth players can really step it up. Both teams, at times this year, have looked a little bit shaky. But Price will be able to find his game and outplay Hank, the Habs take this tough series.

Prediction: Montreal Canadiens in 6!

Next up, we have the Atlantic Division's second seed Ottawa Senators taking on the Atlantic Division third seed Boston Bruins. For Ottawa, this marks the 2nd time in the last four years that they've made it to the post season. They got in this year by winning 44 games and collecting 98 points, which was good for 2nd in the Atlantic division. Ottawa is looking to advance to the 2nd round for the first time since 2013. Herading into this year, Ottawa is 9-15 lifetime in playoff series. As for Boston, they finished 3rd in the Atlantic with 95 points, their best point total in the last two years. This is the first trip to the playoffs since 2014, which also happened to be the last year the Bruins won a round in the playoffs. This is the first playoff meeting between the contemporary Ottawa franchise and Boston, and the first Boston-Ottawa series since the 1927 Stanley Cup Finals. Ottawa won all four games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the date and times for every game in this series:
April 12 Boston Bruins 7:00 p.m. Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
April 15 Boston Bruins 3:00 p.m. Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
April 17 Ottawa Senators 7:00 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden
April 19 Ottawa Senators 7:30 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden
April 21 Boston Bruins TBD Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
April 23 Ottawa Senators TBD Boston Bruins TD Garden
April 26 Boston Bruins TBD Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre

Boston and Ottawa should make for a solid matchup, because it's the first time that these two franchises have ever met in the postseason. Boston really seemed to right the ship under Bruce Cassidy, finishing the year out 18-8-1, while finding the back of the net with a little more regularity. Besides the new head coach, a big part of the Bruins turnaround so far has been a dynamic Brad Marchand, a consistent Patrice Bergeron and a rock-solid Tuukka Rask down the stretch, the Bruins have proven they belong in the playoffs once again. Brad Marchand is going to be big for the Bruins in this series. He's coming off a career year, with 39 goals and 85 points, all while still being able to get under the skin of his opponents. The repeat offender has a tendency to get himself into trouble, though, and any slip-ups during the playoffs could spell trouble in Boston. Its something the Senators are going to have to deal with.

Ottawa has some good things going for it. Sure, the Sens have had a ton of injuries to deal with, but have managed to get the ship righted just in time. No playoff team scored fewer goals than the Sens did this season but on the flip side only a handful of teams allowed fewer goals against. Ottawa is comfortable in close, low-scoring games. A lot of that is due to strong goaltending from Craig Anderson and backup Mike Condon. They play strong team defense, which bodes well for them in the playoffs. Ottawa is going to need to score, so Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson are going to be counted on heavily in this series to provide offense in Ottawa.

This could be a long series for the Sens, because Boston is just too deep and too good a hockey team right now. I'd like to see the Senators put up a fight and they will make this an interesting series. Craig Anderson is going to be a big inspiration, as he has been most of the year. Just getting this feeling that the depth and health of the Bruins is going to give them the nod in this series. Nice to see Ottawa in the post season, but it won't last very long.

Prediction: Boston Bruins in 6!

Next its the Wild Card winning Toronto Maple Leafs taking on the Metropolitan Division Winners, and Presidents trophy winning, Washington Capitals. For the 3rd straight year the Capitals are back in the playoffs, and for the 2nd year in a row, they are the President's Trophy winners, leading the league with 118 points. As a matter of fact, Washington has only failed to make the playoffs once since 2008. Washington has had a little trouble with the first round of the playoffs, losing in the opening round last in 2013. Washington is twenty games under .500 in the playoffs. As for the Maple Leafs, they picked up 95 points to earn the last wild card spot, the first time they've made the playoffs since 2013. As a matter of fact, this marks only the 2nd playoff appearance for the team in the post lockout era of hockey. Toronto is looking for its first playof series win since 2004. This is the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Washington won two of the three games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the date and times for every game in this series:
April 13 Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00 p.m. Washington Capitals Verizon Center
April 15 Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00 p.m. Washington Capitals Verizon Center
April 17 Washington Capitals 7:00 p.m. Toronto Maple Leafs Air Canada Centre
April 19 Washington Capitals 7:00 p.m. Toronto Maple Leafs Air Canada Centre
April 21 Toronto Maple Leafs TBD Washington Capitals Verizon Center
April 23 Washington Capitals TBD Toronto Maple Leafs Air Canada Centre
April 25 Toronto Maple Leafs TBD Washington Capitals Verizon Center

