With the first round of the NHL playoffs slated to begin in a few days, here are my predictions for the East matchups… included will be my pick for who wins, in how many games, and a bold prediction for the series.
Note: In the predictions I will include important stats like goals for and against, special teams percentages, top scorers, etc
Let’s get into it-
Atlantic 1 vs Wild Card 1
Toronto Maple Leafs (52-26-4) vs Ottawa Senators (45-30-7)
Goals for per game: TOR 3.25 (8th) OTT 2.90 (21st)
Goals against per game: TOR 2.83 (12th) OTT 2.79 (9th)
Power Play: TOR 25.2% (7th) OTT 23.0% (14th)
Penalty Kill: TOR 78.1% (16th) 78% OTT (17th)
Season series: 4-2 OTT, 2-1 OTT, 3-0 0TT
Key players to watch:
Auston Matthews: 32 goals, 45 assists, 77 points
Mitch Marner: 27 goals, 73 assists, 100 points
William Nylander : 45 goals, 39 assists, 85 points
Brady Tkachuk: 29 goals, 26 assists, 55 points
Tim Stutzle: 23 goals, 53 assists, 76 points
Jake Sanderson : 11 goals, 44 assists, 55 points
Goaltending Matchup: Anthony Stolarz (21-8-3, .926 SV%, 2.14 GAA, 4 shutouts) vs Linus Ullmark (24-14-3, .911 SV%, 2.67 GAA, 4 shutouts)
The long awaited Battle of Ontario is upon us. The Maple Leafs and Senators meet in the playoffs for the first time since 2004. The Atlantic division winner Maple Leafs look to win their first Cup since 1967 and the young Senators finally get a playoff appearance. Both teams are very good and this should be a fun series. The Leafs, led by Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander, are hungry to quiet the doubters. The Sens, on the other hand, are ahead of schedule. Captain Brady Tkachuk is playing in his first playoff series and 2020 number three pick Tim Stutzle gets to show his elite game in the playoffs.
On paper, Toronto has the better top end talent. The goaltending edge might actually also go to the Leafs this time around, too. That has always been a big question regarding Toronto, but it looks as if they finally have their guy in Anthony Stolarz. Linus Ullmark, acquired from Boston over the summer, has been good for the Senators.
The Senators are 3-0 against the Leafs this season. All of the games have been low scoring, with no more than 6 goals being scored in an of the games. Look for something similar in this series.
Bold Prediction: Matthew Knies is the MVP of the series. The young budding star has been sensational all season, and it will carry over into the playoffs.
Series Prediction: I am predicting Leafs in 7. The Senators will give it all they have, but Toronto will prevail.
Atlantic 2 vs Atlantic 3
Tampa Bay Lightning (47-27-8) vs Florida Panthers (47-31-4)
Goals for per game: TBL 3.60 (1st) FLA 3.00 (15th)
Goals against per game: TBL 2.62 (3rd) FLA 2.72 (7th)
Power Play: TBL 26.2 (5th) FLA 23.5 (12th)
Penalty Kill: TBL 81.5 (6th) FLA 80.7 (10th)
Season series: 4-2 FLA, 4-0 TBL, 2-1 FLA, 5-1 TBL
Key players to watch:
Nikita Kucherov: 37 goals 84 assists, 121 points
Brayden Point: 42 goals, 40 assists, 82 points
Brandon Hagel: 35 goals, 55 assists, 90 points
Jake Guentzel: 41 goals 39 assists, 80 points
Victor Hedman: 15 goals 51 assists, 66 points
Aleksander Barkov: 20 goals 51 assists, 71 points
Sam Reinhart: 39 goals 42 assists, 81 points
Sam Bennett: 25 goals 26 assists, 51 points
Matthew Tkachuk: 22 goals 35 assists, 57 points (52 games)
Goaltending matchup: Andrei Vasilevskiy (38-20-5, .921 SV%, 2.18 GAA, 6 shutouts) vs Sergei Bobrovsky (33-19-2, ,906 SV%, 2.44 GAA, 5 shutouts)
Yet again, we will have the battle of Florida in the first round. Last season, the Panthers won in 5 games en route to their first ever Stanley Cup. This time around, Tampa seems to be the better team, giving them home ice. I am fascinated to see how Florida plays with the injuries they have. Matthew Tkachuk is a proven playoff player, but he has been injured since the 4 Nations Tournament. Nikiita Kucherov, on the other hand, is having a Hart caliber season. Along with him, the Lightning have Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, and Victor Hedman. The Cats have Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe.
I will give the edge in goal to the Bolts. Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the greatest playoff performers in history. His numbers are historic. Sergei Bobrovsky is great as well, leading Florida to the Cup last year, with two Vezina’s already on his resume.
Bold prediction: Newly acquired Yanni Gourde will score an overtime winner in the series. he has a knack to come up big, and I’ll say he does.
Series Prediction: I think the injuries will be too much this time around for the Panthers, the Lightning are better in all categories this season, Tampa in 6.
