I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t focus a whole lot on the NHL just because of how crazy other sports have been. But hey it doesn’t mean I have no idea about hockey. Let’s just get to the 16 teams entering the ring towards that prize of Lord Stanley.
Colorado Avalanche: Like most teams that have won the Cup, the Avs title defense has not been easy. Injuries have plagued them all season long especially Gabriel Landeskog who is done possibly for good. It was looking ugly for most of the year especially with their goaltending issues being serious right from the get go. And then you realize Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the rest of this high powered locomotive are pretty good at playing up to their potential when at full strength. Colorado has hit their stride at just the right time, especially with how they’ve played since March. They call this the hardest championship in sports to win for a reason, now can they win it all again. There lies the challenge.
Dallas Stars: Something about Peter DeBoer giving teams instant credibility when everything looks lost. We saw it in New Jersey, San Jose, Vegas, and now here in Big D. The Stars have been a very top heavy team all season. Especially with the renaissance of Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, as well as the coming out party for an elite talent like Jason Robertson. Plus one of the most underrated goalies in the sport in Jake Oettinger who like Ben Bishop before him has been the driving force for most of the stretch run. On paper their depth has been inconsistent but as of late its come along nicely especially with Miro Heiskanen leading the defense. They have the tools to make another run in the playoffs as they did in the bubble. The main question will be a simple one. Can they get past the Avalanche? Who knows but those two teams will be out for blood from the moment the puck drops. That is if they can get past their opponent in the opening round.
Minnesota Wild: The franchise that has been searching for that pot of gold for years. Just when everything looks to be aligning perfectly, the Hockey Gods must make life harder for this cursed franchise. Don’t get me wrong, the Wild have a good team, but its flaws are being held hostage by the elite performances of Kirill Kaprisov, Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello. The biggest issue for Minnesota this season has been injuries. Kaprisov missed a month due to injury earlier in the year, and he’s returned to peak form. But the biggest blow will be the loss of Joel Eriksson Ek. It’s a week-week injury, but the only way he comes back is if their 1st Round series goes to 6 or 7. And against a hungry team in Dallas. I’m not liking your chances one bit.
Seattle Kraken: In the old days, an expansion team wouldn’t make the playoffs until Year 5 or 6. Not here. In just their 2nd year of existence, the Kraken have discovered what has become their identity. 4 solid lines with no weaknesses. It took some time for them to break out into their full potential but hey it’s better now than later. Well when you have Jared McCann, and Matty Beniers becoming cornerstones to go along with many impact players around them. It’s a devastating 1-2 combo. Despite all this talent on their front lines there is one issue. Goaltending. On paper Philipp Grubauer has an outstanding reputation, the issue is that he’s been inconsistent as is Martin Jones. Luckily for them the Avs have the same weakness. And from the way I see it, if Seattle is going to pull off a 2018 Vegas type run, they are going to have to win gunfights a plenty. Just don’t worry about long term success especially since this is the first time you’ve been here.
Vegas Golden Knights: It appears that a now healthy roster and Bruce Cassidy having a massive chip on his shoulders has worked wonders for a franchise on the brink. Now the Golden Knights have returned to being a serious Cup Contender. When you have that much talent at Center with Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, plus an emerging Chandler Stephenson it’s an excellent asset to have. Not to mention they’ve been heating up despite a slump in early March. Their motto just like in 2018 is simple. No matter what happens, just keep winning. Mark Stone and Logan Thompson are out possibly for the rest of the year. They now must put all their eggs into the basket of past prime Jonathan Quick. They have plenty of talent on the roster that’s never been an issue. What bugs me is they’ve always gotten in their own way over the years. Can they end it here? Maybe.