This has to be a sweet form of redemption for the Maple Leafs, getting back into the playoffs once again. Toronto and its big rookies of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Zach Hyman, Toronto has a bright future to really be able to build off of. Most in the hockey world, myself included, are surprised how quickly how this group of rookies came along. Matthews scoring 40 goals is quite impressive. The Leafs rookies combined for 309 points this season, third most in league history. So you know the Leafs have a talent pool to be able to build off of for the future. And they have a talented veteran group that consists of Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri and Brian Boyle. Fredrik Andersen is going to be a key in the nets for the Leafs, if Toronto even want to have a shot at knocking off the best team in the league.

The Leafs are going up against the best team in the league, who thanks to winning 12 of 15 in January built up a comfortable lead in the conference en route to the Presidents Trophy. Washington has been running over teams this year. The biggest question is, can the Capitals keep up their dominance to win 16 more games to claim the teams first ever Stanley Cup? They have plenty of talent on the team, led by Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin this year, became the third player in NHL history to score 30 or more goals in each of his first 12 seasons in the League. Its not all on the Great Eight. Washington has other talented players, like Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, Karl Alzner, T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams and Kevin Shattenkirk, just to nasme a few. Oh yeah, the Caps also have one of the top goalies in the game in Brayden Holtby. Holtby lead the league in wins, with 42 and shutouts with nine. He did all this while helping Washington to an NHL-best team goals-against average of 2.16.

This series is going to be easy to pick. Toronto may get a game at home, if they're lucky. Washington is just too good and too deep a team. Toronto lacks depth, experience, scoring and goaltending compared to the Caps. This one is easy to pick.

Prediction: Washington Capitals in 5!

The final Eastern Conference matchup is the Metropolitan Divisions second seeded Pittsburgh Penguins taking on the Metropolitan Division third seed Columbus Blue Jackets. Pittsburgh just so happens to be the defending Stanley Cup Champions. They got into the playoffs 2nd in the Atlantic division, finishing with 111 points, their highest point total in three years. The Pens have gotten out of the first round three times in the last four years. Pittsburgh is chasing the fifth Stanley Cup title in team history. As for the Blue Jackets, this is only the third time ever that the team has made the playoffs, the last two appearances came in 2009 (Swept by Detroit) and 2014 (lost in six to the Penguins). The team has won only two playoff games in the history of the franchise. The Jackets finished 3rd in the division, earning 108 points, the first time ever that the team has earned that many points in a season. Columbus has won just two playoff games ever and never gotten out of the first round. This is the second playoff meeting between these teams; they last met in the 2014 Eastern Conference First Round, which Pittsburgh won in six games. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.

Here's the date and time of every game in this series:
April 12 Columbus Blue Jackets 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
April 14 Columbus Blue Jackets 7:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
April 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 6:00 p.m. Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena
April 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30 p.m. Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena
April 20 Columbus Blue Jackets TBD Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
April 23 Pittsburgh Penguins TBD Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena
April 25 Columbus Blue Jackets TBD Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena

Columbus is looking for payback against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, as it was the Pens who knocked the Jackets out of the post season the last time these two faced off. The Penguins have a lot on their backs, with both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the way once again. Pittsburgh got hot going down the stretch, finishing the year 13-7-3 over the final two months of the year. Yes they still have two of the top players in the league with Sid and Geno. But they also have the role players as well. They've got Phil Kessel to help out with the firepower up front. Then there's the blueline. Justin Schultz has emerged as a key cog in Pittsburgh and finished in the top 10 among all NHL blueliners in scoring. Brian Dumoulin and Trevor Daley have also emerged as a help out for not only Schultz but Kris Letang as well. Oh yeah, there's also the goaltending. When you have Marc-Andre Fleury as a safety net for Matt Murray, who's a solid goalie in his own right, you got something going for you.

