The Captain, Jonathan Toews, comes back to the NHL & will land him home with the Winnipeg Jets. Toews stepped away from the game for two seasons dealing with health issues. The last two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was limited to so many games dealing with effects of chronic inflammatory response syndrome. He also dealt with Covid in long stretches. The last time the Captain was on the ice was the 2022-23 season where he played in 53 games. After a 5 week healing journey to India and several months of training, he’s ready to make a comeback at 37 years of age. The Captain had a few suitors, but the Jets who are a playoff team and they play in his home town, would be hard to refuse as he signs a one year deal worth 2 million.
Nicknamed Captain Serious, Jonathan Toews’ 15 year career in the NHL he is decorated like a 20 star General. He played all 15 seasons with the Blackhawks and helped them hoist three Stanley Cups. In 2017 at the NHL Centennial Celebration, he made the list of the best 100 players of all-time. His former teammates, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane, also made the list. Toews was the number 3 pick overall in the 2006 NHL draft. He is an all around center who shoots the puck from the left side. He has played in 1,067 NHL games and has racked up 883 points. He has scored 372 goals and dished out 511 assists. His home town of Winnipeg will remember the Captains playing in the Olympics for Canada as they won back to back Gold metals in 2010 then again in 2014.
The Winnipeg Jets won the President’s Cup last season. The Jets made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and were knocked out by the Dallas Stars. I really like this move by both parties here. The Jets add a talented piece to the roster with a ton of playoff experience. Jonathan Toews will be playing for a playoff team and not some bottom feeder team trying to put fannies in the seats by signing a has-been player. Is Toews a has-been? The Jets will not be getting the super star version of Toews. His last season in Chicago he had 15 goals and 16 assists in those 53 games. He was dealing with his health issues. If he is healed and perfectly healthy, the Jets should get better numbers from the Captain. Even if he is not the Captain, it is always good to have that experience he has in the general locker room which could help this already talented Jets team. Look at the Florida Panthers trading for 37 year old Brad Marchand during the reason and the results they got in the post-season. Toews will be playing with a chip on his shoulder because his former team irked him after his 8 year contract expired that season in 2023. You never want to see guys like Toews leave your team as he should always be wearing the Indian head sweater, especially after 15 seasons. That will be an exciting game when Toews comes back to play at the United Center in Chicago. It certainly was exciting when Patrick Kane back in the enemy sweater his first trip home to Chicago. I would like to see the Captain hit the 400 goals milestone before he hangs up the skates for good. He needs 28 more goals and doing that in the uniform and team he grew up watching, is a cool ending to a great career for him. The thing about this move is Toews will not be expected to do all the stuff he did with the Blackhawks. He will just play the game and being away from the game for two seasons, you miss playing. The body should be rested and the juices should be flowing and I believe this savvy move here will be worth it. The Jets may need another savvy move or two after this one if they are serious about a Stanley Cup. You know Captain Serious is surely serious about winning another cup.
The Stanley Cup has arrived as we are down to two teams in the finals. It’s a rematch of last year’s epic 7 game series that went the distance with the Florida Panthers versus the Edmonton Oilers.
We hope the sequel of the Panthers/Oilers is not Weekend at Bernie’s Two and more like Star Wars’ Empire Strikes Back if you want to dub Edmonton as the bad guys. This is the 12th time in NHL history we have the same two teams battling it out in two straight seasons in the Stanley Cup finals. It’s the first time since 2009 when Detroit and Pittsburgh squared off for the second time in two seasons. The Oilers could be trying to repeat their own history as they were beaten by the New York Islanders in 1983 in the first year of back to back finals. In 1984, Edmonton would prevail over the Islanders. Now Edmonton is looking to do the same thing with the Panthers after falling to Florida last year. Florida has other plans as they want to be the 3rd team this century to repeat in back to back finals. The Penguins did it in 2016 & ’17 while the Lightning did the same thing in 2020 & ’21. Edmonton and I imagine most of Canada would love to see their country’s drought end. The last time a Canadian team in the NHL won the Stanley Cup, you have to go back to 1992 when Montreal won it all.