Edmonton Oilers: For many years the Oilers have been carried on the backs of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nuggent-Hopkins kicking and screaming. This time around that might be changing. Those three are in their primes and McDavid became the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1996 to score 150 points in a season. The reason for optimism is a move that boosted their defense. Adding Mattias Ekholm at the trade deadline has worked wonders so far. The goaltending has also taken a small step up but not in the way you’d think. Jack Campbell hasn’t worked out, but Edmonton is so lucky that Stuart Skinner has averaged a .914 save percentage or else they’d be toast. The thing is, Skinner doesn’t have to be at his best in order for them to go far. With the talent they have with their Big 3, they could finally be able to break through. I wonder how their rivals in Calgary would react? (Especially since they are out of the playoffs entirely)
Los Angeles Kings: Despite everything that has been thrown at them this season especially in net, the Kings have made it back to the playoffs. Don’t mention the end of Quick’s timeline in LA or Cal Peterson becoming a total sieve. The only hope that these guys have is that Phoenix Copley somehow unleashes god mode. Even with Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar still kicking ass, the Kings will have an uphill climb especially with their weak penalty kill. Did I mention that they are facing Connor McDavid in the 1st Round. Although there is a famous saying “Revenge is a man best served cold” that’s what LA wants after losing in Game 7 to Edmonton last year. Will they get it? Maybe. (It all depends on limiting the Oilers chances on the man advantage)
Winnipeg Jets: The Jets are a hard team to figure out. At midseason they looked like a dark horse to win the West. Then the injuries and inconsistency of the bottom six kicked in. It was looking ugly come late February, but then Winnipeg got their act together just in time for the playoffs. (You can also blame the Flames for being useless when it matters) However a majority of the core like Mark Scheifele and others are starting to get ticked off at Rick Bowness’ playstyle. I wouldn’t say that with Kyle Connor since he’s under contract for the next 2 years. The reality for the True North is simple. They live and die by Connor Hellebuyck. If he turns into a brick wall, they might win a game or two. If not, get the brooms out.
Boston Bruins: If we thought the city of Boston was getting insufferable for the Celtics and their quest for Title #18. Oh boy, this pales in comparison to how arrogant they’ve been over the Bruins run this season. A 65 win season, and posting the best regular season by a team in NHL History. When you have David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron still dominating despite age getting at Bergeron, plus 4 elite lines and a Vezina Caliber goalie in Linus Ullmark, then you have assembled a machine. But there is hope for the rest of the hockey world. Remember the last team to win 60+ games in a season? They got swept in the 1st Round by a team that never won a playoff series in their existence. In this case, I think Boston won’t have issues just because of their consistency. God help us all. (They haven’t lost back to back games all year, insane!)
Toronto Maple Leafs: Here we go again. We must deal with the insufferable march of LeafsNet hyping up this squad as a Cup Contender. I know the analytics favor this team tremendously, I know Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner are dominating once again. I know that they’ve overhauled the entire team with talent at every position. On paper this team should make the Cup Finals. But we have to realize that this is a franchise that’s never won a playoff series since 2004. And what has been the common denominator over the last 5 years that they’ve lost in the 1st Round. Goaltending. The pairing of Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray has been ok. Not game changing but serviceable. That’s what’s been holding them back. If they don’t win 4 games in the 1st Round, this could very well be getting closer to the core being nuked. For the sake of Kyle Dubas’ job please don’t mess this up.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Don’t let their late season slump fool you. Tampa Bay must be taken seriously as a favorite in the East until they are eliminated. I don’t care if Andrei Vasilevskiy has been inconsistent the last two months. I don’t care if the defense other than Victor Hedman has taken a hard decline. I don’t care if the Tanner Jeannot experiment has been an injured disaster. (F Them Picks Hockey Style)This team has championship DNA. And those are the squads that can be the most dangerous come playoff time. As long as that power play which has suffocated opponents the last 3 years is on point no pun intended the Lightning should have a chance to go far again. But considering that their 1st Round opponent wants heads for their trophy room it’s not gonna be easy just saying.