Now they have to face a young and hungry Blue Jackets team, who oh by the way, managed to pull off a 16 game winning streak. So yeah, they're kinda good. Columbus finished top six in the NHL in both goals for and against. The only other team to do that this year were the Washington Capitals. It means that this Jackets team isn't exactly going to be a pushover this year. Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg, and Brandon Saad are going to be counted on in this series to carry the offense again, One down side is that they've gone a little cold going into the playoffs, with none of these guys getting more then 20 points over the final 20 games. So they need to get it going. Sergei Bobrovsky is going to be counted on big in this series as well. He has the power to either carry this team out of the first round, or sink them. In his career, Bobrovsky is 2-6 with a 3.50 GAA and .890 save percentage in the post-season so he can make a statement against the defending champs. The biggest knock that can be made against the Jackets right now, is the fact that they've gone into the playoffs cold, having won just one of their final seven games during the regular season.

This one may take a little time to settle, but at the end of the day, the better team is going to win out. The Jackets have really gone cold the last week of the year, which will really hurt their chances of moving on. They are a team on the move, that's for sure, and I would like to see them finally win a series. Just don't see it happening this year.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in 6!

Moving to the Western Conference, its the Wild Card winning Nashville Predators taking on the Central Division winning Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago has made the playoffs every year since 2008, this year getting in with the best point total in the Western Conference, finishing with 109 points. That total is the highest the Hawks have had since 2010. This also marks the 3rd division crown for the Hawks since 2010 as well. The Hawks are looking to bounce back from a seven game loss to the Blues in last years playoffs. As for Nashville, they've now made the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. They had the exact same number of wins as last year, but finished with two fewer points, coming into an eight place finish in the West this year. In their nine previous playoff appearances, the Predators have only picked up first rounds wins three times. This is the third playoff meeting between these teams with Chicago winning both previous series. They last met in the 2015 Western Conference First Round, which Chicago won in six games. Chicago won four of the five games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the date and time for every game in this series:
April 13 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks United Center
April 15 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks United Center
April 17 Chicago Blackhawks 9:30 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
April 20 Chicago Blackhawks TBD Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
April 22 Nashville Predators TBD Chicago Blackhawks United Center
April 24 Chicago Blackhawks TBD Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
April 26 Nashville Predators TBD Chicago Blackhawks United Center

This series is going to go the distance in all likelyhood. Chicago has turned into a modern day dynasty, winning three Stanley Cups in a seven year span. The Hawks have the core together that has been there for all three of those titles. Guys like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, and Corey Crawford. All of these are all names who’ve navigated the playoff terrain together with great success. Only thing I have to wonder is how well will the skating legs hold up this spring. Out of all the talent that this Hawks team has, Kane and Toews are the only regular, core guys, who are under the age of 31. Artemi Panarin can and will be a success in this series because he should be able to carry over his regular-season success and shoulder a big load in the playoffs.

Nashville had one of the top defensive teams in the league last year, one that may have gotten better with the addition of PK Subban. Nashville was slow to take off and struggled to maintain momentum when they did. To make matters worse, they were hit with a variety of injuries, which certainly didn’t help. Now, with all the right pieces in place, this club is going to be a popular dark horse pick. If the Preds want to pull off this upset, Pekka Rinne is going to have to be counted on to carry the load once again in net. Rinne has put together a decent 31-19-9 season with a 2.42 goals-against average and .918 save percentage, placing him right in the middle of the pack in the league, stats-wise. He's still a solid goalie, so the Hawks are going to have a tough task ahead of them.

It's going to be a tough series on both sides. Depth is going to be big in this series, and Chicago has the advantage in that regards. The Hawks have won 65 playoff games over the last seven seasons, and that's going to be a big help. Nashville will put up a fight, causing this series to go the full distance. At the end of the day, the young guys will really ste up and Chicago moves on.

Prediction: Chicago Blackhawks in 7!

