The first day of NHL Playoff Hockey was just as advertised. Intense action all the way through. Only one of the games was never in doubt and the intensity is ramping up. The second night of action should be just as good as the first. The Western Conference games last night both forced OT! The Canes picked up a 2-1 win against the Islanders in a tight contest and the last couple minutes of regulation were tense. The Canes Penalty Kill unit was clutch though. They didn’t give up a PP goal in 4 Islander opportunities. The Bruins/Panthers was never in doubt for the Bruins. They looked like the best team in NHL history last night and it is going to be a tough road for any team that has to face them.

As I said earlier, both Western Conference games forced OT and the first game actually went to Double OT. The Wild picked up the 3-2 win in Dallas and a Ryan Hartman wrister was the deciding factor. In the last game of the night, the Kings took a win away from the Oilers in Edmonton in OT, 4-3. The team’s top goal scorer, Adrian Kempe found the back of the net twice, but the game-winning goal came from Anze Kopitar. He also had 3 assists in the game. It looks like the Stanley Cup Playoffs are going to be fun to watch and keep reading for the Part 2 preview of Round 1 Playoff action.

New York Rangers (47-22-13) vs. New Jersey Devils (52-22-8)

What a great matchup up to start the second night of action. These two teams are pretty evenly matched despite the Devils taking 3 of the 4 in the season series. Both are great on the defense and both can light up the scoreboard. It should be fun hockey tonight in Jersey. The Rangers made a splash at the trade deadline, adding Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane to an already stout offense. Panarin and Zibanejad both surpassed 90 points in the regular season and star defenseman, Adam Fox had 72 himself. Igor Shesterkin continue to be a stonewall goalie during the regular season and the Rangers had one of the best goal-stopping defenses in the NHL. On paper, the Rangers may have the best team in hockey, but their record didn’t necessarily show it. I think they have the best shot to take down the Bruins, that is, if they get the opportunity. First, they have to make it past the Devils and they have had a tough time with them in the regular season.

The Devils had the 3rd best record in hockey this season. They had a very good year despite finishing so poorly last season. It’s crazy how quickly things can turn around in hockey. Both teams are relatively injury free and that is a great thing for the start of the playoffs. Jack Hughes was the leading scorer for Jersey this season with 99 points. It appears that he’ll be tearing it up for a while as he is already getting close to 100 points at 21-years old. Nico Hischier and defenseman, Dougie Hamilton also are stout on the attack. Their big acquisition at the deadline was Timo Meier and he has been very active with his new team. Tomas Tatar is also great guy to have on the ice and was one of the top Plus/Minus guys in the league. The big thing regarding this team will be playoff experience. They don’t have a lot of it. They are a very young team other than Dougie Hamilton, who is 29 and Erik Haula. It appears that Vitek Vanecek will guard the goal in the majority of the games and it will be a great goalie matchup between he and Shesterkin. In this matchup, I’ll give the edge to the Rangers due to playoff experience. These guys know how to win in big games and they came up just short in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. They are a deeper team and a more experience team. I am taking the Rangers over the Devils in a long series.

Series Prediction: Rangers in 7

Tampa Bay Lightning (46-30-6) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (50-21-11)

I believe this series is going to be the most intense one of Round 1. We have a great goalie matchup and two teams that will be looking to make some noise past the first round. Tampa didn’t have a great regular season, but you can't judge that always. This team knows how to win big games. They have been to the Stanley Cups Finals in the last 3 seasons and won 2 of those. Nikita Kucherov will lead the Lightning into Toronto for Game 1 and he will take his 113 points with him. He had 83 assists this year. That is crazy. Brayden Point also lit up the scoreboard with 51 goals this year. Along with these two stars, Steven Stamkos, Brandon Hagel, Mikhail Sergachev and Victor Hedman provide dependability. Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the league’s best goaltender and we will see two great goalies in action for the majority of this series. These defensive side of things for the Bolts could be the deciding factor in this series, but I guess we will find out if they can hold off a tough Leafs team.

