Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 11 Carolina Hurricanes 7:30 p.m. Washington Capitals Capital One Arena
April 13 Carolina Hurricanes 3:00 p.m. Washington Capitals Capital One Arena
April 15 Washington Capitals 7:00 p.m. Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
April 18 Washington Capitals 7:00 p.m. Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
April 20 Carolina Hurricanes TBD Washington Capitals Capital One Arena
April 22 Washington Capitals TBD Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena
April 24 Carolina Hurricanes TBD Washington Capitals Capital One Arena
Lets start with the Champs. Washington had built a lot of steam last year, leading to the first Cup win in team history. they slayed a lot of demons last year getting to the finals, something they hadn't done in twenty years. While looking to repeat as champs, Alex Ovechkin leads the charge again in the goals and points department, with john Calrson leading the club in assists. Washington is known for its balanced scoring attack. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom also collected over 70 points on the year, joining Carlson and Ovechkin in that department. Braden Holtby basically did Braden Holtby things during the regular season. Don't think the Caps are going to make the same mistake they did last year, they're going with Holtby the entire time during the playoffs.
As for Carolina, this is a team that hasn't made the playoffs in a long time and are looking to make some noise in this year's post season. A pair of stud Finns lead this team offensively, but there’s a sharp drop in production after Sebastian Aho (83 points) and Teuvo Teravainen (76). Nino Niederreiter scored at a 30-goal pace after being picked up from the Minnesota Wild in January and the Canes desperately need that secondary offence. Another candidate to provide it is Russian rookie and 2018 second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov, who quietly posted a 20-goal season.Goaltending looked pretty good for the Canes this year, with both Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney winning twenty games. These bunch of jerks want to try to leave a lasting impression on this year's playoffs, and a good way to start doing that would be to eliminate the defending cup champions
No doubt the Hurricanes made major leaps this season to get into the playoff contention. They had a solid run. But Washington is not only the defending champs but they are also a loaded and balanced hockey club. Carolina can steal a game, maybe two at home ice, but the Caps swept the regular season series, so look for more of the same in this series
Prediction: Capitals in 5!
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 10 Columbus Blue Jackets 7:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
April 12 Columbus Blue Jackets 7:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
April 14 Tampa Bay Lightning 7:00 p.m. Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena
April 16 Tampa Bay Lightning 7:00 p.m. Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena
April 19 Columbus Blue Jackets TBD Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
April 21 Tampa Bay Lightning TBD Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena
April 23 Columbus Blue Jackets TBD Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
Tampa has a lot riding on this playoff run this year, as they won 62 games during the regular season. That tied them with the 1996 Detroit Red Wings for most wins ever in a regular season. So there's a lot riding on the Bolts run this year. Carrying the load for Tampa this year has been Nikita Kucherov, who lead the league in scoring with 128 points. He wasn't the only one lighting the lamp. Brayden Point (92 points) and Steven Stamkos (98 points) were the only other Bolts players to register over 90 points on the year. Tampa had two more guys score 20 or more goals in Yanni Gourde and Tyler Johnson. So there's no argument Tampa can put the puck in the back of the net. They can also keep it out of the back of the net as well. Andrei Vasilevskiy lead the league in wins with 39 and a goals against of 2.50. Tampa has plenty of balance for the attack and the defense.
Meanwhile the Blue Jackets are trying to get their first ever playoff series win. The bread man, Artemi Panarin carried the load in the points department for the Jackets, while Cam Atkinson lead the way in the goals department. They weren't the only ones. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson, and Oliver Bjorkstrand each had more than 20 goals. Only Panarin Atkins and Dubois had 60 or more points on the year. Sergei Bobrovsky had a fine season in net, finishing second in the league with 37 wins and lead the league with 9 shutouts. The goaltending has been good for the Jackets, keeping them in the playoff hunt most of the year.
This might be the easiest series of the bunch to pick. Columbus has some good scorers and a solid goalie, but they're going up against the best team in the league. Tampa has been steamrolling everything in their path this year, including sweeping the Jackets during the regular season. Tampa will have an easy time with this one.
