A2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs WC) Florida Panthers
Florida is coming off knocking off the best team during the regular season, while the Leafs are coming off their first playoff series win since 2004. Neither team was really given much hope in the first round. Toronto has had an abysmal track record over the last almost twenty years in the playoffs, so you could understand there being a little hesitation in picking them to win. Florida had finished a whopping 43 points behind Boston, who they knocked out in seven games (and proved that having the best regular season record don't mean squat come this time of the year)
Now as far as this series goes, both teams com in riding emotional highs from the last round. Both teams got scoring from their top six forwards, but Toronto had a much greater impact from their top six than what we saw out of Florida. Nothing against Florida and their scoring punch, they had solid scoring. What worries me is if the Panthers are going to keep switching goalies and if they can even handle the offense that's going to be thrown at them by the Leafs. We said that in the last round against Boston too and look what happened. Going to be a fun series.
Pick: Toronto in 6!
M1) Carolina Hurricanes vs M2) New Jersey Devils
Carolina picked up into the second round again. They taking on a New Jersey is coming off its first playoff series win since 2012. So this series is going to have some fire to it. There's no doubt that Carolina is a fast and skilled team. They just got Fredrick Andersen back between their pipes at the end of the last series against the Islanders. Nothing against Antti Rantta, who was good against the Isles, but it looks like, if Andersen is fully himself and back, the net is his in this series. the Hurricanes have the scoring punch, but that's going to be put to the test in this series.
New Jersey found an answer in their nets. Vanecek was out of wack at the start of the series, losing the nets to Schmid. He took over, and so did the Devils. Their offense seemed to have more of a balanced groove to it then the Hurricanes did in their first round matchup.
Pick: Devils in 7!
C2) Dallas Stars vs WC) Seattle Kraken
Seattle not only won its first series in team history, but they did it beating the defending Champions. While Dallas is coming in off a solid win over Minnesota. You want to talk about a guy going off in a series. Have yourself an opening round Roope Hintz. Hintz finished the first round leading all scorers with 12 points. Him and Jason Robertson both had big series against the Wild.
Now your going up against something totally different in the 2nd year Seattle Kraken. Yes they had good production from their veterans like Gourde, Schwartz and Schultz. There's plenty of firepower evenly distributed amongst this Seattle team. And with a solid goalie like Grubaure in the nets, Seattle has something to hang its hat on from this first round win. But that's about as far as its going. Dallas is just too loaded and well balanced a team for Seattle to pull of yet another upset in the playoffs.
Pick: Stars in 6!
P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs P2) Edmonton Oilers
Vegas is back in the 2nd round for another year. As are the Oilers. its the 2nd year in a row of a 2nd round appearance. This year Edmonton has their dynamic duo going in the first round against the Kings. McDavid and Draisitl had big first round series, as did Evan Bouchard. All three guys finished with more than ten points in the series win over the Kings. What has me worried a little for Edmonton here is in net. Can Stuart Skinner find his dominating form again from the regular season, because what we saw here in the playoffs, it wasn't what we got from the last six months of the regular season.
Vegas has been here before. In their brief history they have failed to play in the 2nd round only twice, 2019, when they lost in the first round, and last year when the totally missed the playoffs. So this is a bounce back year of sorts. The first year set the bar extremely high with that trip to the finals. Brossoit has proven himself in the first round win this year over the Jets. And where the Knights may have an edge is they have not as top heavy a scoring threat, but its more balanced a scoring threat than what you get in Edmonton.
Pick: Vegas in 7!
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