Our playoff predictions throughout the playoffs prediction for each series winners, record stands at 9-5. We went 6-2 first round. Second round went even at 2-2. Conference championships we have a 1-1 record. We have suffered three series losses picking against the Oilers. Will that change in the finals? Should we go Oilers and jump on their band wagon? We have not done well at picking the right games each series winner has clinched it by. These are some things you should know if you are using this article as a reference to make a wager on the outcome of the NHL finals.
2025 STANLEY CUP FINALS
EDMONTON OILERS VERSUS FLORIDA PANTHERS
Season series: (0-2) favoring Panthers, Playoff History: (1-0) 1 series favoring Panthers
How these teams arrived here: Panthers eliminated: Lightning, Maple Leafs & Hurricanes
Oilers eliminated: Kings, Golden Knights & Stars
History Cups won: Oilers (5-1) Panthers
Oilers Cups, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990.
Panthers Cup, 2024,
Last year the Panthers cruised to a 3 games to nothing lead on the Oilers. Then the Oilers came back and won three straight to bring the series to a game 7. Finally the Panthers put away the Oilers avoiding a historical collapse you want nothing to do with. How do the Oilers overcome the Panthers besides not digging a hole for themselves early on in the series? The Panthers are not the hunters any longer as they are being hunted which sometimes is harder to defend and prevail in these circumstances. Let’s dive into some intriguing numbers first. The number 2.
Corey Perry will be playing in his 5th Stanley Cup finals in his last six seasons. It will be his 6th Stanley Cup final of his career. The first 1 he won back in 2007 with the Ducks. Perry has been on the losing end of the last 4 Cup tries. In 2020 with the Stars, 2021 Canadiens, 2022 Lightning and last year with the same Oilers. At 40 years of age, will he get that 2nd cup?
In 17 games of post-season, Brad Marchand wearing a Panthers jersey has 4 goals while dishing out ten assists. The Panthers added Marchand through a trade with the Boston Bruins. Marchand is seeking his second Stanley Cup championship just like Corey Perry. Marchand won his only win with Boston in 2011. The last two finals Marchand has been in both with the Bruins, he was on the losing side in 2013 & 19. Could the veteran get his name on the Cup twice?
DEADLY LINES
The Brad Marchand line has been very productive on the road as it’s been averaging 3 points per contest. This line has produced 32 points with 10 goals and 22 assists for the Panthers so far this post-season. Besides Marchand, the Panthers have Anton Lundell on this line and he has 5 goals with 7 assists in the post season so far. Then Eetu Luostarinen has 4 goals and dished out 9 assists. It’s nice to have something working to your own advantage on the road which these teams will need to steal a game to win this thing.
The Oilers in the 1980’s had two super power players – Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. Can Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl be those guys to get it done for the Oilers like those past Edmonton heroes did?
Both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have done the heavy lifting this post-season. Draisaitl has 7 goals with 18 assists which totals out to 25 points. McDavid has 6 goals and has dished out 20 assists which is good for 26 points.
GOALIES
Which goalie will be red hot in this Stanley Cup final? We know a goalie could single handedly be the X-factor of any series in hockey and carry his team to the promised land. The Panthers have the better goalie with Sergei Bobrovsky. The Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner has shown he can be a brick wall in the net for them.
Since Bobrovsky took over the net for the Panthers in post-season play since April 23, 2023, he has 40 wins behind net and six shut outs. He has 2.40 goals against average and .911 save %. This post-season he has a record of 12-5 with 3 shut outs. He only has 2.11 goals against average and a higher save percentage at .912.
Now Stuart Skinner buckled down after Edmonton lost their first game versus the Stars. He won 4 straight games to help Edmonton get to this point. He only allowed 5 goals out of 105 shots from game 2 through 5 out of the conference championship series. Skinner rebounds quickly from a bad game which you want that from your goalie, a short memory. He allowed 4 goals in game three of the series when the Oilers faced the Golden Knights in round two. He rebounded with two straight shut outs versus a Vegas team that has a solid offense.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are definitely the two best teams in the NHL. You can say that I’m like Captain Obvious on that statement as they are the only two teams left standing. I thought about the Oilers how I thought they did not have the goal tending. They did not have depth in their roster. I thought how the Oilers rely too much on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. These are all true statements when you talk about the heavy burden and if they get others to help. Can Skinner remain hot in the net?
