It is the most exciting time of year for hockey fans: the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The two-monthlong playoffs kicked off Saturday night with game one of the Carolina Hurricanes vs. the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs series, which was just the beginning of the thrill of playoff hockey which we will see in the weeks and months to come.
This year’s playoffs are bound to have more parity than most years. All 16 playoff teams seem like they have a legitimate chance to make a deep playoff run, and in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, anything can happen. Just last year, the Florida Panthers were the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference and managed to make a run to the Stanley Cup Final. Hockey is a game of momentum, and whichever teams heat up when it comes playoff time can make runs, no matter what seeds they are.
The Hurricanes are the current favorites to win the Stanley Cup, and they are taking on the Islanders in a rematch of last year’s first round series. It is not surprising that the Hurricanes find themselves in this position, as they have arguably the best defensive core in hockey and further strengthened their already very strong forward group at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of star forward Jake Guentzel and forward Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Islanders on the other hand, are far from favorites, so much so that they are likely the biggest underdog of all eight first round matchups. New York has had one of the strangest seasons of any team in recent memory. They started strong but regressed so severely that they ultimately fired head coach Lane Lambert and hired NHL legend Patrick Roy to replace him mid-season. Under Roy, the Islanders followed up a six-game win streak with a six-game losing streak, and then finished the season 8–0–1 to lock up third place in the Metropolitan division. It was a roller-coaster season for the club, and now that they’re in, they face an immense challenge against Carolina.
14 miles west of the Islanders reside the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers, who are facing the Washington Capitals in their first round series. Despite selling off pieces at the trade deadline, the Capitals found themselves in the second wild card spot in the east despite having an abysmal -37 goal differential this season thanks to strong play in the final two months of the regular season. The Rangers have had strong play not just in the final two months of the season, but throughout the entire season, which is why they are one of the top favorites to win the Cup. It will be hard for any team to slow down the Rangers star-studded lineup, and the Capitals are the first team that has the opportunity to do so.
The other two series in the east, the Bruins vs. Maple Leafs and Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning are both great rivalries. The Bruins and Lightning both have had great success in recent playoff matchups with their respective opponents, so it should be interesting to see if the Maple Leafs and Panthers can finally break through. The Panthers, winners of the Atlantic Division, had an extremely impressive season and look to continue their strong play in yet another Battle of Florida playoff series. The Lightning, although not the team they once were, are still very good and always seem to show up and up their game when the playoffs roll around. Up north, the Bruins are looking to bounce back from last season’s playoff debacle after yet another good season, while the Maple Leafs are looking to finally make a deep playoff run after years of underwhelming playoff performance.
All four of these Eastern Conference matchups are intriguing. The same can be said about the Western Conference. For instance, the Dallas Stars vs. the Las Vegas Golden Knights series is surely going to be a very exciting series. Many predicted this matchup to be this season’s Western Conference final matchup, as both teams are so talented throughout the lineup. The Stars had an unbelievable season and similar to the Hurricanes, they are one of the most well-balanced teams in the NHL. But, if any team could give the Stars a challenging first round, it would be the defending champions, who have had immense playoff success in their short history.
The Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings are facing off in the playoffs for the third straight season, and the Kings are hoping that this is the year they finally get past the Oilers in a seven-game series. This series will come down to whether the Kings are able to slow down Oilers’ superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl or not. If they can, the Oilers do not have the depth that other teams do, which would give the Kings a good shot at succeeding in this matchup. The Kings are another team that fired their coach in the middle of the season, and they’re a streaky bunch of players. For them to win, they’ll have to both slow the Oilers stars down and be on the top of their own game.
The Colorado Avalanche vs. the Winnipeg Jets series is one of the more even series of the first round. Both teams have played at around the same level throughout the season, and this one is a real toss-up. The Vancouver Canucks vs. the Nashville Predators series is a more lopsided one, where Vancouver is the favorite, but Nashville will for sure put up a strong fight, just as they have done throughout this entire season.
Whatever happens in these Stanley Cup playoffs, there is nothing like the excitement of playoff hockey. There is nothing like the thrills and momentum shifts that take place in high pressure games and dramatic series. The race for the Stanley Cup is on.
