NHL Playoffs First Round Hot Takes and Predictions

It’s April 11th and the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is finally here. A season full of historic moments from the Vegas Golden Knights completely surprising the league and having one of the best inaugural seasons in NHL history to the Colorado Avalanche successfully completing arguably the greatest mid season turn around NHL fans have ever seen is now about to start the last leg of the season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Out of the four major sports I’ve probably been the most excited about the NHL season this year due to how level the playing field has been this year. In the NBA a collective of 6 star teams between the Rockets, Warriors, Cavs, Raptors, Celtics and Sixers have dominated the league as top heavy superteams and it’s without questions that the NBA Finals will feature a matchup between 2 of these 6 teams, regardless of who makes up the lower seeds in the playoffs. In the NFL there were about 4 teams that were serious title contenders, and while the MLB season is still barely underway, it is not nearly as level as the NHL this year. Any team (except for New Jersey) could make a deep push this year and a team’s seeding has virtually no significance this year. My brief, and somewhat biased, predictions are here, and if you think my picks are terrible or that I have no idea what I’m talking about, make sure to send a tweet to @_TailgateSports.

Nashville Predators vs Colorado Avalanche

This is a matchup I’m actually pretty excited for. In December, Colorado was a team that was so far out of the playoff picture that it looked like their season was completely over. Since then, they have played incredible, fast paced hockey, completed one of the greatest season turnarounds the league has ever seen, and absolutely stunned the Blues in what was pretty much a play in game where the Avs played with so much heart and secured their playoff ticket. Unfortunately for Colorado they have to face the best team in the league, and the reigning Western Conference Champs, the Nashville Predators. Colorado won’t let the Preds move on so easily, as they’ll keep up their streak of playing impressive hockey, but Nashville will move on after 5 games and continue on their path to a second straight Stanley Cup Final.

Winnipeg Jets vs Minnesota Wild

HUGE upset alert. Winnipeg just completed their first ever 100+ point season, which is amazing, but I believe they will have the same luck as the 2016 1 seed Florida Panthers and will see a very early exit in the first found. Their team is very inexperienced, has some embarrassing losses including losing to and failing to score a single goal an accountant who somehow got to play for Chicago, and will not be able to outplay a tough Minnesota team who performs extremely well in a playoff environment. Congrats Winnipeg on your record breaking season, unfortunately you guys peaked way too early.

Vegas Golden Knights vs Los Angeles Kings

A lot of people are going to say that VGK are going to lose first round in the playoffs this year, unfortunately these are the same people who claimed that Vegas would be terrible this year and couldn’t have been more wrong. Don’t listen to these “hot takes”, Vegas has completely shattered anyone’s expectations and they will continue to do so. The most common reasoning I’ve seen as to why VGK won’t get past LA is because they are “inexperienced” and LA’s core from the past titles is still present and can play better playoff hockey. It’s clear now that Vegas has a lot more experience than originally anticipated, and with guys like James Neal who helped lead a Second Wild Card Nashville team last year who was also overlooked before the playoffs began and Marc Andre-Fleury who has a plethora of playoff experience being apart of this year’s Vegas team I highly doubt that the Golden Knights will see an early exit. Sure it’s a series against a divisional rival, but LA has been notably weak over the last two seasons and I highly doubt they will be the powerhouse to stop Vegas in their tracks. I will say that it is extremely unfortunate that Vegas will have to play Pacific Division teams in the first two rounds, especially since these teams have absolutely beaten each other up all season. As a fan I want the Sharks to win it all, and realistically I see Nashville winning it all, but as a sports journalist there are questionable things I would do to get Vegas to win the cup this season.

Anaheim Ducks vs San Jose Sharks

I’m just going to come out and say it. I’m a massive Sharks fan and this preview is extremely biased, but also based on facts from this season. The Ducks have definitely proven that they can be a weak playoff team, losing both of their Western Conference Finals series in the last 3 years, and this year their star power duo of Corey Perry and Ryan Gertzlaf are underperforming to say the least. San Jose may have had a season full of impressive winning streaks and disappointing losses, but overall they are the stronger playoff team and will handle their somewhat rivals in Anaheim well. San Jose has the talent to return to the Western Conference Finals again, but if LA moves on from the first round the Nor Cal vs So Cal hockey rivalry may be too much for the Sharks to overcome.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs New Jersey Devils

Not much to say here. New Jersey has a lot of potential, especially with Taylor Hall, but Tampa Bay is ridiculously good and cannot be stopped on their way to their second title in franchise history.

Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto is back in the playoffs and they are facing their Atlantic Division foes the Boston Bruins. This series will be close for sure, especially with Patrick Marleau and Auston Matthews expected to play extremely well, but the Bruins have been playing their best playoff hockey as of late and have two practically interchangeable goalies to keep them afloat as their stellar talent in the offensive zone dominates. This series will be fun to watch and will makeup for a weak overall Eastern Conference.

Washington Capitals vs Columbus Blue Jackets

This is without a doubt the weakest matchup in the playoffs. The constantly disappointing Capitals vs one of the most depth deprived teams in the postseason. I have Washington moving on because I don’t think Columbus is strong enough to upset them. If it was literally any other team I would consider it but this year was barely Columbus’s year, as they stole this Wild Card from Florida who truly deserved it. Congrats Washington on getting the pity W, unfortunately this will be another season where you lose in the second round.

Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins

The battle for Pennsylvania. The most slept on team vs the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champs. This is must watch hockey. The Flyers are sneaky good, but the Penguins haven’t taken any steps back in their journey to a third straight title. This game will go at least 6 games and could be decided based on how wild each team’s fans get in their home arena. Overall I have Philadelphia winning this series. The Penguins look great, but over the last month leading up to this series the Flyers have played stellar hockey and look nearly impossible to beat. It won’t be easy but the Flyers will end Pittsburgh’s playoff domination once and for all and will continue to mow down teams until the Lightning stop them in their tracks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Still though, you don’t want to miss this series trust me.

Written by Erik Clark