The Panthers have so much depth on this roster as I have not even mentioned some of their bigger names. Like Matthew Tkachuk whose presence is a force out on the ice. He has 38 hits and chipped in 5 goals so far this post-season. Then the Panthers number 1 star Aleksandor Barkov who has 6 goals with 11 assists, blocked 16 shots, and has dished out plenty of hits. What about two Panthers that may be on their last ride with the team? They are star defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennent who has multiple goals this post-season. These two guys will be free agents at the end of this series. I think Florida has too much more than Edmonton. The Oilers will make this a must watch series as it should go 7 games. I think the Panthers goal tending puts the Oilers super stars on ice at the end.
OUR PREDICTION: FLORIDA PANTHERS REPEAT AS YOUR STANLEY CUP WINNER IN 7 GAMES
In round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I went an even 2-2 in all 4 series I predicted. In round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I went 6-2. That gives me an 8-4 record overall in the NHL playoff series in this 2025 Stanley Cup post-season. I have not done well at predicting the games my prediction won it in. Perhaps I need to pick up my crystal ball from the cleaners. Now we are down to the final 4 teams in the Stanley Cup post-season. We have two playoff series as I try to predict winners of the two conferences championship games. I could just give you the match up from last year between Edmonton and Florida and call it a day. I want you to read them as I did not just go with the same two teams from last year. I will offer one hint as one of the two teams from last year make it back to the Stanley Cup finals. One does not. We will see if I’m right as I roll out my two predictions for the Stanley Cup conference championship games.
THE FINAL 4
WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
DALLAS STARS VERSUS EDMONTON OILERS
Season series: (2-1) favoring the Stars, Playoff history: (6-2) 8 series favoring Stars
Second round results: Stars eliminated the Jets in six games. The Oliers eliminated the Golden Knights in 5 games.
First round Dallas knocked out the Avalanche while Oilers knocked out the Kings
This is the third straight season the Dallas Stars have reached the Western Conference finals. It’s the third time in 4 seasons the Oilers have reached the Western Conference finals. This will be the second year in a row that the Stars and Oilers face off in the Western Conference finals as we know Edmonton prevailed last year.
For the Oilers, this team runs on Connor McDavid, one of the NHL superstars. Every Michael Jordan needs that Scottie Pippen and the Oilers have that in Leon Draisaitl. For most of the post-season, it has been McDavid and Draisaitl carrying this team on their shoulders. The Oilers finally got some other contributors in the last round. Guys like Corey Perry, Adam Henrque, and the degenerate gambler Evander Kane. Finally others are finding ways to score other than Connor and Leon.
MIRO RETURN
In the second round, the Stars got back their best defensive player in Miro Heiskanen who missed the first round. The Stars have solid goal-tending, they have a deep defensive unit, and Miro is the real deal. The Stars on offense have a slew of scoring forwards that have been contributing. Even the man of steel.
In 4th liner, is Sam Steel who has made the best of his playing time so far in the post-season adding his few pucks into the nets.
The Oilers I thought would be knocked out quickly by the Kings in the first round. They then surprised me when they dominated the Golden Knights. I think defense beats offense. The Oilers goaltender, Stuart Skinner, has been stopping the pucks he needs to stop. He’s not letting anything easy get by while the superstars handle the full load on the other side of the ice. The Stars goaltender, Jake Oettinger, has covered up the net up like the blob eating everything that is shot at him.
The Stars have the 3rd best penalty killing team while the Oilers are 3rd worst. I think the Stars will make Skin ole Stuart Skinner alive with shots coming at him from all directions. I feel the Stars can contain the Oilers superpower while policing the other suddenly contributors Edmonton had last series. I feel like I should just stick with the Oilers because they screwed me every time in this post-season so far. I’m that guy that believes better defense can beat the better offense. Count me out on the same match up as last season’s Stanley Cup final.
