The Stanley Cup playoffs come down to just four teams struggling to win it all. And after numerous blunt moments during the first two rounds of the postseason, we could have many more as the field shrinks to the most elitist teams in the NHL.
To the surprise of many, the top Florida Panthers were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Even more surprising, the Panthers scored just three goals in four games after being the league’s top scorer in the entire regular season. In the other Eastern Conference semifinal matchup, the New York Rangers outscored the Carolina Hurricanes behind a superb performance from goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin on Sept. 7.
In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues in six games. The Avs’ path was made a little easier when Blues goalkeeper Jordan Binnington suffered a knee injury that ended the series in the third game. In the other Western Conference semifinal, the Edmonton Oilers surprised the world, including our experts, by defeating the Calgary Flames. in five games. After dropping Game 1 in a 9-6 burst, the Oilers won four straight to take the series on the back of star center Connor McDavid.
The conference finals will begin on Tuesday. In the Western Conference, Avalanche, the first seed, will face the Oilers, No. 2 seed, while the Rangers, No. 2 seed, will face the Lightning, No. 3 seed. ‘East.
With the next round about to begin, our NHL experts revealed their predictions for the conference finals.
Western Conference
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(1) Allau vs. (2) Oilers
Chris: The Avalanche has looked year-round as an absolute gig, and that was still the case with the Blues series. Colorado faced adversity, however, losing the fifth game and staying ahead of the sixth, before Darren Helm saved the day with a winning goal at the end of the game. This clash is great for the league, as two of the sport’s top stars, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, will be in action. The amount of star power in this series is unlimited, and these are the two teams with the most points left in the postseason. Still, I can’t go against the avalanche at this point. Colorado is the most complete team and can get production from all four lines if needed. Pick – Avalanche beat Oilers 4-2
Austin: In the last round, I thought the depth of the Flames would push them beyond the Oilers. However, Edmonton has the biggest winning card in the league: Connor McDavid. The best player in the world has raised his game even higher. With seven goals and 19 assists, McDavid has scored enough points for an entire postseason in just two rounds. That said, McDavid and the Oilers are facing their biggest test to date in the Avalanche. The Avs were my Stanley Cup pick before the playoffs started, and that won’t change now. Although the Flames did not have any players in the same stratosphere as McDavid, Colorado does not have this problem. Nathan MacKinnon is one of the top five players, and Cale Makar has been more than up to his hype Norris Trophy in these playoffs. I hope this continues and the Avs continue to dance. Pick – Avalanche beat Oilers 4-2
Eastern Conference
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(2) Rangers vs. (3) Lightning
Chris: I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong, and I was wrong with the Panthers. I was expecting a series that would have six or seven games with the Lightning, but the Panthers laid an egg completely. Believe me, I learned my lesson. It is not a smart strategy to bet on goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is consolidating as a great man of all time. In his last seven series starts, Vasilevskiy has scored a goal in 200 shots. This is amazing. Listen, the Rangers have a lot of scorers with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider playing spectacular hockey right now. However, I can’t pick against the Lightning when they’re playing so well. It’s also worth noting that they swept the Panthers without Brayden Point. Pick – Lightning beat the Rangers 4-2
Austin: I’ve picked up against those two teams all season long, so this streak has to end for one of them now. The Rangers deserve a lot of credit for the way they have been able to finish such a high percentage of their dangerous goal opportunities, but they will not face a substitute goalkeeper in this series. Quite the contrary, in fact. Andrei Vasilevsky is, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in the NHL, and he has proved it again in these first two rounds. Given what he and the rest of the Lightning did to an explosive Panthers offense in the final round, I have no hesitation in choosing them to do the same with the Rangers in the Conference Finals. East. Pick – Lightning beat the Rangers 4-1