After a few days off, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to start back up with Round 2. The first round set a record for overtime games in a single playoff round, but overall didn't give us many surprises. There was only one real surprise result--Predators over Blackhawks, but that was more because of how bad Chicago played than anything else. Not to take anything away from Nashville, but seeing the Blackhawks play that terribly in a playoff series was shocking. They scored three goals in the entire series! You're not gonna win like that.
My biggest takeaway from round one is how evenly-matched a lot of these teams really are. It wasn't just the overtimes, either. It was all the one-goal games across all eight series. Toronto easily could've upset Washington, and Calgary didn't really deserve to get swept with how competitive they really were against the Ducks (who, by the way, looked really freakin' good!). Yet, amazingly, there were no Game 7's. So we've at least got that to look forward to.
If the first round was that tight, I can only imagine how competitive round two is going to be. Especially since you've got the two best teams in the league squaring off in the marquee series (which should be the Conference Final, but we've been over that already).
And, other than Pittsburgh, you've got a bunch of teams who've been waiting a while for this. The Rangers lost to the Kings in 2014, but it's been 10 years for Anaheim and Ottawa, 11 for Edmonton, 20 for Washington, 47 for St. Louis and forever for Nashville. So, especially in the West, somebody's Stanley Cup drought is going to end. The chances of us seeing a team get its name etched on the Cup is actually pretty good, too. Half of the remaining teams have never won it.
It's almost a complete changing of the guard in the West, in fact. The Chicago-LA rotation is officially over. The Kings fired their coach after missing the playoffs for the second time in three years, while the Blackhawks had to make someone the fall guy after their second straight first-round exit, so their top assistant got the boot. And, with last year's Western Conference champion San Jose also getting knocked out in the first round, we'll see a different Western Conference champion for the first time since the 2011 Canucks.
But first, the East, where the Rangers continue their tour of Canada and the Capitals look to avenge their loss to the Penguins last year.
Senators-Rangers: The Rangers got what they wanted with the Montreal matchup, and now they have another favorable matchup against the Senators. Ottawa proved to be super resilient in the Boston series, but you have to wonder how much all of those overtimes took out of them. Especially with the amount of ice time Erik Karlsson logged in that series. The fact that they're not starting until Thursday definitely benefits Ottawa (the Senators' legs really would've been dead had they played a Game 7). However, the Rangers' outstanding road record proved beneficial against Montreal, and it will likely come into play again. They made some terrific adjustments after going down 2-1 to win the last three games against the Canadiens. The Canadiens are better than the Senators. Rangers in six.
Capitals-Penguins: Well, Washington. Here's your chance. Here's your chance to get people to finally stop saying that you're "overrated" or that you're "chokers" or that you're "a really good regular season team" (which I say about both the Capitals and the Texas Rangers all the time). You're playing the defending champs with a chance to avenge your loss to them last year. Except you barely beat the Leafs while the Penguins were busy blowing right by a Blue Jackets team that deserved a better fate. Anyway, Washington has the better goalie, and they'll need Holtby to be just as important as Ovechkin and Backstrom. Because the Penguins will look to score enough to overcome their weakness in goal. And Pittsburgh just has too much offensive talent. Penguins in six.
Now on to the West, where, after the first round, I have to say Anaheim looks like they're head and shoulders above the rest. But if the Predators team that played in the first round shows up, we just might see those preseason projections come true after all.
Blues-Predators: This is probably the toughest matchup to predict, and this is where I think we'll see our first Game 7 of the playoffs. St. Louis looked really good against Minnesota and now gets home ice advantage for this one. Except I don't think the Blues are the better team. The Predators team that played against the Blackhawks is the one a lot of people were expecting to see for most of the season. But the question is: Can they keep it up? That Blackhawks series finished early, so they've been sitting around for a while. Was that good or bad? I think we'll find out early. Regardless, they're good enough to shake off any rust they might have from that break. And we've seen plenty of teams ride a hot goalie through the playoffs time and again. Pekka Rinne's a hot goalie right now. Predators in seven.
Ducks-Oilers: Oh, man, this is gonna be a good one. It went down to the last day of the season for these two to figure out which one would win the division title. The Ducks ended up claiming the Pacific, and then they looked like world beaters in the first round against Calgary. The Oilers were impressive in the first round, too, which is why I'm really expecting to be entertained by this series. I think Edmonton's a year or two away, though. Anaheim has been building towards this for the last several years, and this really does seem like their best shot at the Cup. They still have that Game 7 thing hanging over their heads, but they don't have to worry about losing a Game 7 if the series is over before then. And I think it will be. Ducks in six.
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