OUR PREDICTION: STARS WIN IT IN 6 GAMES
EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
CAROLINA HURRICANES VERSUS FLORIDA PANTHERS
Season series: (2-1) favoring the Panthers, Playoff history: (4-0) 4 series favoring Panthers
Second round results: The Hurricanes eliminated the Capitals in 5 games. The Panthers eliminated the Maple Leafs in 7 games.
First round Carolina knocked out the Devils while the Panthers knocked out Tampa Bay.
The defending champions, Florida Panthers, now have reached their third straight Eastern Conference championship and looking for the two-peat. The Carolina Panthers are 8-2 in the post-season so far and making it look easy. The Hurricanes have that stingy defense while the Panthers will knock the daylights out of you with that aggressive style of fore checking.
Frederik Anderson has been one of the best goalies in post-season for the Carolina Hurricanes. With his play in the net, the Hurricanes have a plus 16 goal differential in the post-season so far. The Panthers made some nice savvy moves to improve an already championship roster at the trade deadline. A former Boston Bruin is paying off.
Brad Marchland has 12 post-season goals already in the first two playoff series for the Panthers. Could he be the equalizer for Anderson’s net play?
The Hurricanes have been knocking on the door with this group trying to get over the hump into the finals for the last few seasons. The Panthers have been battle tested so far in the first two rounds with the Lightning and Leafs last round. Will the Panthers be worn out after fighting their way back in that series versus Toronto after going down 2 games to nothing? The Hurricanes are one of the best teams at puck handling and possession of the biscuit on the ice. It seems like Florida can do whatever the Panthers do, just better at it. The Panthers goalie, Sergei Bobrovski, turned into the brick wall when needed in that Leafs series in the net. I like the champs experience in general and their team has the depth it needs and can handle adversity. The Canes have had it too easy in the post-season and will find out what adversity is when the Panthers start to put them in their place.
In round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I predicted 6 out of the 8 game series right. I went 6-2 in straight up winners. I did not do well in predicting the right amount of games of my winners winning the series. In the first round I went 1-7 in that category. I will once again throw my two cents into the ring and throw in my hopeful savvy predictions for round two. We have two series in each conference left. I have predicted each series once again with a winner and by the games it will take them to win and move on to the semi-finals. Some of these series could go wither way. That’s why the Stanley Cup playoffs are one of the best post-seasons in sports so we may be surprised if my picks go well or go wonky. I lean on the side of wonky but am still optimistic about my winners. This is why we play the games to see if I end up with egg on my face.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
CAROLINA HURRICANES VERSUS WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Season series: (2-2) Playoff history: Carolina (1-0) 1 series
First round results: Washington eliminated Montreal in 5 games. Carolina eliminated New Jersey in 5 games.
The Capitals and Hurricanes feature two goalies with the highest save percentage left in the tournament. Both goalies were injured in the first round. The Hurricanes’ net minder, Frederik Anderson, is expected to play in this series. Logan Thompson for the Capitals returned in the same game he was injured. Thompson is locked in.
Do the Hurricanes have the recipe to defeat the Capitals with constantly pressure and puck possession? Head Coach of the Hurricanes, Rod Brind Amour, has a system focus on possession on the puck. The Capitals remain one of the top seeds left in the NHL playoffs and will have the home ice. Why do the experts doubt the Capitals getting by the Hurricanes? When the Hurricanes seem the favorite in a series they fold like cheap card table.
The Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov scored 5 goals in the first series versus the Devils. He is tied with the most tallies in the Stanley Cup playoffs so far of the players that teams have survived. This should be a series that goes the distance. I feel it’s the Capitals’ time right now as Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Getzky’s record. He is due to heat up at any time. The Capital have many games where they dominate with the most shots as a team. I think Thompson will stay hot in the next that will decide this series.
OUR PREDICTION: CAPITALS IN 7 GAMES
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS VS FLORIDA PANTHERS
Season series: (3-1) favoring Florida. Playoff history: Florida (1-0) 1 series
Round 1 results: Toronto eliminated Ottawa in 6 games, Florida eliminated Tampa Bay in 5 games.
