I hereby present my round one picks for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This round has the potential to be the one of the best first rounds in playoff history. Lets get started.
The Philadelphia Flyers (Wild Card #2) Vs. The Washington Capitals (#1 in Metropolitan)
This series is definitely intriguing because of the way the Flyers played down the final stretch of the season. The Flyers pulled off a miraculous second half of the season to get in the playoffs as the last seed. The Capitals have been the best team in the league all season, but they have looked human in the last month or so.
Prediction: Capitals in six games.
I think the Capitals depth will be too much for the Flyers to overcome, the Flyers will steal a couple games, but the Capitals are too good to lose this series.
The New York Rangers (#3 seed in Metropolitan) Vs. The Pittsburgh Penguins (#2 seed in Metropolitan)
This will be the third time in a row that these two teams have met in the postseason. The Rangers have eliminated the Penguins the last two years and have really dominated them. During the regular season, the Penguins took three of four games against the Rangers in the regular season.
Prediction: Penguins in five games.
The Penguins were the best team in hockey over the last month and a half without some key players. The Penguins will get back Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Malkin during this series, but even without them, the Penguins are too much for the Rangers.
The New York Islanders (Wild Card #1) Vs. The Florida Panthers (#1 in Atlantic)
This is the series that people will probably overlook during the first round, and you can't really blame them. The Islanders tanked their final game of the regular season so they could play the Panthers instead of the Penguins. The Panthers are coming off their best season in franchise history.
Prediction: Panthers in seven games.
The Islanders were terrible in the second half of the season, but they are still a great team. The Islanders depth at the forward position will win them a few games, but not the series. The Panthers worked too hard this season to lose in the first round. Veterans Jaromir Jagr and Roberto Luongo will not let it happen.
The Detroit Red Wings (#3 seed in Atlantic) Vs. The Tampa Bay Lightning (#2 seed in Atlantic)
These two teams met in the first round last year, and it went seven games. The Lightning limped into the playoffs with injuries to key players like Steven Stamkos and Victor Stralman. The Red Wings barely got into the playoffs. They were absolutely terrible in the last month of the season. This is the 25th straight season the Wings have made it to the postseason.
Prediction: Lightning in six games.
Tampa Bay is no where near as good as they were last season when they went to the cup final, but I'm not sold on Detroit. The Red Wings had big time goaltending troubles during the end of the season. Jimmy Howard is not the answer in Detroit, but with the way Peter Mrazek played down the stretch he has to be. Tampa Bay's young forwards will be too much for Detroit.
The Minnesota Wild (Wild Card #2) Vs. The Dallas Stars (#1 in Central)
It has been an up and down season for the Wild which featured a coaching change in the middle of the season. The Wild have been one of the most inconsistent teams all season. The Stars started out the season incredibly hot, scoring four or five goals every night. Dallas went through a rough stretch in the middle of the season, but have found their way since then.
Prediction: Stars in six games.
Dallas is missing star forward Tyler Seguin to start this round, but they have been scoring goals just fine. Veteran forward Jason Spezza has found his game again and is scoring all over the ice. The stars goaltending has been questionable this season with Antei Niemi and Kari Lehtonen; one of those guys is going to have to step up and take over the net. The Wild are not good enough offensively to win this series.
The Chicago Blackhawks (#3 seed in Central) Vs. The St. Louis Blues (#2 seed in Central)
This is going to be the series in the first round that catches everyone's attention. It seems like these two teams meet up in the playoffs every year. The Blues are riding a red hot goaltender named Brian Elliot into the playoffs. The Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford has had a career year this season and is coming off a concussion entering the playoffs. The goaltenders are going to decide this series.
Prediction: Blackhawks in seven games.
Yes the Blackhawks are going to win a game seven on the road, what's new? Brian Elliot will be terrific in this series, and he will steal a game or two, but the Blackhawks are too good in the playoffs. At some point in this series, Patrick Kane, the NHL leading scorer, will take over for Chicago. Corey Crawford will be the tremendous in this series.
The Nashville Predators (Wild Card #1) Vs. The Anaheim Ducks (#1 in Pacific)
The Ducks started out this season terribly, but finished the season as one of the best teams in the NHL. The Predators had another season of just being good enough to get in. Pekka Rinne, the goalie for the Predators, didn't look as sharp this season as he has in the past. The Ducks look like they have finally found a goalie to take the reigns in the playoffs. John Gibson will be a key factor in the series.
Prediction: Ducks in five games.
Anaheim has a ton of playoff experience. Veterans like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry will lead the way. The Predators will score a lot of goals this series, but they just aren't as physical as the Ducks to compete.
The San Jose Sharks (#3 in Pacific) Vs. The Los Angeles Kings (#2 in Pacific)
This series seems to be like a mismatch for the Sharks. The Kings should've won the Pacific Division, but lost their season finale against the Jets. The Kings are coming off a great season which is something they aren't really accustomed to. The Kings usually barely sneak in the playoffs. The Sharks have been pretty good this year in a very competitive division.
Prediction: Kings in four games.
This series is going to be laughable. The Kings are just too good for the Sharks. The Sharks are a good team, but they have bad history in the playoffs especially against the Kings. The Kings and Johnathan Quick won't have any trouble in this series.
