Ah the playoffs! I know there’s such a hoopla by the media about the lack of Canadian teams, but I do not find this to be a factor.
I like hockey. I watch hockey. I love playoff hockey. I’ll watch playoff hockey. It’s simple. Besides, as an Oilers fan, kind of used to it at this point.
With that said, the Western Conference looks to be a total dog fight to win it. You have your usual contenders like the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings (back from a year absence) with the usual faces like the Anaheim Ducks and St Louis Blues being in the playoffs.
Without further ado, here are my predictions for each playoff series.
Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild had a really bumpy season leading up to the playoffs. They fired Mike Yeo mid way through the year. There was the time Ryan Suter was questioning the coaches decisions when Jonas Brodin was paired with him. Still, the Wild edged the overrated Colorado Avalanche for the final Wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
What do the Wild do well? They are (somewhat) deep at forward. They contain Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle. Their defence is not too shabby either: Ryan Suter is an absolute stud and Jared Spurgeon is underrated. Mathew Dumba had a decent year. Dubnyk had a respectable 0.917 save percentage this year.
What’s wrong with the Wild? They aren’t exactly young. Thomas Vanek might be a buyout candidate and is injured. Zach Parise is a let down and is injured. Jason Pominville had only 36 points in 75 games. Their special teams were not great ranking nearing the bottom for penalty killing and a mediocre middle for the power play.
The Dallas Stars are an offensive power house. Led by Jamie Benn, the Stars have a heckuva top two lines with Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp playing supporting roles. John Klingberg potted 50+ points this year in his sophomore campaign. They can outscore any team in the Western Conference. That said, their offence has taken a big hit with Tyler Seguin currently injured with an Achilles injury.
How do the Stars lose? Their defence isn’t great. Sure, they acquired Kris Russell (Who I do not find to be that good of a defenceman and Jim Nill grossly overpaid for his services) but they are a very average group beyond Klingberg. UFA target Jason Demers is probably ready for the series.
My Pick: The Dallas Stars in Five Games. Without Seguin, The Stars will be too much for the Wild to handle. The Wild go into the off season with some heavy, expensive questions about their veterans. In the West, I think this will be the shortest playoff series
St. Louis Blues vs Chicago Blackhawks
The St. Louis Blues actually have home ice advantage against their heated Chicago rivals. There’s a lot to like about the St. Louis Blues: they are just a good team all around. They are deep offensively with three quality centres in Jori Lehtera, Paul Stasny and David Backes. On the Wings, you have the young robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz, the gritty vet and former Blackhawk Troy Brouwer and of course, one of the best snipers in the game, Vladimir Tarensenko. Defensively they have a great top four with Jay Bouwmeester, Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk in the top three.
That said, the Blues, despite how deep they are, struggle somewhat in goal scoring, finishing 15th in goals for per game. Alex Steen is injured. The Blues have had solid, but not elite, goaltending during these good years in Brian Elliot and Jake Allen. Plus, their inability to get past round two for the past fifteen years rears it’s very ugly head. That’s a long time.
The Chicago Blackhawks struggled down the stretch. That said, it’s the Chicago Blackhawks, the closest thing to a modern dynasty in the NHL and a good bet to go far in the playoffs yet again. They still have that three cup winning core in Patrick Kane (who is going to win the Art Ross and Hart Trophy this season), Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Corey Crawford was fantastic this season. The Blackhawks also had potential Calder Winner Artemi Panarin put up 77 points with Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane. Andrew Ladd returned to Chicago in a trade deadline deal. Chicago is a very deep team.
My Pick: Chicago in Six. Last year I foolishly had the Blues going to the Cup final to win it all. Not this time. I go with the winning experience vs losing experience as the X Factor in this series. In the West, this is going to be one of the most exciting series.
Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators
The Ducks had a horrible October but October was a long time ago. Big, mean, and skilled, the Ducks are a very good team. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are one of the best dynamic duos in the league, not only with goals but by their physical element. David Perron (now injured) performed very well in Anaheim after being acquired for Carl Hagelin. Rickard Rakell had a solid season having 43 points in 72 games. Combined with Ryan Kesler (who also was red hot down the stretch) the Ducks are good down the middle. Defensively it’s a young bag of riches with Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and future Edmonton Oiler Sami Vatanen on the back end. Goaltending is a two headed youthful monster of Frederik Andersen and John Gibson. The biggest question: is the goaltending duo up for the task? Will opponents shut down Perry and Getzlaf?
The Predators made one of the biggest trades of the season by trading Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen. The Predators finally boast that number one centre that they’ve been lacking since Peter Forsberg made a cameo appearance in 2007. That blueline is probably one of the best in the NHL: Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm are all superb defenders. Offensively, the Predators are gritty thanks to James Neal (who posted 31 goals) and Filip Forsberg (who also posted 33 goals). The Predators have two decent top six lines that can go toe to toe with anyone in the Western Conference. However, Pekka Rinne was not great this year: he had a mediocre 0.901 save percentage this year. Behind a defence like that, Rinne needs to be better.
My Pick: The Ducks in Five. The Ducks are just too good all around. I think it comes down to goaltending and Rinne just hasn’t been good this year.
Los Angeles Kings vs San Jose Sharks
The Kings are back! After a down year, where they missed the playoffs, the Kings return to the playoffs. The layoff was only a blimp on the radar: The Kings are the definition of the California Heavy Offence style. Anze Kopitar is a Selke Contender and has Jeff Carter behind him. Vinny Lecavalier looks revitalized after being traded from Philadelphia. Milan Lucic is a mean customer that fit in with Darryl Sutter’s style of play. They are masters of possession which is a great way to win hockey games. Tyler Toffoli hit the 30 goal mark for the first tim in his NHL career. Defensively, Drew Doughty is one of the best defenders in the entire NHL. Jonathan Quick had a good season and has been solid enough in the playoffs (you know, the whole Conn Smythe Trophy). They might not be too exciting to watch and can win low scoring games really easily, but the Kings are a proven winner. They are missing Marian Gaborik though.
The San Jose Sharks though, own the Season series with a 3-1-1 record. The Sharks too are heavy at centre: Joe Pavelski has been playing more Right Wing this season with Joe Thornton and Logan Couture down the middle. Joe Thornton had an outstanding campaign (and beard game) with 82 points in 82 games. At age 37! Brent Burns brought the offence from the back end (again solid beard game helps). They did a good job of actually adding talent this year instead of just John Scott from the season prior with Joel Ward, Roman Polak and Paul Martin. However, there are some questions: this is the same core of Sharks players that lost two playoff series in recent years to the Kings, including that infamous 2014 reverse sweep. They have a chokers label attached to them. There are also questions about goaltending: while Martin Jones has played well, James Reimer has been red hot since being acquired.
My Pick: Los Angeles in Six. The Nightmare of 2014 lingers with San Jose. Sutter out coached DeBoer in 2012 Finals helps too.
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