Florida Panthers: This has been a drop off from last year’s squad that crumbled in the 2nd Round as the President Trophy Winner. That’s what happens when you trade a king’s ransom for Matt Tkachuk. Even though he’s played up to expectations I think most fans would expect more out of them. That’s what happens when all of that depth that made them a force last year is either injured or left Sunrise the first chance they got. It also doesn’t help that their goaltending situation is once again holding the Panthers back from their potential. That was until Alex Lyon stepped in and proved his doubters wrong. The issue for Lyon has nothing to do with him, but the fact that they must face Boston in the 1st Round. If they couldn’t get past Tampa last year with all of that talent on the roster, I don’t see them stealing a series from possibly the best hockey team ever assembled if they go on to win it all. For shame!
Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes like most years have dominated the Metro yet have been under the radar all season long. I get that they are in a division with glamorous contenders in big markets, but if you look at them from a surface a lot of things jump out. They trot out one of the best defensive units in the NHL, Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas have led the way offensively, excellent talent around them plus solid coaching. However the biggest question for Carolina like most teams is wait for it goaltending. Freddy Andersen, and Antti Raanta have been solid this season but past reputation will be their undoing. We know what this team can do offensively, they’ve shown that each of the last five seasons, but can they be excellent in net. Especially since if they make it out of Round 1, the Devils or Rangers await. Speaking of New Jersey…
New Jersey Devils: It’s about time you emerged from the pits of hell during one of the most difficult rebuilds of the modern NHL. This time around the Devils are playing with house money and were on cruise control towards the playoffs thanks to a franchise record setting win streak in November. Jack Hughes has become one of the most complete Centers in the Eastern Conference. Dougie Hamilton is finally healthy again and is back in 2011 form. Not to mention excellent structure and the forming of an identity they’ve lacked for some time. It also comes with Vitek Vanecek renting Marty’s powers and unleashing his inner Broeder. Some call them a serious contender, but from the way I see it, they are one of the biggest dark horses of the whole playoffs. When they are on, they are a treat to watch. The issue just so happens to be consistency. Not to mention they’ll be facing a long rival who is by the way going all in. I wonder who that happens to be?
New York Rangers: On paper this team should be locks to make the Cup Finals. Look at the roster. Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vinny Trocheck, Adam Fox, Barclay Goodreau, and oh yeah they went all in for Vladimir Tarasenko, and Patrick Kane. Not to mention Igor Shesterkin is playing like Mike Richter, and King Henrik before him. (Plus Gerard Gallant behind the bench) As I said, they should be locks for June. However the biggest issue that the Rags just like with the Celtics in the NBA is playing down to their competition. We’ve seen what this squad can do at full strength, especially with 4 elite lines and a Vezina Trophy Winner in net. But can they do this consistently? Luckily for them, their 1st Round opponent has the same flaws. From the way I see it, the NHL is going to try and rig it for them to be in the Finals because of big market bias and the fact that analytics love them. I can only imagine how salty their inner city rivals would be. Both of them to be exact.
New York Islanders: Who knew that getting rid of the Eggman and key pieces on the roster would get them back to the playoffs. Yes you can thank the Penguins, Flyers, and Capitals collapsing on themselves but the Isles deserved this spot. This is in spite of their defense, and power play being one of the most roller coaster units in the league. How did they get here you ask? Simple. Ilya Sorokin has become a brick wall. Easily a Vezina candidate that nearly single handedly got them to the prize of facing the Brass Bonanza. The question right now will be can the rest of the team recreate 2020 and 2021? They may not have the talent to do so, but if there is one thing that the Islanders have thrived on with this regime it’s that they overachieve and make themselves known in the big moments. They may not have a Cup with this core, but they’ll fight until the end. It’s all you can really hope for. PAUSE.
Let the blood and sweat of the enemy consume these teams whole, who will be the ones surviving this fight to the death?
Prediction: There’s plenty of solid candidates to make a Cup run. You can make the case for almost any team to make it all the way. But from how I see it. I have a sense that there is going to be a grudge match that’ll decide whether who wins it all. In this case I’m with the Bruins against the Golden Knights. Bruce Cassidy going up against his old team that ran him out of Beantown for no reason. It sucks for the rest of America but I feel like we’re destined for that matchup. Don’t hate the players, hate the game.
Bragging Rights Sports 