Prediction: Lightning in 5!
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden
April 13 Toronto Maple Leafs 8:00 p.m. Boston Bruins TD Garden
April 15 Boston Bruins 7:00 p.m. Toronto Maple Leafs Scotiabank Arena
April 17 Boston Bruins 7:00 p.m. Toronto Maple Leafs Scotiabank Arena
April 19 Toronto Maple Leafs TBD Boston Bruins TD Garden
April 21 Boston Bruins TBD Toronto Maple Leafs Scotiabank Arena
April 23 Toronto Maple Leafs TBD Boston Bruins TD Garden
There's going to be no problem for the Leafs scoring, as they have four forwards reach 70 or more points on the season. Mitch Marner lead the way with 94 points and 68 assists, while John Tavares lead the team in goals with 47. They have scoring help from Austin Matthews, and Morgan Riley hitting that magic 70 mark. Joining those top four scorers were Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson and Zach Hyman, who each hit the twenty goal mark for the year. Scoring shouldn't be a problem, its the defense that has to lead one to worry. There were times this year where Fredrick Anderson looked really good. Down, the stretch, he wasn't the same goalie and seemed to fault a little bit. When Andersen is on his game he can steal a series and, when he’s doing that in conjunction with Toronto’s clicking offence, the Leafs become one of the NHL’s best teams.
But they have to deal with a very balanced Boston attack. Brad Marchand lead Boston with 100 points and was one of only four Boston forwards to crack the 70 point mark. David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci were the others. Jake DeBrusk was the only other Bruins player to hit the 20 goal mark for the season. Pastranak is going to be a big key for this Boston offense, he did have 834 points in just 66 games this season. He would have tied or put up better numbers than Marchand had he been healthy all season. Boston's scoring is going to be a tough threat. So is their goaltending as either Jaroslav Halak and Tuukka Rask each won 20 games this season. There's no doubt in anybody's mind that Tuukka is the number one man in the Boston net, but it should come as some level of comfort that Halak is behind him just in case Rask faults.
This series no doubt will go the distance. It's going to be a pretty even battle between the two rivals. Toronto just hasn't been able to seem to get the job done in the opening round as of late, and going against Boston hasn't been any easier. The Bruins are a balanced team and can be very dangerous when fully healthy. Toronto is going to put up a good fight, but I like the Bruins in this series.
Prediction: Bruins in 7!
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30 p.m. New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
April 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30 p.m. New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
April 14 New York Islanders 12:00 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
April 16 New York Islanders 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
April 18 Pittsburgh Penguins TBD New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
April 20 New York Islanders TBD Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
April 22 Pittsburgh Penguins TBD New York Islanders Nassau Coliseum
No surprise here that the Pens are good. Sidney Crosby hit the 100 point mark again this season. Evgeni Malkin chipped in another 71 points, while Phil Kessel had an 82 point campaign and Jake Guentzel scored 50 goals on the year. Adding talent like Jarrod McCann and Nick Bjugstad to the bottom forwards has been a solid addition to this lineup, making it that much tougher to play against. Matt Murray has done a fine job in net for Pittsburgh this year, winning 29 games and recording four shutouts.
What the Islanders have an advantage over the Pens on is in net. Robin Lehner and Thomas Griess won the Jennings trophy for the fewest goals allowed in the entire league at 196. The two have them have been spectacular in net this year. It could take them far in the playoffs this year, if the offense can come close to matching what the goaltending has been able to do this year. Scoring has me a little worried. Matt Barzal lead the Isles in scoring with 62 points, which would have finished 4th on the Penguins. Casey Cizikas, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee were the only Islanders forwards to hit the 20 goal mark on the season. New York got balanced scoring this season. While not as flashy as what the Pens did, the Isles got the job done when they needed to when it comes to filling the back of the net.
