Adamo Marinelli
May 2, 2022
The NHL season is officially over which means the quest for the Stanley Cup has officially begun. There were many talented teams in both conferences this season and you can make a case for a handful of teams to lift Lord Stanley. For the first time in NHL history all eight teams in the same conference recorded over 100 points in the regular season; this year every team in the Eastern Conference got over 100 points and five teams recorded 110 or more points. Only one team can call themselves champions, who will it be?
EAST
A1 Florida Panthers vs WC2 Washington Capitals
Panthers in 5
The Florida Panthers won the President’s Trophy for a reason. They finished 58-16-6 for 122 points and had the best offense in the NHL. They led the league in goals per game with 3.66, had a league-best 37.34 shots on goal per game and they boast a top-five powerplay unit in the NHL. They also boast a talented defense, an 80% penalty kill, and have gotten great goaltending all year. The Capitals have a talented roster, especially with goal-scoring machine Alexander Ovechkin, but who knows if he will be 100% after missing the last three regular-season games with an injury. The Panthers are superior in almost every metric, they’ll win.
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning in 7
Some experts believe the Leafs would be better off playing the Boston Bruins instead of the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Lightning. The Leafs have the slightly better offense, especially with Auston Matthews who scored an NHL-best 60 goals this season, making him an MVP, Rocket Richard, and Hart Trophy winner. The Leafs can score at will, but the Lightning’s defense is superior. It allows fewer goals against per game, fewer shots against per game and they have a top 10 penalty kill at 80.63 percent. The Lightning also have better goaltending and more playoff experience than the Leafs, and they know how to win in the playoffs. Also, don’t forget the firepower on Tampa’s offense with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Patrick Maroon, Corey Perry, and now Nick Paul. Victor Hedman is a Norris trophy-winning defenseman. Mikhail Sergachev and Zach Bogosian are also strong defenders. Finally, I don’t think anyone wants to play against Andrei Vasilevskiy in the playoffs. When he gets hot, he's impossible to beat. He and the entire Lightning team know what it takes to win in the playoffs and how to scrape out wins. The Leafs, not so much.
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs WC1 Boston Bruins
Hurricanes in 6
The Boston Bruins have defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in the last two postseasons, but the
Hurricanes have had a fantastic regular season and have been very efficient on both sides of the puck. The Hurricanes have the best penalty kill in the league at 88% and an efficient powerplay that scores almost 22% of the time. The only caveat to their near-perfect season is an injury to their starting goalie Frederik Anderson and their backup Anti Raanta. Anderson had one of the best years of his career before his injury, which makes it all the more disappointing. If both are unable to go in this series, they could be in trouble, but Anderson is expected to start in game 1 according to head coach Rod Brindamour. If Anderson is healthy, the Hurricanes are the better overall team and will win an interesting series.
M2 New York Rangers vs M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
Rangers in 6
This series is a toss-up and it is possible that both teams can win this series. Both teams have talented rosters and a lot of superstar power. However, the Penguins’ Stanley Cup window is closing quickly and potentially already closed. While Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are both extremely talented playmakers and goal scorers, who have a lot of playoff experience and have won Stanley Cups, their injuries throughout the year have them playing at less than 100 percent. The Rangers are a team with a lot of potential, a top-four powerplay in the league operating at 25.23%, a top 7 penalty kill operating at 82.30% and they allow only 2.23 goals per game, the second-fewest total in the league. If they add a few more quality veterans, especially on offense to get consistent goal-scoring from all four lines, they can contend for Stanley Cups for a while. The Rangers won the season series 3-1 against the Penguins and while that doesn’t always translate into the playoffs, the Rangers will not struggle against the Penguins, even though they are talented and can score goals.
WEST
C1 Colorado Avalance vs WC2 Nashville Predators
Avalanche in 4.
The Avalanche are the best team in the Western Conference and in the NHL not named the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators just made it into the playoffs. No disrespect to the Predators, but the Avalanche should have no problem in this series; they are the much better team on offense, on defense, on special teams, and in net. To make matters worse for Nashville, goaltender Jussi Saros is out with a lower-body injury, and Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog who is an elite goal scorer and playmaker is returning from injury. This is one of the most lopsided playoff series in recent history and the Avs should sweep.
C2 Minnesota Wild vs C3 St. Louis Blues
Blues in 6.
The Wild and Blues were very evenly matched this season on offense and defense. The Wild finished with 113 points, and the Blues finished with 109 points. The Blues have more playoff experience than the Wild, having won a Stanley Cup with their current core in 2019. The Wild are a middle-of-the-pack team defensively allowing 2.61 goals per game, 31.43 shots per game and their penalty kill ranks in the bottom 10 in the league at 76.14 percent. The Blues allowed similar numbers in goals and shots against per game, but have a top 5 penalty kill unit operating at 84 percent. The Blues can get scoring from all four of their lines on even strength and special teams, they have a ton of talent and depth at center, on the wings, and on defense and they have the better goaltending too. Finally, they have a lethal powerplay (2nd best in the NHL at 26.97%) and also are the 2nd highest scoring team averaging 3.38 goals per game. The Wild defense will not be able to hold everyone in check and the Blues will win.
P1 Calgary Flames vs WC1 Dallas Stars
Flames in 5.
This current Flames team is one of the best in franchise history after recording 50 wins and is comparable to the 1989 Stanely Cup winning Flames team. Their top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm each recorded 40 or more goals, and Gaudreau and Tkachuk each had over 100 points. The Flames registered the third-most shots on goal in the league and were top 10 in powerplay efficiency and goals per game. They also have a lot of depth on offense and can get scoring from all four lines. Andrew Mangiapane had 35 goals and 55 points and Tyler Toffoli, Blake Coleman, and Michael Backlund all had 10+ goals. Their defense has exceeded all expectations with guys like Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, and Chris Tanev all having career years. The Flames allowed the fewest goals per game with 2.10 and their penalty kill was top 6 in the NHL, killing 83.20% of their penalties. Finally, Jacob Markstrom’s career year makes him a Vezina Trophy favourite. The Stars are a physical and talented team who have been playing well on both sides of the puck to make the playoffs, & may steal one game but Calgary’s top 10 offense, defense & special teams are too much to handle.
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs P3 Los Angeles Kings
Oilers in 7.
The Oilers despite all their regular-season success and despite having two superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaital who both always rank in the top five for total points each year (this year McDavid was 1st with 123 points and Draisaitl was 4th with 110 points), they have been criticized for not getting far into the playoffs as a result of subpar defending and also a lack of scoring from guys not named McDavid or Draisatl. The Oilers improved their depth scoring and are getting substantial production from Evander Kane, Kailer Yamamoto, Zach Hyman, Darnell Nurse, and Evan Bouchard. They have the 3rd best powerplay in the league, scoring 25.96% of the time, and scored 61 powerplay goals, the 7th most in the league. Their defense has also improved substantially. They allow 2.45 goals per game, the 7th fewest in the league, and have a middle-of-the-pack penalty kill that is almost 80% effective. They look much better now with Jay Woodcroft as their head coach vs when Dave Tippet was behind the bench. The Kings have a resilient, physical group that plays for each other. They get scoring from everyone and are solid defensively and on special teams. Anze Kopitar was the leading scorer with 67 points (19 goals, 47 assists) and Adrian Kempe scored a team-high 35 goals. They also have the edge in goaltending, Jonathan Quick has been better than Mike Smith this year, but it won’t be enough to stop the Oilers.
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