Metro 1 vs Wild Card 2
Washington Capitals (51-22-9) vs Montreal Canadiens (40-31-11)
Goals for per game: WSH 3.51 (2nd) MTL 2.96 (17th)
Goals against per game: WSH 2.77 (9th) MTL 3.18 (22nd)
Power Play: WSH 23.3 (14th) MTL 20.1% (21st)
Penalty Kill: WSH 82.3 (4th) MTL 80.9 (9th)
Season series: 6-3 WSH, 4-2 WSH, 3-2 MTL
Key players to watch:
Alex Ovechkin: 43 goals, 29 assists, 72 points
Dylan Strome: 29 goals, 52 assists, 81 points
Aliaksei Protas: 30 goals, 36 assists, 66 points
Pierre-Luc Dubois: 20 goals, 45 assists, 65 points
John Carlson: 5 goals, 46 assists, 51 points
Cole Caufield: 37 goals, 33 assists, 70 points
Nick Suzuki: 30 goals, 59 assists, 89 points
Juraj Slafkovsky: 18 goals, 33 assists, 51 points
Patrick Laine: 20 goals, 13 assists (52 games)
Lane Hutson: 6 goals, 60 assists, 66 points
Goaltending Matchup: *Logan Thompson (31-6-6, .910 SV%, 2.49 GAA, 2 shutouts)/Charlie Lindgren (20-14-3, .896 SV%, 2.73 GAA, 1 shutout), vs Samuel Montembault (31-24-7, .902 SV%, 2.82 GAA, 5 shutouts)
Who saw this coming? The Capitals, arguably the worst playoff team in history last season, had the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Habs made the playoffs in a season where they were expected to be a bottom 5 team in the league. This should be a very fun matchup. both teams have skilled forwards and improved vastly in the offseason. Alex Ovechkin is as motivated as ever to win his second Stanley Cup after breaking Wayne Gretzky’s goal record. Montreal is led by captain Nick Suzuki, who may very well be the most underappreciated player in the league. Don’t forget about rookie phenom Lane Hutson, his 66 points will win him the Calder Trophy. He is already one of the better offensive defenseman in the league at just 21 years old. However, the rest of the blue line leaves a lot to be desired defensively. Their 5 on 5 defense is among one of the worst in the league, which could be a concern, especially against a team like Washington that has depth
The Canadiens have been getting hot at the right time, they have been one of the best teams in the league since the 4 Nations Break. The Capitals, on the other hand, have some question marks. Starting goaltender Logan Thompson is injured, and the team has been mediocre for a few months. Was Ovechkin’s pursuit of the goals record a distraction for the team? That may very well be the case.
Bold prediction: After not recording a single shot on goal in last years first round against the Rangers, The Great 8 will make up for it in a big way, as he will have a hat trick at some point in this series.
Series prediction: I do think the Habs will make it interesting, but the inexperience of some of the guys will show. Washington is just a little more well balanced. Capitals in 6.
Metro 2 vs Metro 3
Carolina Hurricanes (47-30-5) vs New Jersey Devils (42-33-7)
Goals for per game: CAR 3.24 (8th) NJD 2.94 (18th)
Goals against per game: CAR 2.75 (8th) NJD 2.65 (5th)
Power Play: CAR 18.6% (26th) NJD 28.0% (3rd)
Penalty Kill: CAR 84.1% (1st) NJD 82.4% (2nd)
Season series: 4-2 CAR, 4-2 NJD, 4-2 NJD, 5-2 CAR
Key players to watch:
Sebastian Aho: 29 goals, 45 assists, 74 points
Seth Jarvis: 32 goals, 35 assists, 67 points
Jesper Bratt: 21 goals, 67 assists, 88 points
Nico Hischier: 35 goals, 34 assists, 69 points
Goaltending matchup: Frederik Anderson (13-7-1, .907 SV%, 2.29 GAA, 1 shutout)/Pytor Kochetkov (27-15-3, .897 SV%, 2,59 GAA, 2 shutouts) vs Jacob Markstrom (26-16-6, .900 SV%, 2.50 GAA, 4 shutouts)
The Hurricanes and Devils are set to face off in the first round. These two teams last met in the 2023 playoffs, with Carolina winning in 5 games. This time around, the teams look a little different. Jack Hughes, who would have arguably been the best player in this series, is out for the rest of the season after getting shoulder surgery a few weeks ago. Dougie Hamilton returning on the blue line for New Jersey should help a little bit. The teams split the season series at two games a piece, with the scores being almost identical.
But Carolina has been the standard of the metro division for the last half decade. They have good forwards, good defense, and good coaching. The Devils might have better top forwards, but I trust the Canes depth a little more.
Bold prediction: Andrei Svechnikov leads the Canes in goals this series. He has had a down year, but I think he steps up this time around.
Series prediction: Carolina’s been there done that, however, I do think the stats show this series should be closer than many think, Canes in 6.
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