This is going to be a long series, going at least six games. Scoring was even between the two teams during head to head play so why wouldn't this go at least six. The difference could come down to the netminding and while the Penguins have the advantage in experience, the Islanders are out to prove something to the hockey world. They pull off the victory in this series and move on to the next round.
Prediction: Islanders in 6!
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 10 Dallas Stars 9:30 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
April 13 Dallas Stars 6:00 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
April 15 Nashville Predators 9:30 p.m. Dallas Stars American Airlines Center
April 17 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. Dallas Stars American Airlines Center
April 20 Dallas Stars TBD Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
April 22 Nashville Predators TBD Dallas Stars American Airlines Center
April 24 Dallas Stars TBD Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
There seems to be a bit of a different vibe around the Preds this season. That power play has been an issue all season long and finishes up at the bottom of the league. Acquiring Wayne Simmonds at the trade deadline hasn’t been the cure. What has been a surprise is Viktor Arvidsson, who set a new franchise record for goals in a season with 34 in just 58 games played, Nashville’s offence leaves something to be desired. There are just three 20-goal scorers on the team and, since the trade deadline, Simmonds, Kyle Turris and Mikael Granlund have combined for just two goals. Having trouble filling the back of the net could be tough this time of the year.
Dallas has offensive issues itself, at least when you look past the big three of Alexander Radulov, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. No surprise that those three guys have been carrying the scoring punch in Dallas, Seguin lead the team with 33 goals and 80 points The next three highest-scoring players on the team outside of them are defencemen, which is why the return of Mats Zuccarello is such a big deal. Dallas has a big positive going for it in that Ben Bishop has been as good as he has this season.Big Ben had 27 wins, seven shutouts and a 1.98 goals against this year. If Dallas is to pull off the upset, then Bishop is going to have to be on top of his game.
As good as Bishop has been, and trust me he's been very very good this season, he can't do it all. Sure a hot goalie can take you places, but it won't do anybody any good if a team can't score. Dallas has depth issues that Nashville doesn't. Oh and Pekka Rinne is a pretty good netminder in his own right. Dallas puts u[p a fight but the Preds move along.
Prediction: Predators in 6!
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 10 St. Louis Blues 8:00 p.m. Winnipeg Jets Bell MTS Place
April 12 St. Louis Blues 9:30 p.m. Winnipeg Jets Bell MTS Place
April 14 Winnipeg Jets 7:30 p.m. St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
April 16 Winnipeg Jets 9:30 p.m. St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
April 18 St. Louis Blues TBD Winnipeg Jets Bell MTS Place
April 20 Winnipeg Jets TBD St. Louis Blues Enterprise Center
April 22 St. Louis Blues TBD Winnipeg Jets Bell MTS Place
There's no denying what an impact Jordan Binnington has been on the Blues. Think about this. Near the end of January, the Blues were in dead last in the league. Once the calendar switched over to 2019, St. Louis was leading the West with a 30-10-5 record, a mark that vautled to put them back into the playoffs. And in his time in the big leagues, Binnington went 24-5-1 with five shutouts. He's hot and its coming at the right time of the year. Aside from the hot goaltending, St Louis can score goals. Ryan O'Reilly lead the team in assists and points, while Vladimir Tarasenko lead the team in goals. O'Reilly, Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn are the only Blues skaters who collected 50 or more points on the season. The Blues have balance in their lineup, with thirteen guys scoring ten or more goals.
Winnipeg has tyhe same point total, but more regulation wins than the Blues. Blake Wheeler lead the team in assists and points, while Mark Scheifele lead the team in goals. Patrik Laine was the only other Jets forward to score over 30 goals. Five guys scored more than fifty points for this Winnipeg team. Connor Hellebuyck has great numbers playing in net for the Jets this year. They have balance and solid netminding so Winnipeg is going to be a tough team to play against.