I did not think the champs were going to hold off the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers proved me wrong. Matthew Tkachuk, back for the Panthers and playing well in the first round, was the X factor for the defending champs defending their title from last season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs avoided the one and done this go around in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The award is a Panthers team that won it all last year and are another demon in the minds of these Maple Leafs. Yes two years ago the Panthers and Maple Leafs met up in the 2nd round as the Panthers put away Toronto 4 games to 1. The Maple Leafs are a better team than two seasons ago and should provide their fan base a better showing versus the Panthers this round. The Maple Leafs with their net minder Anthony Stolarz could hang with the Panthers. He will need to get red hot to give the Maple Leafs any chance to prevail in this series. The Panthers will throw bodies at Stolarz in front of the net to cause confusion and make sure he has plenty of blind spots. The depth of the Panthers helps as this roster is geared up for another long run. The experience goes the Panthers’ way as well. I believe the Lightning flipped the Panthers’ playoff switch as this team in dialed in for a repeat.
OUR PREDICTION: PANTHERS IN SIX GAMES
WESTERN CONFERENCE
DALLAS STARS VS WINNIPEG JETS
Season series: (3-1) favoring Winnipeg. No playoff history.
Round 1 results: Dallas eliminated Colorado in 7 games. Winnipeg eliminated St. Louis in 7 games.
The Stars and the Jets took their first round series to the brink and prevailed in their game sevens to get here. The Stars beat a solid Colorado team who many thought would be a Stanley Cup contender. The Stars did it without guys like Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson. The Jets goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, can finally say he slayed his dragon playoff nightmares winning that game 7. The Jets had to fight and claw their way back in that game with a comeback in game 7. Connor was a brick wall in the two overtimes. Is that enough to believe he and his Jets can use that game 7 to take down this Stars team?
The Stars and the Avalanche – many said the winner gets to the Stanley Cup championship. The Stars stayed poised not rushing their studs back into the stables. Now they will get those two guys back for this second round series. Mikko Rantanen was huge for the Stars in the first round against his former team, the Avalanche. The Jets meanwhile have injuries to Mark Scheirele and Josh Morrissey who could play but will not be 100%. The Stars will give Hellebuyck a new playoff nightmare after this series as he and the Jets will not be able to stop this deep Stars team.
OUR PREDICTION: STARS IN 5 GAMES
EDMONTON OILERS VS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Season series: Even (2-2) Playoff history: Vegas (1-0) 1 series
Round 1 results: Edmonton eliminated LA in 6 games. Vegas eliminated Minnesota in 6 games.
The Edmonton Oilers looked like they were going to be knocked out of the playoffs quickly by the LA Kings who put a beat down on goalie Stuart Skinner. The Vegas Golden Knights were also being battle tested early on in their series versus the Wild. Both teams made adjustments. The Oilers went with Calvin Pickard who saved this Edmonton team in the net. Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy made a line change putting Jack Eichel and William Karlsson on the same line which worked well as the Golden Knights then buried the animals in the dessert. The Oilers team was carried by their two superstars, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. You want your superstars to do the heavy lifting but not everything. It seems like the rest of the team was MIA.
The Oilers will need other members of their team to contribute in round two. The Golden Kights have the golden hair, Thor, the man that can contain Connor McDavid and that is William Karlsson, who has had the best of the Oilers lead scorer. The Oilers have missed the absence of Mattias Ekholm, a guy that can make this Oilers squad a well-oiled machine. The Oilers don’t have enough Roughnecks to keep up with this Vegas squad through a 7 game series. Can you bet against McDavid and Draisaitl? I can count on Calvin Pickard to save the series in the net so I have to go Vegas.
The NHL playoffs are one of the better post-seasons to watch in all of sports. The first round of the 2025 Stanley cup playoffs has some epic match ups on the docket. Unfortunately I do not have a pony in the race as my team has been at the bottom of the barrel in the NHL for years, and there’s no sign of any day light anytime soon.