Next up its the Central Division second seeded Minnesota Wild taking on the Central Divisions third seeded St Louis Blues. This marks the sixth straight year that the Blues are playing in the playoffs, clinching a spot with 99 points, their lowest total since 2013. The Blues are looking to advance to the next round for the 2nd year in a row,  after getting bounced in the first round in the three years prior. St Louis is 26-40 lifetime in playoff series. As for the Wild, this is the fifth straight year that they've made the playoffs, getting the 2nd seed in the division with 106 points, 2nd time in three years they've cracked the 100 point mark. Minnesota is looking to get out of the first round for the 3rd time in four years. Minnesota is 4-7 lifetime in playoff series. This is the second playoff meeting between these teams; their only previous meeting was the 2015 Western Conference First Round, which Minnesota won in six games. St. Louis won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 12 St. Louis Blues 9:30 p.m. Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
April 14 St. Louis Blues 8:00 p.m. Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
April 16 Minnesota Wild 3:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
April 19 Minnesota Wild 9:30 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
April 22 St. Louis Blues TBD Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
April 24 Minnesota Wild TBD St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
April 26 St. Louis Blues TBD Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center

Can St. Louis build off a success from last year's playoff run? I'm not sure honestly. They got rid of one of their best defensemen in Kevin Shattenkirk, which makes me wonder bigtime. With Mike Yeo now coaching the team, the theory is that he can be able to build off what Ken Hitchcock left behind. Sure he has Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, and Alexander Steen to be able to put the puck in the back of the net. And trying to keep the puck out of the net will be Jake Allen, who got off to a slow start, but really started to rediscover his game when Mike Yeo took over, he's gotten better. If the Blues want to win this series, he's going to have to be at the top of his game.

Minnesota has been average down the stretch, finishing the year off going 8-11-2 after the first of March. One guy that the Wild are going to have to count on is Eric Staal. Staal enjoyed a spectacular bounce back season after several years in which he looked almost finished. Now that he’s summoned the elite form that made him a big name, the spotlight will shine brightly on him. The 32-year-old won a Stanley Cup in 2005-06 with the Carolina Hurricanes, but has had limited playoff experience since. In five games with the Rangers last season, he was was a minus-seven and held scoreless. That can’t happen again if the Wild are to be successful. Oh yeah, and the Wild have some guy named Devan Dubnyk and he's kinda good.

Minnesota had a rough patch in early March, but managed to cap off the season with a four game winning streak. St Louis is good, but the Wild had the best year in franchise history, most wins and points in team history. I got this feeling that the Blues lost too much at the trade deadline and didn't get much in return. Minnesota has been hot and they stay hot and take the series.

Prediction: Minnesota Wild in 6!

Next its the Wild Card winning Calgary Flames taking on the Pacific Division winning Anaheim Ducks. For the fifth year in a row the Ducks have won the division, and the 4th year in a row they've picked up 100 or more points. Anaheim hasn't missed the playoffs since 2012, but failed to make it out of the first round in last year's playoffs. Anaheim is 14-11 lifetime in playoff series.  Calgary got into the playoffs with 94 points, the 2nd time in three years that the Flames hit the 90 point mark. This also marks the 2nd time in three years that the Flames have made the playoffs, and they won their first round matchup that year too. This will mark the 20th playopff appearance in franchise history for the Flames. This is the third playoff meeting between these teams with Anaheim winning both previous series. They last met in the 2015 Western Conference Second Round which Anaheim won in five games. Anaheim won four of the five games in this year's regular season series. Anaheim has also won 25 straight regular season home games against Calgary.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 13 Calgary Flames 10:30 p.m. Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
April 15 Calgary Flames 10:30 p.m. Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
April 17 Anaheim Ducks 10:00 p.m. Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
April 19 Anaheim Ducks 10:00 p.m. Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
April 21 Calgary Flames TBD Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
April 23 Anaheim Ducks TBD Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
April 25 Calgary Flames TBD Anaheim Ducks Honda Center

Calgary could be one of those teams who has the potential to be a dark horse in the playoffs. They've got plenty of experience in the playoffs, as Mark Giordano, Michael Frolik, and Troy Brouwer can attest. That experience goes along quite well with some tremendous youth, in the form of Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. Gaudreau, Monahan and Mikael Backlund are three big reasons for the Flames success, as they were the leading scorers for Calgary this season, and have all experienced playoff hockey before, so they have an idea of what it takes to get this far and to be successful. Brian Elliott, too, is going to be a big force for the Flames in this series. he really started to turn his game on after the all star break this year, and Elliott does have plenty of experience at this time of year, he helped the Blues get all the way to the Western Conferences Finals against the Sharks a year ago.

