NHL Playoff Preview
It has been quite the past 14 months with the global pandemic affecting every part of life, including the world of sports. The 2021 NHL season had to be adapted a ton so that teams and players could be as safe as possible, while at the same time trying to maintain an ever-changing schedule. Four divisions were created, each team played (or still has to play) 56 games, and now it’s almost time for the best part of the campaign – the STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS! This year will see each division battle it out until just one team remains to move forward into the semi-finals aka the final four – one vs four and two vs three is what we will see in each division for round one.
Without further ado, let’s move on to looking at each playoff series and I’ll do my best to provide some analysis and predictions for each one.
Honda West Division
Colorado Avalanche (1st) vs St.Louis Blues (4th)
Season series: Avalanche – 5-3-0/Blues – 3-5-0
Last 10 games: Avalanche – 8-2-0/Blues – 6-1-3
The MacKinnon-less Avalanche played great hockey down the stretch, and now their superstar should be rested and mostly healthy for the start of the playoffs. The Aves are fairly stacked from top to bottom, the team is built to endure another long playoff run this year and should be hungry to go deeper after losing in game 7 to the Dallas Stars last season in round 2. The Blues won the Stanley Cup two years ago and have been fantastic as of late with just one regulation loss in their last 12 games, and they did defeat the Aves in the final two games they played against each other late last month. However, Colorado are coming off the Presidents Cup win so they hold down home ice for the duration of the playoffs, and you just get the sense that the Aves will be disappointed if they fall anything short of reaching the finals. Prediction: Avalanche win 4-2.
Vegas Golden Knights (2nd) vs Minnesota Wild (3rd)
Season series: Golden Knights – 3-4-1/Wild – 5-1-2
Last 10 games: Golden Knights – 7-3-0/Wild – 5-3-2
The Golden Knights have a complete team throughout, no super stars are on the club although Mark Stone and Shea Theodore are bordering on that distinct honor, but they can score with the best of them, have such solid defense, especially with Alex Pietrangelo in the fold now, and they also boast two excellent starting goalies, as well. I picked them to win the Stanley Cup last season, and although they fell a bit short of that feat after getting knocked out by the Dallas Stars in the conference final, they had a great run that will undoubtedly help them this year. The Wild played the Golden Knights tough in the regular season and actually had the better record, but they lost some steam down the stretch and are faced with a very dangerous opponent in Vegas. Assuming that the Avalanche and Golden Knights advance to round 2, I can’t wait to see how that series unfolds and believe that whichever team wins, will ultimately hoist the Stanley Cup this Summer. Prediction: Golden Knights win 4-1.
Discover Central Division
Carolina Hurricanes (1st) vs Nashville Predators (4th)
Season series: Hurricanes – 6-2-0/Preds – 2-5-1
Last 10 games: Hurricanes – 5-2-3/Predators – 7-2-1
This series might be more interesting than we all think as the Predators won the last two games of each team’s season, but the Hurricanes have otherwise dominated the season series. All hands should be on deck for game 1 though for the Hurricanes, and I think we will see this talented team get right back on track to play quality hockey. The Predators are flying high though right now since the return of their captain, Roman Josi, so I don’t think that it will be a cakewalk for Carolina. Prediction: Hurricanes win 4-2.
Florida Panthers (2nd) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (3rd)
Season series: Panthers – 5-2-1/Lightning – 3-5-0
Last 10 games: Panthers – 8-2-0/Lightning – 6-3-1
The battle of Florida should be a dandy, especially with all of the fireworks we saw recently between the two clubs! The Panthers got the better of the Lightning throughout the regular season, but it sounds as though Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov should be ready to go for game 1, so that could be a huge problem for the Panthers unless the rust doesn’t shake off these two elite players – the series could actually hinge on these guys. Tampa will be hungry to repeat this year as Stanley Cup champs and it will be exciting to see how hard they fight to accomplish that lofty feat. Prediction: Lightning win 4-3.
MassMutual East Division
Pittsburgh Penguins (1st) vs New York Islanders (4th)
Season series: Penguins – 6-2-0/Islanders – 2-4-2
Last 10 games: Penguins – 8-2-0/Islanders – 3-4-3
It appears as though these two teams are heading in opposite directions – the Penguins are soaring and the Islanders are crashing and burning. Sidney Crosby and the gang have had an amazing season to date, and did some serious damage to the Isles in their 8 game series. Anything can happen once the playoffs start, but I just think there are too many weapons at Pittsburgh’s disposal and I don’t think that New York will be able to disarm those weapons to avoid getting destroyed. Prediction: Penguins win 4-1.
Washington Capitals (2nd) vs Boston Bruins (3rd)
Season series: Capitals – 4-4-0/Bruins – 4-2-2
Last 10 games: Capitals – 7-2-1/Bruins – 6-3-1
This series is going to be fun to watch as both teams are very talented, and both can get nasty if needed – especially Tom Wilson who seems to have no disregard for his opponent’s overall well-being. Both teams have a similar record heading into the dance, the season series was fairly even too with four wins each, the difference was Boston lost two of their games in overtime, and let’s not forget that most of the Bruins best players were rested for the final game they recently played. Prediction: Bruins win 4-2.
Scotia North Division
Toronto Maple Leafs (1st) vs Montreal Canadiens (4th)
Season series: Leafs – 7-2-1/Canadiens – 3-6-1
Last 10 games: Leafs – 7-1-2/Canadiens – 4-4-2
Will this be the year that the Leafs finally win a playoff series? It has been 17 long years for Leafs’ fans, but the good news is that this year presents their best chance in quite some time as they won their division handily, and thankfully won’t have to take on the Boston Bruins. These two historic teams haven’t faced each other since 1979, so fans from both clubs are most certainly amped up for this classic battle! The Canadiens have been a hurting unit for a while now with Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher out for some time, but both are expected to be ready to go for round 1. The Leafs have been winning with regularity lately while the Canadiens haven’t been, and Toronto also has a pretty big advantage when looking at the season series. I don’t it’s time for Leafs’ fans to start planning a pandemic-safe parade just yet, but the odds are in their favor to win round 1. Prediction: Leafs win 4-2.
Edmonton Oilers (2nd) vs Winnipeg Jets (3rd)
Season series: Oilers – 7-2-0/Jets – 2-7-0
Last 10 games: Oilers – 8-2-0/Jets – 2-8-0
The Edmonton Oilers have been surging and the Jets sure haven’t been flying high lately – more like sitting on the tarmac and waiting for the plane’s wings to have snow melted off before takeoff. Edmonton highly relies on their two superstars for production and it has been working as the wins keep piling up, and the defense and goaltending have been good as of late, as well. The Jets have a banged-up Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler dealt with a concussion not long ago, and their defense and goaltending have been suspect for a while now. The way that Connor McDavid is playing right now, you have to think that there’s no way he will let his team lose in round 1, and I doubt they will. Unless Connor Hellebuyck plays out of his mind, and there’s very little indication that he will, I just don’t see how the Jets will contain the slippery Oilers. Prediction: Oilers win 4-1.
I’m very excited to see what the 2021 playoffs bring starting on Saturday night! We normally see lots of upsets in round 1 – I can’t foresee anything too crazy happening, but we tend to witness divisional leaders drop quicker than we expect, and there will be likely two or three upsets in the opening round this year. Get prepared for your playoff pool draft if you have one coming up, enjoy the playoffs in all of their spectacular glory, and continue to stay safe and healthy as we move through the third wave of the pandemic.