St Louis is one of the hottest teams on the planet right now. This series will go at least six games, but the Blues may run out of gas. As good as Binnington is, I'm just not sure how well he can hold up over the course of a long series and the Jets should be able to figure him out. St Louis is good, but Winnipeg is more balanced. Would be happy to see the Blues come out of this series, I just think the Jets are going to pull it out.
Predictions: Jets in 7!
Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 11 Colorado Avalanche 10:00 p.m. Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
April 13 Colorado Avalanche 10:30 p.m. Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
April 15 Calgary Flames 10:00 p.m. Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center
April 17 Calgary Flames 10:00 p.m. Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center
April 19 Colorado Avalanche TBD Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
April 21 Calgary Flames TBD Colorado Avalanche Pepsi Center
April 23 Colorado Avalanche TBD Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
Calgary has been a dominating team for most of the year in the Western Conference and powering the offense was Johnny Gaudreau, who lead the team in goals assists and points. Along with Johnny Hockey, four other guys managed to crack the 7-0 point mark for the flames this year: Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm, Matthew Tkachuk, and Mark Giordano. They also had six other guys hit double digits in goals, including Mikael Backlund, who was one of five twenty or more goal scorers for this team. Goaltending is the only thing that would be a concern for Calgary as both Mike Smith and David Rittich have been average to good during stretches this year. Calgary has no problem filling up the back of the opposing net, it just leaves one to wonder if they can keep the puck out of their own net.
Colorado is a good team, but they too have holes that leave one to worry a little. Colorado's top line of Nathan MacKinnon (who lead the team in all offensive areas), Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog. outside of them, the only other Avs player to hit the twenty goal mark was Carl Soderberg. Semyon Varlamov lead the way in the Colorado net and looked good at times this year, but at times also looked average. Colorado did enough to be able to make it into the playoffs, but how far they are going to go is going to be determined by the play of their top line.
Colorado is the more top heavy team in this series. It relies too much on one offensive unit. They aren't deep enough to be able to hang with a team like Calgary. The Flames goaltending may leave something to be desired but they have the advantage over the Avs in this series.
Prediction: Flames in 6!
Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 10 Vegas Golden Knights 10:30 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
April 12 Vegas Golden Knights 10:30 p.m. San Jose Sharks SAP Center
April 14 San Jose Sharks 10:00 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
April 16 San Jose Sharks 10:30 p.m. Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
April 18 Vegas Golden Knights TBD San Jose Sharks SAP Center
April 21 San Jose Sharks TBD Vegas Golden Knights T-Mobile Arena
April 23 Vegas Golden Knights TBD San Jose Sharks SAP Center
Vegas needs to get something going at the start of this year's playoffs. The top line of William Karlsson between Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault came alive in the final quarter of the season, re-discovering the form that made them so dangerous in the Knights’ debut season. Nobody was able to crack the 70 point mark on Vegas this year, as Marchessault lead the way with 59 points. Marc-Andre Fleury was quiet down the stretch going 1-5-2 in his last eight starts. But when he's on his game, he can carry a team. Look at what Fleury did for Vegas last year. One thing that's really going to have to step it's game up for the Golden Knights is their second line of Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny. On the surface, that’s an equation that Vegas should be thrilled about. Those three newcomers form the squad’s second line and if they could ever get locked in, look out, they're going to be very dangerous.
Vegas is going up against a poised Sharks team who has no problem filling the back of the net. Brent Burns lead the team in scoring with 83 points and San Jose had four guys crack the thirty goa mark in the form of Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, Joe Pavelski, and Evander Kane. Hell they even got 27 more from Logan Couture, who was the only other Sharks skater to crack the 20 goal mark. So scoring isn't the problem. Defending might be. With Burns and Erik Karlsson leading the blue line crew they should be OK. but its the play of Martin Jones that has me a little worried. He's been good, but around this time of year you need to be great boardering on spectacular. I just don't feel they are right now.
It easy to sit here and say that Vegas may have been a flash in the pan and only time will truly tell. In this series it's going to come down to goaltending and I trust that of Vegas right now over the Sharks.
Prediction: Golden Knights in 7!
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