The National Hockey League (NHL) playoff picture is quickly taking shape. The Winnipeg Jets have separated themselves from the pack in the Western Conference with 81 points, while the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights battle it out for first place in the Pacific Division. This article will feature my projected Western Conference first-round matchups and the prediction for how it will go.
Western Conference
#1 Winnipeg Jets vs Wild Card (WC) #2 Vancouver Canucks
The Winnipeg Jets have been dominant from start to finish this season, racking up 81 points with 26 games to go. They have three players with over 50 points this season, as left wing Kyle Connor and center Mark Scheifele lead the way for Winnipeg offensively with 69 and 63 points, respectively, while center Gabriel Vilardi has 51 points of his own.
Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk anchor the defense, with 46 and 36 points. Pionk has impacted the team’s defensive efficiency this season, with a plus/minus rating of +14. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been the best in the league at his position, with 1,099 saves so far this season and a save percentage of 0.925 (92.5 percent). The all-around efficient play on both ends of the ice makes Winnipeg a formidable force going into the postseason.
The Vancouver Canucks have struggled from an offensive standpoint this season. Defender Quinn Hughes leads the team in points with 59, and no other player on the team has over 40. Not only does the team have one player with more than 40 points, but they traded away their second-leading scorer, center J.T. Miller, to the New York Rangers for two players with less than 25 points each and a conditional first-round pick. Winnipeg should make quick work of Vancouver here.
Prediction: Jets in Five
No.2 Dallas Stars vs No.3 Minnesota Wild
The Stars have been one of the most consistent teams on both ends of the ice this season. Center Matt Duchene leads the team in points with 55, as well as both goals and assists, with 22 and 33, respectively.
Left wing Jason Robertson has contributed 51 points, including 20 goals and 31 assists. The defense is led by Thomas Harley, who has 29 points and a +26 plus/minus. Jake Oettinger has been one of the best goaltenders in the league this season. He ranks second overall with a 26-12-2 record when he plays, along with his .911 (91.1 percent) save percentage and just 92 goals allowed.
Good play on offense and defense has Dallas in a prime position to secure the No.2 seed in their division and home-ice advantage for the first round. The Wild, however, has been one of the most exciting stories this season.
The team has defied preseason win total projections and scored 70 points so far with a 33-19-4 record. The only drawbacks to this team are the youth and lack of playoff experience. Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with 52 points, leads the team in both goals and assists with 23 and 29, respectively.
Four of their top six-point total leaders are under 30, with two being just 23. The same goes for goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who has been excellent this season with a 22-11-3 record and a .915 (91.5 percent) save percentage. While he has had an impressive season, he is only 26 years old with little playoff experience. The team has a lot of talent, but they may be a year away from having enough playoff experience to beat a veteran team like Dallas.
Prediction: Stars in Six
No.1 Edmonton Oilers vs WC No.1 Colorado Avalanche
The Edmonton Oilers, the defending Western Conference champions, have picked up right where they left off last year and avoided a Stanley Cup hangover.
Centers Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have led the team to a 34-17-4 record and 72 points this season, which is good enough for first place in the Pacific Division. Even with the Vegas Golden Knights on their tail with 72 points, the Oilers have all the pieces necessary to hold on to their spot.
McDavid and Draisaitl have been two of the most dominant players in the NHL this year, with Draisaitl currently having the second most points in the league with 83 and McDavid having 71 points after having to miss time earlier in the season. Offense has never been an issue for Edmonton, but the defensive side of the ice and goaltender play going into the playoffs will decide how far this team can go. Goaltender Stuart Skinner is tied for seventh in the NHL with a 20-12-4 record and a .900 (90 percent) save percentage. If Skinner can replicate his strong play from the last postseason, then Edmonton is poised to make another deep run in this year’s playoffs.
The Avalanche has stayed consistent this year, even after trading star right wing Mikko Rantanen in January, allegedly due to a contract dispute. Center Nathan Mackinnon leads the entire NHL in points this season with 87, and newly acquired center Martin Necas and defender Cale Makar round out the superstar big three with 64 and 63 points, respectively.
Makar has been a dominant force on the defensive end this season, with 41 assists and an impressive 22 goals as a defender. Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is also tied for seventh place in the league this year with a 20-15-5 record and a .917 (91.7 percent) save percentage. If Colorado can fully gel with this reloaded roster by the time the playoffs come around, then this series will be long and contested.
Prediction: Oilers in Seven
No.2 Vegas Golden Knights vs No.3 Los Angeles Kings
The Golden Knights have been a consistently efficient team so far this season, holding a 33-17-6 record and 75 points. While they have been battling it out with Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division, they might not have enough consistent offense to pass them. Home-ice advantage will be necessary for Vegas in this series, as they have struggled on the road this season with just a 14-11-3 record.
Center Jack Eichel leads the team with 69 points so far, with five more players scoring over 30 points. Defenseman Shea Theodore anchors the defense, with 41 assists in the season and about 22 minutes of ice time per game. Goaltender Adin Hill is tied for seventh place in the NHL with a 20-10-4 record and a .900 (90 percent) save percentage. The all-around efficient play on both sides of the ice for the Golden Knights will make them a tough out for any team in the playoffs, especially if they have a home-ice advantage.
