The NHL playoffs start today! The Penguins won’t start until tomorrow, which leads to a carefree night of watching tonight before the Pens take center stage for these parts. With that in mind, here’s what to watch for and some predictions for today.
** Also, if you haven’t watched since this weekend, it’s not too late today to let us see your own picks. The Pensburgh Bracket Challenge is back, albeit hosted on the official NHL website. To join all you have to do is Click here **
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boston v carolina
Although this is a division champion against a wild card, this could be considered one of the closest matching series of all the first-round matches in the league. Such is life in the brutal Eastern Conference this year.
How Caroline Wins – Starter Frederik Andersen had a season worthy of a Vezina finalist but seems unlikely to play today due to injury. They will likely need it back ASAP. Given that Sebastien Aho and Andrei Svechnikov will likely see a ton of Patrice Bergeron and Charlie MacAvoy, the series could hinge on how much a very deep group of Hurricanes forwards can score. Players like Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter will be key to making a good run.
How Boston Wins – As a bigger, more physical team, the Bruins could wear down a lighter Carolina team over the course of a long series. Boston is very comfortable and used to playing low-scoring games, which tells us the conventional wisdom that this series could be with two great defensive teams. No one in the NHL has had better defensive numbers than the Bruins, who are great at suppressing shots and opportunities down the line, then taking advantage of the offense when they have opportunities.
Prediction: Boston at 7
—It’s not uncommon for a wild card to beat a division champion in the first round, and the style of these teams makes Boston look good on paper now that David Pastrnak is back from injury. Canes backup goalie Petr Mrazek might be able to win this, however the Carolina goalie situation is worth monitoring. The series possibly depends on Andersen’s health and the form of him when he returns. Here, we are projecting that it is a bit too late.
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Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
How Tampa Wins – Protects home ice. Arguably the Maple Leafs have the most pressure and expectations, if Tampa can steal one in Games 1 and 2, and hold serve at home, that would make Scotiabank Arena very, very tense. The Leafs have been really good at home (31-8-2) and, like most, not as good on the road (23-13-5). Tampa is the two-time defending Cup champion and knows how to play this time of year.
How Toronto Wins – Reproduce the process. Toronto has been a top 5 team this year in almost every advanced metric. They have the firepower up front, and this could be a real coming out party for 60-goal scorer Auston Matthews to put his stamp on the conversation for the best player in the game today with a hot streak. Tampa would be a really formidable first-round opponent for anyone, but if the Leafs can get over this hurdle, a lot of the pressure will be off and it could turn into momentum.
Prediction: Tampa at 7.
—I am a simple man, I see Toronto in the playoffs and I choose the other team in seven games. That has been a pretty tried and true formula over the years. At the end of the day, Andrei Vasilevskiy is still the king of the playoffs and it is difficult to match him.
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St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild
How St. Louis Wins – Let’s get to work. The Blues have three lines of 20 scorers and are one of the deepest teams. Center depth is a huge advantage for STL with Robert Thomas, Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn and Tyler Bozak in the middle stacking up nicely against the Minnesota team of Ryan Hartman, Frederick Gaudreau, Joel Eriksson Ek and Tyson Jost. The core game this time of year is so crucial,
How Minnesota Wins: Star Power and Defensive Depth. Kirill Kaprizov should be the best player on ice in this series, and the Wild will need him to be big. The Wild are deep in the net with Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury, it might be necessary to find out which one they want to mount, but the goalkeeping game shouldn’t be an issue on Minny.
Prediction: Saint Louis at 6.
—This could be one of the most fun and physical series of the playoffs. Both teams are built very similarly with Minnesota better on the wings and STL better in center. Both the defenses and the goalkeeping groups are on a similar level, although the wild ones are potentially better at both. It would be surprising if either emerged when the dust settles, but give me depth in the center and some of the bones of a team that has won a title.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings
How Edmonton wins: show up? On paper, this looks like one of the biggest talent gaps with Kings star defenseman Drew Doughty out for the season with injury. The Oilers, however, are 26-9-3 under Jay Woodcroft this season, and as we saw last week in Pittsburgh, Edmonton is a very fast and skilled team that is hitting flat out right now. They’ve been a punching bag for some of his moves in the league, but the addition of Evander Kane on the ice has worked very well, and his new coaching inputs have been very impressive.
How LA Wins – Stop the Stars. The Kings will have to limit Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as much as possible, then win when they’re not on the ice. That is much easier said than done. The Kings could be the “just happy to be here” type of team that makes the playoffs but isn’t really in a position this season to do much damage.
Prediction: Edmonton at 5.
—Anything can happen in the playoffs, but this one has a clear resolution of which team “must” win. Mike Smith, 40, could run out of gas at some point later in the tournament, but his stellar April should build a lot of confidence that he will provide a quality goal. Edmonton’s elite forwards should be able to do the rest from there in this series.
Reference-www.pensburgh.com