Maybe I’m in need of adopting a new team in the 2025 playoffs without being one of those bandwagon jumpers. Some solid choices to root for. Everyone has teams or cities you dislike as I do too. Without prejudging any team or city that made the playoff tournament. I threw my hat into the ring and executed a winner out of each series by looking at all the data and going with gut feelings. I am not guaranteeing any epic outcomes in my picks. I may be off my rocker. I may be dead on with my predictions. My gut tells me I’ll end up Even-Steven somehow. We will see as I can’t be the only one to throw darts at each match up and come out smelling like roses. Here we go round one, let the games begin of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
ST. LOUIS BLUES VS WINNIPEG JETS
This series should be a low scoring affair between these two teams. It’s the Jets’ second straight season where they have won over 50 games. For the Blues they won 13-16 games to close the season out. You could say for St. Louis they have been one of the hotter teams in the last 3 months because they play solid defense. Meanwhile the Jets as a team have lit the lamp during regular season 273 times which is tied for 4th in the league. The Jets’ top scorers are Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele who have combined for 79 goals this season.
Can the Blues goalie, Jordan Binnington, relive the magic years back when he got hot and St. Louis went all the way to capture the Stanley Cup? Binnington played a big part in the net for Canada in the Frozen Four tournament this past February. The Jets have one of the best net minders in the league in Connor Hellebuyck. Can the Blues do what the Avalanche did to Hellebuyck last post-season & make him look average?
Hellebuyck suited up for the United States in that face off Frozen Four tournament. I think it’s Connor time here. Jets avenge last year’s post season nightmare and dispatch the Blues who lack true fire power in this match up.
OUR PICK: JETS IN SIX GAMES
DALLAS STARS VERSUS COLORADO AVALANCHE
The Stars vs Avalanche is one of the biggest match ups in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Both teams are Stanley Cup contenders as one of them will be going home after the first round. The Stars have been consistent all year round. The Stars have 8 snipers who can put the puck in the net. Eight guys with 20 or more goals. The Avalanche tinkered with their roster and made some nice solid moves. This may be a better Avalanche roster than they had when they won the Cup in 2022. If this series goes the distance, game seven favors Dallas. About their Head Coach, Pete DeBoer, his teams are 8-0 in series deciders which is game 7’s.
Dallas comes into the post-season with a 7 game losing streak which it’s very hard to flip the switch to post-season. The Stars lack defense as they will have to rely on their goal scoring to win this series. The Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar will not be held back in this series and will have a field day exploiting the Stars’ weakness in front of the castle.
OUR PREDICTION: AVALANCHE IN SIX GAMES
MINNESOTA WILD VERSUS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The Wild have gone through many injuries this season just to get to this point. The Vegas Golden Knights are in familiar grounds, the post-season, where they thrive even though they were just a expansion team not many moons ago. The Wild will have two of their main guys going in this series: Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson E.K. The Wild ranked 26th in the league in scoring which averages out to 2.74 goals per game. The Golden Knights average 3.34 goals per game which is 5th in the league. The good things for the Wild is their goalie, Filip Gustavsson, who could make any playoff series a tough out. The Golden Knights also struggle on the penalty kill which can help the Wild. The Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel had a monster year with 93 points in regular season.
I like the X-San Jose Shark, Tomas Hertl, who is a post- season beast. He’s my X-factor as he has 16 goals & 24 points in 29 post-season games from his days wearing the teal. The Golden Knights have a deeper roster and are more skilled than this Wild squad.
OUR PICK: GOLDEN KNIGHTS IN 5 GAMES
LA KINGS VERSUS EDMONTON OILERS
This is the 4th time in so many years the Oilers and Kings will mix it up in the post-season. The Oilers have won all three series.
Connor McDavid is the top super star of the NHL which will give the Oilers a big advantage in this series. The Kings are no joke in this series. In the last month of regular season, the Kings offense have scored 64 goals which was the most during that time span. The Kings goalie, Darcy Kuemper, is having a great season in his first year in LA. He had 31 regular season wins. What worries me about the Oilers is they will not have their top defenseman. Mattias Ekholm has been ruled out this series. Does LA have an X-factor in X-Oiler Warren Foegele who they can unleash on Edmonton. Foegele had three post-season goals for Edmonton last season. Let’s not forget about Leon.
Leon Draisaitl is another superstar in the NHL who is not talked about enough. The Kings will make this a series. It will go the full tilt. In the end, McDavid and Draisaitl help Edmonton just get by the Kings in the first round.
