Eighty-two games down and now the real fun begins. More so for those whose teams actually made the postseason, I suppose.
Despite the Flyers finishing in the toilet for the third straight year, the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs still holds plenty of intrigue for this guy. With matchups featuring some divisional heavyweights, bitter rivals, rebuilt squads and upstart teams, every series is markedly different in both complexity and storyline. The overall parity of the fortunate 16 teams to make the dance seems higher than ever.
As has become tradition, I offer my first-round selections in this week’s edition of the Blitz (keep in mind these picks were made prior to the beginning of the postseason on Monday, April 17). Let’s start in the Eastern Conference this time around…
A1 Boston Bruins vs. WC2 Florida Panthers
Even casual hockey fans will know that the 2022-23 Bruins need little introduction.
Boston cruised to the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top team, setting NHL records for wins (65) and total points (135) in the process. But Beantown certainly knows that all those impressive regular season marks mean nothing if they don’t bring home the big prize – anything less would be considered a failure for the Bruins this year.
Florida has been playing some excellent hockey of late and has plenty of talent to potentially steal a series, but that seems like a pretty far-fetched narrative to me. Boston is insanely deep and has a winning combination of experience, speed, goaltending and nastiness to go far.
Bruins in five.
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
This is the matchup everyone wants to see, Toronto fan or not.
By now, everyone should be well familiar with the Maple Leafs’ recent playoff history. Seven playoff appearances in the last 10 years, failing to get out of the first round each time. Four Game 7 losses. No series victory since 2004. You’d think that something would have to give at this point.
The Lightning squeaked by the Leafs in seven last year, and now Toronto has a chance to exorcise its playoff demons with some revenge mixed in there for good measure. Tampa is still no joke; the club has made three consecutive Cup finals (winning two) for a reason, and had only four less wins than the Buds this season.
Yet Tampa Bay is not the scary deep powerhouse it once was, and it really stumbled down the stretch. And as good as the Lightning were at home this year, they were fairly mediocre on the road, going 18-22-1. This is where Toronto’s home-ice advantage becomes all the more important for a rematch that was basically secured in February.
The Leafs will be desperate to win, and if they play with desperation from the onset of the series, I believe they will. Don’t make me regret this…
Leafs in seven.
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 New York Islanders
I’d say this series has the least amount of intrigue for me, solely based on the fact that I don’t overly care for either club.
After missing the playoffs for nine straight seasons from 2010-18, the Hurricanes have won a total of five series over the last four postseasons, including a surprise run to the conference final in 2019. They’re a very good regular season team, but defensive breakdowns and inconsistent goaltending always seem to plague them in the playoffs.
The Islanders have some good pieces – excellent in the case of goaltender Ilya Sorokin – and are traditionally a very capable shutdown defensive team, a trait that is crucial in the playoffs. I do find their style one of the most boring to watch, though.
Some might think Carolina may have an easy time with a wild card team that snuck into the postseason during the last week of regular season play, but I believe New York is deceptively good. That team can be a thorn in the side, and I smell an upset.
Islanders in six.
M2 New Jersey Devils vs. M3 New York Rangers
If someone told me the Devils would win 52 games at the start of the season, I would have responded with a hearty guffaw.
New Jersey was certainly a team on the rise after a few rebuilding years, but I simply didn’t expect that rebuild to happen as quickly as it did. The Devils are the real deal, and the rest of the Eastern Conference should be all full alert.
It’s really difficult for me to count out the Rangers; they have solid defense, a world-class puckstopper in Igor Shesterkin, and a top-six forward corps that rivals any in the league. It feels like there’s still something missing in the Big Apple though to bring everything together. Plus the Devils are insanely fast, young and seem to be able to score at will.
This one is going to be a beauty between two teams and fanbases that genuinely despise each other. Cue David Puddy from Seinfeld: “We’re the Devils! The Devils! Hisssssssss!”
Devils in seven.
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC2 Winnipeg Jets
I’m glad the Jets got in ahead of Calgary and Nashville, both of the latter simply didn’t deserve to be there after mostly meandering regular seasons.
But does Winnipeg have a chance against the Western Conference’s top club? I think yes, very much so.
It was kind of neat seeing Vegas exceed all expectations and make the Cup Final during its inaugural campaign in 2018, but now the Knights just annoy me for some reason. I’m not a fan of Jack Eichel either, and him going there last season sealed my opinion on Vegas. This team has weaknesses, most of all between the pipes where a goalie carousel has ensued all season.
Winnipeg will have a tall order ahead of them, to be sure. The Jets have stumbled rather dramatically down the stretch after being near the top of the Central Division in January. Connor Hellebuyck will be the true wild card for this wild card team; if he stands tall in the net it’ll be pure elation in the ‘Peg.
Jets in six.
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings
Connor McDavid is really good at hockeying. So is Leon Draisaitl.
In past years, the accolades for Edmonton typically stopped at its two superstars. It’s a different tune in 2022-23, however, as the Oilers really took off as committee effort once they stopped putting Jack Campbell regularly between the pipes. Draisaitl and particularly McDavid destroyed stat lines all season long, but with the likes of No. 1 goalie Stuart Skinner and the supporting cast of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane, Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm rounding out its core, the Oilers look to be next-level ready after making the conference finals last year.
No slight to Los Angeles, but I don’t think this series is going to be as close as everyone is thinking. The Kings have a bright future, but the Oilers are a team built for success now.
Oilers in five.
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC1 Seattle Kraken
The defending Cup champs greatly improved their chances of going deep in the postseason by grabbing the division win on the last day of the regular season and drawing Seattle in round one.
Minnesota would have been a much trickier opponent for an Avalanche team that has been riddled by injuries all year long and is arguably not as deep as last year, a team that largely cruised to its third championship in franchise history. But the Kraken it is, and I don’t see Colorado having much trouble with a club that greatly surpassed expectations by making the playoffs in its second year of existence.
Avalanche in four.
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
On paper this should be a relatively stress-free series win for Dallas, but as mentioned above, the Wild can be a tricky bunch.
Both teams feature solid offensive weapons, capable defense corps and very good goaltenders. Both are also in a fairly tight window to win, relating to salary cap figures.
Minnesota is so due to do something – anything; the team hasn’t won a playoff series since 2015. However, I think Dallas will be just a bit better, and the Wild’s playoff misery will continue.
Stars in seven.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you back here in a fortnight.
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This is a bi-weekly opinion column; for question or comment contact Dan McNee at dmcnee@midwesternnewspapers.com.