Toronto has probably had the worst luck of any NHL team in the last 20 years or so. They have had good teams, but they can’t make it out of the first round. In fact, they haven’t done so since 2004. The team is so rich in hockey history, but hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967. The moon wasn’t even conquered yet, Elvis was still making crappy movies, The Beatles were still together, and Wayne Gretzky was only 6 years old. It has been a long time since the Maple Leafs have been winners, but I think they have as good of a shot as they ever had this season. Auston Matthews gets a lot of the attention and rightfully so, but Mitch Marner actually led the Leafs in scoring this season. Four guys surpassed 80 points this season for Toronto including Matthews, Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. They have a tough defense to go along with their potent offense. It is anchored by Mark Giordano, Morgan Rielly, TJ Brodie, and Justin Holl. These guys won’t make noise in the scoring column, but they will make sure the other team has a tough time when they try to attack. Ryan O’Reilly was their big move at the deadline and he has settled in nicely with the team. Ilya Samsonov has had a terrific year and even Matt Murray was really solid in stretches of the year in the goalie spot. This series will be the toughest to predict. Toronto will have the home ice advantage, but I think the Lightning will win. They are just winners and until Toronto can prove otherwise, I can't pick them to move on to the next round. They are certainly capable, but Tampa is stout, and they know how to keep moving on.

Series Prediction: Lightning in 7

Winnipeg Jets (46-33-3) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (51-22-9)

We will have two 1 vs. 4 matchups tonight and the first one to kick off will be this one. The Jets barely squeaked into the playoffs beating out the Calgary Flames. I really like the Jets roster. I think they look really great on paper. They have a great defense. Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk lead the way on the defensive side of things. Morrissey finished the year with 76 points, which is a high total for a defenseman. Kyle Connor led the team in scoring, but Mark Scheifele was the top goal getter. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers were all crucial in getting the Jets into the playoffs as well. Ehlers looks like he could play tonight too, which is a big deal. He missed nearly half of the season. It isn't confirmed, but I would venture to say Connor Hellebuyck will get the start at goalie. He has been one of the best this season. The Jets have never won a Cup and it doesn’t appear that they will this season, but I think they will give the Knights a tough time in Round 1 in the very least.

Vegas had another great year and last season was the first one that the Knights didn’t make the playoffs. They came back this season with the best record in the Western Conference. Vegas has a lot of great players and none of them really stand above the rest as far as stats go, but Jack Eichel is definitely the most popular Knight. He led the team in points with 66, barely beating out Chandler Stephenson. 6 Knights scored above 50 points in the regular season. Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore led the defense along with Brayden McNabb. Despite having some issues at goalie, they have had one of the best scoring defenses in hockey. Their issues haven’t been because of bad play though. They have had injury problems. Logan Thompson is normally the guy that guards the net, but he will not play tonight. Adin Hill played in the second most games for Vegas, but he isn't getting the start either. Laurent Brossoit will draw the start tonight. He has appeared in 11 games and has 7 wins and no regulation losses. He has only allowed 2.17 GPG. I think the Knights will win the series, and even though I think the games will be tight. The Knights should close the series pretty easily. Vegas swept the season series 3-0-0.

Series Prediction: Golden Knights in 5

Seattle Kraken (46-28-8) vs. Colorado Avalanche (51-24-7)

This will be the last game of the night and it is going to be an interesting one. The Seattle Kraken will make their playoff debut against the reigning Stanley Cup winners. Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, and rookie Matty Beniers led the way on offense for the Kraken. Andre Burakovsky was also a big contributor, but he will not play tonight, and he may not play in this series. Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson anchor the defense and their defense isn't their strong suit, but they can get the job done. Martin Jones played the most games in the regular season, but Philipp Grubauer will draw the start in front of the net tonight. He has had the better season, but not by a lot. The Kraken have a solid offense, but their goaltenders will face a very tough test in this series.

I wouldn't say that Colorado dominated this year, but they did have another great year. They were the 2nd best team in the West and despite dealing with an injury-riddled team, they have maintained their spot towards the top. The Avs join only the Oilers with 2 players with 100+ point seasons. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen both surpassed 100 this season and both will be a force against the Jets. Cale Makar and Devon Toews are two of the best defensemen in the NHL as well. The Avs are the team favored behind Boston to win the Cup and I think they have a real shot to make it to the Finals. I think they’re clearly the best team in the Western Conference despite not having the best record. Colorado had good year in the goalie department and it appears that Alexandar Georgiev will start for the Avs tonight. I think if the Wild Card teams would’ve been switched in the West, it would’ve yielded better matchups, but I think the games should be good enough. I think the Avalanche win this series rather easily though, despite the Kraken taking the season series 2-1

Series Prediction: Avalanche in 5

Yacs

2023 Stanley Cup Playoff Round 1 Preview (Part 2)