OUR PICK: OILERS IN SEVEN GAMES
EASTERN CONFERENCE
MONTREAL CANDADIENS VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS
We all are thinking the same thing. Can Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky’s record and win the Stanley Cup in the same season? In the first round, the Capitals face a rebuilding Montreal team with plenty of youth that can go wild. The Capitals had a monster year this season winning over 50 games. The Canadiens need their net minder to be unstoppable in this series. Can Sam Montembeault have that kind of series?
I can say Logan Thompson for the Capitals could have that epic goalie run in the post-season. Thompson finished with a .910 save percentage and has only allowed 2.49 goals per contest. The focus will be on the Russian. Hiding on the ice somewhere will be Tom Wilson who creates havoc and get under players’ skin. Wilson can put the puck into the net as well as he had 33 goals this season. The Capitals have depth and defense and can score over the inexperience of this Montreal squad.
OUR PICK: CAPITALS IN 5 GAMES
NEW JERSEY DEVILS VERSUS CAROLINA HURRICANES
The Devils’ number one fan is David Puddy from Seinfeld. This series will be very interesting and I can see this one going the distance. The Devils will be without Jack Hughes which can hurt New Jersey’s chances. The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the best 5 on 5 in the league. They also allowed the fewest shots in the league. The Devils are no slouch in their team game. New Jersey has the 3rd ranked power play unit in the league. They also have the second ranked penalty kill. Both teams have solid special teams as the Hurricanes have the top ranked penalty kill in the league. Let’s talk goalies.
The Hurricane’s number goalie is Frederik Andersen who has battled all year through injuries. The Devils allow the 5th fewest goals in the league due to their goalie, Jacob Markstrom. The Devils are not the demon they are without Jack Hughes which has deflated this team. The Hurricanes always seem to get past the first round of these NHL playoffs and I think they continue that tradition and dispatch the Devils which takes game 7 to do so. The Devils will give a good fight, but it all ends in hell for Jersey.
OUR PICK: HURRICANES IN 7 GAMES
OTTAWA SENATORS VERSUS TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
The first question about Toronto: Can they slay their own playoff demons? The Senators have a very nice young core for the Maple Leafs to deal with. It starts with Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, and Tim Stutzie.
Let’s not forget about the stud Toronto has in Aushon Matthews. The Maple Leafs also have Mitch Marner and Williams Nylander. Toronto has improved their defense this season which could help them get past the first round. The Senators have solid defense and goal tending allowing only 2.80 goals per game. Since the 2004-2005 lock out season, the Maple Leafs have been ousted 8 out of 9 times in the first round. Yikes!!! I think the only way Senators win this series is if the Maple Leafs beat themselves and hand Ottawa the series. This Toronto team is deep, very dangerous, and if they get passed the Senators, they will build up confidence in the second round.
OUR PREDICTION: MAPLE LEAFS IN 5 GAMES
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VERSUS FLORIDA PANTHERS
This is the must watch series of the first round. When it comes to the state of Florida, you think college football rivals. This Florida series has been epic. This is the 4th time in the last 5 years the Lightning and Panthers have met on a date in the Stanley Cup post-season. The Panthers finally slayed the bolts last year and won it all. The Lightning have won back to back Stanley Cups in 2020 and ’21. Can the Panthers defend their title run this season or will fatigue play a role in back to back grinding post-season play? The Lightning have been hot while the Panthers finished the season threading water. The Panthers may be without Matthew Tkachuk who was a big part of why this Florida team went all the way last year. The Lightning still have the stopper in goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had the most wins with 37 during the regular season. The Panthers acquired Seth Jones from the Blackhawks during the season. Jones is over paid and will need to find his game he lost years ago to help prevent the Panthers from being derailed early on.
Another X-Blackhawk, Brandon Hagel, had 35 goals this season for Tampa Bay. The Lightning have the fire power as Jack Guentzel’s first year in Tampa Bay he had a 40 goal season. This Lightning team is in the top ten at killing penalties. They are 6th in the fewest goals allowed with an average of 2.40. The Lightning always had the Panthers’ number. Without Tkachuk for the Panthers who is the heart and soul of this team, it will be tough for Florida to overcome. I like the Lightning striking in a long drawn out epic series between these two powerhouses.
The Wild shamrock 