Crash The Pond First Round Predictions
At the end of the Qualifying Round, the standings for the guys are as follows:
Jake: 5 correct, 3 incorrect (1 series with the correct amount of games and winner)
Felix: 3 correct, 5 incorrect (2 series with the correct amount of games and winner)
CJ: 3 correct, 5 incorrect (0 series with the correct amount of games and winner)
Through the tiebreaker of the correct amount, Felix finished second and CJ third going into the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just like with the qualifying round, we want to go on the record to try and prove who is the most accurate. There may or may not be a beer bet as well.
Jake Rudolph
Philadelphia vs Montreal - Montreal in 7 - I hitched my wagon to Montreal last round and I am continuing that trend this round. Carey Price regained his MVP form and if he continues with that it gives Montreal a great chance against a Flyers team that has been on a tear.
Tampa Bay vs Columbus - Tampa Bay in 5 - Columbus just won a series where the other team shot under 3% at 5v5 and I highly doubt that will continue for another series, especially when you factor in that you will have a motivated Tampa Bay roster looking to make amends for last season.
Washington vs New York Islanders - Washington in 7 - The Capitals are without a doubt the more talented team, but the Islanders play a stifling defensive system that limits chances. At the end of the day I am banking on the more talented team winning a tightly contested series.
Boston vs Carolina - Carolina in 5 - I am probably putting too much stock into the round robin/qualifying round games with this prediction, but the Bruins looked awful and the Canes looked so good. The Hurricanes are also set to get Dougie Hamilton back, which will bolster their already deep blue line. Sometimes you have to be bold and I am doing that by taking the Canes in 5.
Vegas vs Chicago - Vegas in 4 - Chicago was 26th in the league in xGF% at 5v5 and Vegas was 1st. This series should not be close and I would be shocked if Chicago gets a game.
Colorado vs Arizona - Colorado in 5 - It pains me to pick against the beautiful Kachina jersey, but the Avalanche are more skilled and deeper than the Coyotes. The Coyotes should be able to win a game due to Darcy Kuemper playing fantastic, but at the end of the day the Avalanche will win out.
Dallas vs Calgary - Dallas in 6 - This should be a very tight and fun series, with two teams that are fairly similar in construction. I am giving the slight edge to the Stars due to them controlling the shot quality battle at 5v5.
St Louis vs Vancouver - St Louis in 6 - While Vancouver has a lot of fun players, St Louis are the defending cup champions for a reason. They are deep at forward and defense and that depth will be the difference maker in this series.
Felix Sicard
Philadelphia vs Montreal - Montreal in 7 - Just like in the Qualifiers, the hockey world seems to be smitten by a team from Pennsylvania, and even more enamored with the idea that they will handily defeat the Canadiens. It’s high time to respect these Habs, who showed against the Penguins what their roster can do when it’s firing on all cylinders. This will be a close series no doubt, but Montreal will continue its improbable run here.
Tampa Bay vs Columbus - Tampa Bay in 6 - The Lightning have some demons to exorcise after their infamous defeat against the Blue Jackets’ in last year’s opening round. Has anything really changed? Columbus just upset another highly-skilled team in the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the LIghtning still have some question marks. However, this year will in fact be different, as Tampa Bay is arguably even better than before and Columbus has even less offensive talent to fall back on than last year’s club. The Blue Jackets will keep things interesting, but the Lightning are simply superior.
Washington vs New York Islanders - Washington in 6 - I really do admire the defensive esprit de corps that Barry Trotz has instilled in his Islanders’ club — it’s why I picked them to advance from the qualifiers. However, they’re going up against a much different animal here in a deep Washington Capitals squad that has the makings of a potential Cup contender. The Islanders will muck things up as much as possible, but ultimately the Caps move on in relatively comfortable fashion.
Boston vs Carolina - Carolina in 7 - Boston has one of the best rosters in the NHL, but there is a general malaise surrounding them that is difficult to shake. Their training camp was marred with off-ice issues, and their sloppiness in the round-robin did nothing to abate that unease. Of course, when the chips are down, it’s still tough to bet against a motivated version of this group. Conversely, the Hurricanes are living up to their namesake, as they furiously swept away the hapless Rangers in the Qualifiers. Carolina has so much talent from top to bottom, and seem to be taking full advantage of the second wind the bubble has afforded them. Carolina has the goods to prevail in what will be a classic, passing-of-the-torch type series.
Vegas vs Chicago - Vegas in 5 - The biggest stars of the Qualifiers for Chicago were Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith. Edmonton was just so abysmal in net that it allowed the Blackhawks to overcome their deficiencies in a big way. That won’t be the case in round one, as they go against a Golden Knights team that could win the whole damn thing. To boot, they’ll likely have to do it against Robin Lehner, who they shipped out of town at the trade deadline to Sin City. The Blackhawks have just enough weirdness in them to win a game, but this series will not be particularly competitive.
Colorado vs Arizona - Colorado in 5 - Count the Avalanche as another team with serious potential to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. With so much talent, it’s difficult to imagine the mediocre Arizona Coyotes being more than a small speed bump en route to Colorado’s much grander aspirations. Darcy Kuemper has established himself as one of the league’s best netminders, so we’ll give Arizona a game on his behalf. Outside of that, the Avs’ offensive prowess should be on full display as the Coyotes get sent home to contemplate their GM-less future.
Dallas vs Calgary - Dallas in 7 - Neither team figures to go deep in the playoffs. Too many structural question marks, not enough top-end talent to overcome it all. Dallas was a strong even strength team this season, while Calgary was squarely middle of the pack. Both teams experienced bizarre coaching changes midstream, so they have that to bond over. In this celebration of mediocrity, I give the Stars the edge in a heavily contested affair.
