Stanley Cup Preview And Predictions

The war of attrition that is the Stanley Cup playoffs begins tonight and this year that a quite a few teams that we haven't seen in a while, or ever in the case of the first year expansion team the Las Vegas Knights, and a few teams that we normally see this time of year are already on vacation. The Chicago Blackhawks, the New York Rangers, and the St Louis Blues are all on basking in the sun somewhere, with the resurgent Colorado Avalanche beating the St. Louis Blues in what essentially a play-in game for both teams on the last day of the season. The Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, and the Winnipeg Jets, teams that we have rarely seen at this time of year, are all back in the playoffs.

The Nashville Predators made it all the way to Game 7 of the finals last year and have come back even stronger this year. Whereas the Preds were the Cinderella story last year, this year they have been built to win and the pressure will surely be on them. Over in the East, the Tampa Bay Lightning have managed to keep healthy this year and have, along with the Bruins, probably been the class of this conference. And, having said all that, the Pittsburgh Penguins are going for a three-peat, attempting to win their third straight Cup.

Here are the first round matchups and my picks:

Tampa Bay Lightning v. New Jersey Devils - The Devils have had a great season with Taylor Hall having an arguably MVP season but the Lightning, despite having the occasional defensive lapse, have just too much firepower. Lightning in 6.

Boston Bruins v. Toronto Maple Leafs - The series has one of the premier individual matchups of the first round, with Boston's defensive specialist and all-around center, Patrice Bergeron, probably shadowing Toronto's sophomore superstar Auston Matthews. The Bruins are a potent offensive team but the playoffs are all about defense and goaltending. This one is a toss-up but I'll go with Toronto in 7.

Washington Capitals v. Columbus Blue Jackets - The Capitals, led by future Hall-of-Famer Alex Ovechkin, are the perennial playoff disappointment despite dominating the regular season. This is not fault of Ovechkin, as he usually produces the goals and points in the playoffs, but is let down by his supporting cast and, as happened last year, poor goaltending. This year the Caps have gone with two goalies, Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer. Similarly, the Blue Jackets rely on Sergei Bobrovski for their goaltending and he didn't show up in last year's playoff after a spectacular regular season. The winner of this series will be determined by which team's goaltender or goaltenders play the best. Sadly, I think it will be another seventh game disaster for the Caps. Columbus in 7.

Pittsburgh Penguins v. Philadelphia Flyers - This matchup brings back memories of the old intrastate brawls between these two teams. And it will surely still be a physical series. The Penguins still have Crosby and Malkin but are less of a team than they have been in the last two years. The Flyers have had a solid season but these are the Penguins. Pittsburgh in 5.

Nashville Predators v. Colorado Avalanche - The Predators are the deepest team in the league. They have two Norris trophy candidates for the best defenseman in P.K. Subban and Roman Josi. The have a Vezina candidate as the best goalie, Pekka Rinne. Nathan Mackinnon has had an MVP year as the Avs improved by nearly 40 points from last year. But Colorado just can't match the Preds. Nashville in 5.

Winnipeg Jets v. Minnesota Wild - The Wild never make things easy for anyone but their top two defenseman are either out or hampered by injury. That's bad news because the Jets are loaded with offensive firepower, led by Patrik Laine.  Winnipeg in 5.

Vegas Golden Knights v. L.A. Kings - Some thought it was time for the Kings to do a total rebuild, but they stuck with Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar and are back in the playoffs. The Knights have had an unbelievable season, taking the early lead in their division and holding it until the playoffs. But this is a whole new season and the Kings have playoff experience. This budding rivalry may come down to a goaltending duel between the Knight's Marc Andre Fleury and the Kings' Jonathan Quick. Knights in 7.

Anaheim Ducks v. San Jose Sharks - These perennial playoff contenders have probably seen enough of each other. Both teams have wizened playoff veterans like Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton, and Joe Pavelski. The Ducks have added Adam Henrique and the Sharks Evander Kane. John Gibson is struggling with injury in goal for the Ducks but they still have the old veteran Ryan Miller. This will be another Western Conference classic. Sharks in 7.

Stanley Cup Finals Prediction: Nashville Predators v. Boston Bruins. You'll have to wait until they make the finals until I pick a winner.