Out of the teams currently projected to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, the only team worse on the road than the Golden Knights is the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have just a 12-14-5 record on the road this season, which could cause problems in a first-round matchup against Vegas. While they don’t have any players with over 50 points scored this season, Los Angeles does have 10 players with over 20 points so far.
Right wing Adrian Kempe leads the team with 46 points and center Anze Kopitar is the leading playmaker with 32 assists. Goaltender play has been pretty split for Los Angeles so far, as Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich have both played over 20 games. Kemper will likely be the starter come playoff time, as he has the better record and save percentage in the games he played.
While Los Angeles is a talented team that has played well this season, they are outmatched against Vegas in virtually every facet of the game. They are also in danger of trailing by two games before they even set foot in their arena if they can’t improve their play on the road. This could be a lengthy series, but Vegas is the clear favorite here.
Prediction: Knights in Five
The defending champion Florida Panthers continue to battle it with the Washington Capitals for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In contrast, the veteran Boston Bruins continue to compete with the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot. This article will feature my projected Eastern Conference first-round matchups and the prediction for how it will go.
Eastern Conference
No.1 Florida Panthers Vs. Wild Card (WC) No.1 Tampa Bay Lightning
The Panthers will be looking to go back-to-back after winning the Stanley Cup last year but will have to go through the rival Tampa Bay Lightning first.
Strong play by goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and the veteran championship experience of stars like right winger Nikita Kucherov, defenseman Victor Hedman, center Brayden Point and more have the Lightning ahead by just four points outside of the wild card race in the No. 3 spot in the division. They also boast a strong +34 goal differential for the season, which is good for second overall in the conference.
Tampa Bay could end up as the No. 3 seed in the division, but the Senators will try to claw their way back out of the wild card.
The Panthers sent the Lightning home in the first round of the playoffs last year and will have a tougher time doing the same this year. Goaltending will be key for the Panthers, as goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has had an inconsistent season. If Bobrovsky returns to his playoff form from last year, the Panthers’ offensive star power will likely prove too much for the aging Lightning to handle.
Prediction: Panthers in Six
No.2 Toronto Maple Leafs Vs No.3 Ottawa Senators
The Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled recently, winning four of their last ten games as of Feb. 13. Center Auston Matthews had to miss 15 games with an injury earlier in the season, and the team went 7-8 in his absence. Despite these struggles, the team is unlikely to fall into a wild card spot and still has a good chance of hosting a first-round series.
Left-winger Brady Tkachuk has led the Ottawa Senators in the goal column this season with 21 goals. Linus Ullmark has held the team down on the defensive end in goal, as he has a 25-12-3 record in goal this year and a .915 (91.5%) save rate, which is tied for seventh place in the NHL. The Senators have been balanced on both sides of the ice this season, but it might not be enough to overcome the star power of the Leafs without home rink advantage.
Prediction: Maple Leafs in Seven
No.1 Washington Capitals Vs WC No.2 Detroit Red Wings
The Washington Capitals have been, by far, the best team in the Eastern Conference this season. Winger Alex Ovechkin is just 16 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record, and goaltender Logan Thompson is third in the league currently with a .921 (92.1%) save percentage.
Center Pierre-Luc Dubois has been the primary playmaker for the team this season with 31 assists and 44 points overall, but the team is entirely of sharpshooters eager to put points on the board. The Detroit Red Wings have been the hottest team in the NHL as of late, as they have won seven of their last eight games.
Center Dylan Larkin has been creating goals for himself and for others, as he has managed to rack up 23 goals and 27 assists so far in the season. Wingers Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat have also chipped in more than 45 points, with the two having 46 and 59, respectively. The biggest problem for the Red Wings this season has been in goal. Goaltender Cam Talbot is 16-11-2 in his starts and has a .906 (90.6%) save percentage. Alex Lyon has also played 17 games in goal and is 10-6-1 in his starts with a .904 (90.4%) save percentage. Defense and goaltending will be the keys to this series for the Red Wings, but they appear to be overmatched.
Prediction: Capitals in Five
No.2 Carolina Hurricanes Vs No.3 New Jersey Devils
A potential series between the Hurricanes and the Devils might be the most competitive of any of the first-round Eastern Conference matchups. The Hurricanes have shown that they are all-in on winning this year after they pulled off some massive pre-deadline trades for right-winger Mikko Rantanen and left-winger Taylor Hall. Rantanen is in the top 10 in the league this year with 66 points so far, and right-winger Andrei Svechnikov and center Sebastian Aho have 40 and 55 points, respectively. The 25-year-old goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has also proven to be a force for Carolina in goal, with a 20-10-3 record and a .904 (90.4%) save percentage. The Devils, on the other hand, are led by the superstar tandem of center Jack Hughes and left winger Jesper Bratt. The two have 65 and 64 points, respectively and are top three on the team in both goals and assists. The team has 12 players with more than 10 assists, including four with over 20. Goaltender Jakob Markstrom has anchored the team in goal, as he ranks fourth in the league with a 36-21-9 record and a .912 (91%) save percentage. These two teams are destined for a playoff collision, and it will surely be a lengthy series if it happens.
Prediction: Hurricanes in Seven
