No Bubble This Time

They say familiarity breeds contempt.  Never will that ring true than in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Teams only faced the same opponents all season...and now that we've reached the playoffs, they'll face those same opponents again!  If a series goes seven, they could end up playing 15 games against each other (more for the Canadian teams)!  So, I'm expecting to see that normal playoff intensity cranked up to about a 13!

This year's playoffs are also a bit of a throwback.  It's like we're going back to the 80s, with the division semifinals and finals leading into the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final.  Except this year, of course, there won't be Conference Finals.  There will be Stanley Cup semifinals instead.  They're not even awarding the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence Campbell Bowl!

Of course, one of the Canadian teams will be in those Stanley Cup semifinals.  Where they'll be playing their home games in that series remains to be seen, though.  The NHL wants an answer about whether teams will be able to go back-and-forth across the border by June 1.  They seem optimistic about their talks with the Canadian government, but who knows?!  I wouldn't be surprised if they end up saying no and we get playoff games in Detroit or Buffalo.

Another interesting aspect of this year's playoffs was the realignment.  I was curious about how much it affected the teams that made the playoffs, but, as it turns out, while the matchups would obviously be different, most of the playoff teams would be the same.  Nine Eastern Conference teams made it, so one would obviously have to be out, and that team is Montreal.  But, replacing the Canadiens with Arizona is it.  That would be the only change.  (And, frankly, I'm more than on board with Montreal being there instead, especially since they're playing Toronto!)

The matchups would obviously be different, but the other 15 teams would've made the playoffs under either format.  (And, yes, I know you can't do a direct comparison since they played different schedules than their regular division opponents this season.)  In case you were wondering, these would be the matchups using the regular format: Carolina-Islanders, Pittsburgh-Washington, Florida-Boston, Tampa Bay-Toronto, Colorado-St. Louis (the only one that's the same), Minnesota-Nashville, Vegas-Winnipeg, Edmonton-Arizona.

As for the actual matchups and what we can expect over the next two months, I think that's anybody's guess.  You've got two rounds where the teams are very familiar with each other, followed by two rounds where they haven't seen each other at all.  You've also got about a half-dozen teams that legitimately consider themselves Stanley Cup contenders.  But they've all got to get out of their divisions first...

EAST
Penguins-Islanders: When they met in the playoffs two years ago, the Islanders won in a sweep.  The Islanders then reached the Eastern Conference Final last season while the Penguins were upset in the qualifying round.  And, don't forget, that was only nine months ago!  Simply put, the Islanders aren't intimidated by the Penguins.  Not by a long shot.  In fact, if they make Pittsburgh play their game, which is something Barry Trotz is great at forcing other teams to do, I think they'll win this series.  Islanders in six.

Capitals-Bruins: Washington and Boston get the honor of starting the playoffs on Saturday night.  This is obviously NBC's marquee series, and there's a good reason for that (beyond the fact that it's two major-market teams).  They don't like each other very much, as evidence by how intense their regular season meetings were.  They finished the season by playing each other twice, but I don't think much can be taken from that since they knew they were likely playing again in the playoffs.  Now it's time to get serious.  I like Boston's experience here.  Washington's got a rookie goalie, which is the other reason why I give the Bruins a slight edge.  Boston in six.

CENTRAL
Hurricanes-Predators: While nobody was paying attention, Central Division teams ended up with the third-, fourth-, and seventh-most points in the NHL.  And it was Carolina who hit the 80-point mark!  Although, we probably should've seen it coming after the Hurricanes' solid seasons in both 2018-19 and 2019-20.  They lost to Boston in the playoffs in each of the last two years.  This year, they won't face the Bruins until the semifinals at the earliest.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Hurricanes there.  Carolina in five.

Panthers-Lightning: Tampa Bay begins its Cup defense with an all-Florida series against the Panthers.  Frankly, Florida finishing not just ahead of Tampa Bay, but with the fourth-best record in the entire league, might've been the most surprising result.  Of course, the Panthers have history working against them.  They haven't won a playoff series since their run to the Stanley Cup Final 25 years ago.  The Lightning, of course, have plenty of experience winning playoff games.  They're the defending champions for a reason, and they'll play like it!  Tampa Bay in six.

NORTH
Maple Leafs-Canadiens: For the first time since 1979, hockey's oldest rivals meet in a playoff series!  When they created the all-Canadian division for this season, this is the series most fans wanted and hoped would happen, and sure enough, the Hockey Gods gave us our wish!  The Leafs also know that this is their best shot of finally ending their long string of playoff disappointments.  They're the strongest Canadian team, and they proved it all season.  They'll prove it again in this series, although Montreal will make them work for it.  If only fans could be there!  Just imagine how electric the Air Canada Centre and Bell Centre would be for the most important Canadiens-Leafs games in years!  Toronto in six.

Oilers-Jets: Edmonton definitely has a legitimate shot of being the North Division representative in the semifinals, but this Winnipeg series won't be easy.  The Oilers and Leafs both knew that Winnipeg was likely gonna finish third, and they both wanted nothing to do with the Jets in the playoffs.  Edmonton's task is similar to Toronto's...finding a way to get past their playoff disappointment.  The Jets, meanwhile, have the playoff experience to make sure this series goes the distance.  Edmonton in seven.

WEST
Avalanche-Blues: Crazy stat about the Avalanche that they showed during their game last night--this is the SIXTH different division that they've won!  And it's easy to see why they won the President's Trophy.  They have very few flaws.  And an outstanding goaltender!  Frankly, it's very difficult to see the Blues winning this series.  Colorado is just that much better.  Colorado in five.

Golden Knights-Wild: Thanks to the regulation wins tiebreaker, Colorado ended up winning both the division and the President's Trophy over Vegas.  So, that series will end up starting in Denver if they both advance.  Which seems likely.  Because the Golden Knights are just as strong as Colorado.  They drew a much stronger opponent in Minnesota, but the Wild simply don't have the offensive firepower to get past Marc-Andre Fleury and/or Robin Lehner.  Vegas in six.