St Louis vs Vancouver - Vancouver in 7 - This is the only pick I may come to regret. Fortune favors the bold, however, and the Canucks inspire me in a way that the Blues simply do not. Jacob Markstrom was outstanding in the Qualifiers for Vancouver, while Jordan Binnington showed no signs of turning around a lackluster campaign during Round Robin play. I don’t love the look of St. Louis’s blueline, despite being the reigning champs. Although the Canucks don’t strike me as poised to go on a long run, they have just enough to get by a still-Cup hungover Blues’ team.
CJ Woodling
Philadelphia vs Montreal - Philadelphia in 6 - Montreal pulled off what was widely considered to be an upset in knocking out the Pittsburgh Penguins. What many didn’t realize was that the Habs have had very good underlying numbers all season. So it’s not exactly a massive shock that they pulled out the victory. Unfortunately, the Flyers look like a real contender, seeming to score at will and with Carter Hart looking more and more confident in net as time goes on. I think this series will be hotly contested, but I’m going with Philadelphia’s potent attack giving them the series victory.
Tampa Bay vs Columbus - Tampa Bay in 6 - As great of a defensive team as Columbus is, and as hilarious as us getting a repeat of last year’s monumental Lightning vs Blue Jackets series, the Bolts are just too stacked to let this happen again. The well-coached and defensive-structured Blue Jackets won’t make it easy, but Tampa has definitely learned from last season. They’re not about to underestimate Columbus again and should put it together. The biggest question mark is the health of Bolts captain Steven Stamkos. He is out “indefinitely” and no one outside of the organization seems to know if he will make an appearance in this round. If he can’t get healthy enough to play, this series gets a lot more interesting.
Washington vs New York Islanders - New York Islanders in 7 - I’m going to go a bit contrarian here. I’m conceding that Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has a system of play that should be emulated by any team in the league that was to be successful in the modern game of hockey. While the Islanders have some good talent (including one of my favorite players in the league in Matt Barzal), they do not have a roster that screams “Stanley Cup Contender”. But they continually surprise us all. Washington has as much firepower as any in the league, but even with Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backtrom, and Evgeny Kuznetsov, this is a team that can run dry at inopportune moments. I’m not going to underestimate Trotz again.
Boston vs Carolina - Carolina in 7 - This is arguably the series I am most excited for. The President’s Trophy winner Boston Bruins taking on one of the most fun teams in the league, the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins have next to no obvious weaknesses, and when the Canes are clicking, they can be absolutely unstoppable. This series may very well be a case of an unstoppable object meeting an unmovable force. Given Boston’s disappointing round-robin performance and the Hurricanes easy dispatch of the New York Rangers in the play-in round, I’m inclined to believe that Carolina has more swagger coming into this series. Let’s go, jerks.
Vegas vs Chicago - Vegas in 4 - This should be another fun series. To me, Chicago taking out the Oilers was even more surprising than the Canadiens taking out the Penguins. The Habs had the underlying numbers to see a path to victory. Chicago, on the other hand, did not. As flawed of a team as Edmonton was, they were still better than the Hawks on paper this year in most categories. Chicago has some talent throughout their roster like the ever-dangerous Jonathan Towes, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and the rookie Kirby Dach. That said, goaltender Corey Crawford is going to have to put on the performance of a lifetime if they want a chance. The Vegas Golden Knights attack is just too good. Combined with having the ability to trot out Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt for 26-plus minutes per night after both had phenomenal round-robin performances as well as the inside knowledge from former Chicago goaltender Robin Lehner, the Golden Knights should make relatively quick work of this series.
Colorado vs Arizona - Colorado in 6 - This is another series I’m looking forward to. Mostly because getting to watch Taylor Hall and Phil Kessel in the playoffs in those Kachina jerseys makes me feel a lot of tingly feelings. Darcey Kuemper has the ability to steal a game or two here as well. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, though, Colorado is just an unbelievable team. Their blueline can shut down even the best offenses. Nathan MacKinnon I’m pretty sure was made from bits of Sidney Crosby’s DNA then supercharged in Nova Scotia. Their goaltending isn’t the strongest, but it’s good enough to give their offense a shot to embarrass Arizona’s defense. Remember when we all thought Joe Sakic was one of the worst General Managers in the league? That was fun.
Dallas vs Calgary - Calgary in 5 - Rick Bowness is not a great coach. Yeah, I said it. He’s not bad defensively, but offense is drier than the Edmonton tundra in the August heat in this system. Which is upsetting considering the fact that this team employe Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, Joe Pavelski, and of course, our beloved elite Corey Perry. Anton Khudobin has performed admirably, and Ben Bishop is still one of the best netminders in the league, but I think this series is where their weakness get dramatically expose by a Flames offense that can score a lot in a hurry. I’m not big on Calgary either (especially their goaltending), but I can see this series being more about the Flames taking advantage of the Stars mistakes than them being that much better.
St Louis vs Vancouver - St Louis in 5 - Vancouver is a much more fun team than I anticipated. I’ve been a fan of Jacob Markstrom in net this season and Elias Pettersson is another of my favorite players in the league. This is a team with a lot of holes, however. Even with an improvement with their acquisitions of former Kings Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson, I have too many issues with their blueline. Quinn Hughes is obviously great, and Chris Tanev has his moments. But the defending champs look just as good as ever with little turnover from last season. The Blues should take this series provided Jordan Binnington continues performing well.