But they are going up against an Anaheim team who just so happens to be the hottest team on planet. To close out the regular season, the Ducks went 11-0-3, yeah you can't really get any hotter then the boys from Anaheim. They start the playoffs off without Cam Fowler, due to injury. Still the Ducks have a solid defense with guys like Elias Lindholm, Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson leave the Ducks with a still-formidable blue line. Ryan Kesler has had somewhat of a resurgent season and his gritty style of play lends itself well to the playoffs. With him and their other big guns, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, playing as well as they have, the Ducks will be very very good. Goaltending will be key in this series, and Anaheim has solid goalies, but they leave a little something to be desired. Between Josh Gibson and Jonathan Bernier, Anaheim has two quality goalies. Neither one of them really has been able to hold down the solid number one, but either guy can steal the job away as the playoffs roll along this year.

As for who is going to take this series, its going to be tough. Anaheim is hotter then a wild fire right now, and I can't seen Calgary as good as they are, cooling off the Ducks. The young guns in Calgary are going to be good for a long time now. This, sadly, won't be their year. Anaheim is just too good.

Prediction: Anaheim Ducks in 6!

Finally, its the Pacific Division's second seeded Edmonton Oilers taking on the Pacific Division's third seeded San Jose Sharks. It's been a LONG time coming for the Oilers, as this marks the first time since a 2006 Stanley Cup finals loss to the Hurricanes that the Oilers are in the playoffs. The 1003 points that the Oilers earned this year makes this the first time since 1987 that the Oilers broke the 100 point mark for the season. Edmonton is 34-15 all time in playoff series. As for San Jose, they are the defending Western Conference Champions, looking to make a 2nd ever trip to the Finals. They finished with 99 points, one better then last years totals. San Jose is 17-18 all time in playoff series. This is the second playoff meeting between these teams; their only previous series was the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals, which Edmonton won in six games. Edmonton won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series;
April 12 San Jose Sharks 10:00 p.m. Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
April 14 San Jose Sharks 10:30 p.m. Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
April 16 Edmonton Oilers 10:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
April 18 Edmonton Oilers 10:00 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
April 20 San Jose Sharks TBD Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
April 22 Edmonton Oilers TBD San Jose Sharks SAP Center
April 24 San Jose Sharks TBD Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place

Man, it must be good to be an Oilers fan right now, seeing their team back in the playoffs again for the first time in eleven years. Led by Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid, the Oilers return to the post-season as an interesting possibility. Yes, they are a very young team, but amazing seasons from Conor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Cam Talbot has Edmonton thinking that this could be a lengthly playoff run. McDavid won the scoring crown by hitting 100 points on the nose. Talbot has been playing out of his mind most of the year. Another guy to take a look at for the Oilers is going to be Adam Larsson. A lot thought that the Oilers were crazy to give up Taylor Hall for Larsson, but its working out ten fold for the Oilers. Larsson has been a major factor for this team, most noticeably on the man advantage. Don't think this is a happy to be here kind of bunch with the Oilers, many think they're here to make an impact.

Somebody better tell the Sharks that. Yes I know San Jose is one of the older teams in this years playoffs, but they didn't get into the playoffs just be pushed around by a young team. Brent Burns, Joe Thornton, Martin Jones, Patrick Marleau, I can keep going with the amount of veteran leadership on this hockey team. In years past, the Sharks have finished higher in the standings yet underachieved in the playoffs. Maybe this is the year they become overachievers. Momentum is clearly not on their side.

Edmonton has had a fantastic year, there's no taking that away from them. But their inexperience is going to cost them. They're playing the defending Western Conference Champions and haven't been in the playoffs in eleven years, when most of their current roster were still in school. It'll be a solid series but the Sharks experience will win out in this one.

Prediction: San Jose Sharks in 6!

(All predictions made BEFORE start of Stanley Cup Playoffs)