It is the Stanley Cup Playoffs after all and anything is possible.
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Even though they didn’t make the playoffs, for example, I fully expect the New York Rangers to be on this week, and since I’ll have a choice of several games being played simultaneously, I imagine the Penguins and Flyers will be low on my priority list (familiarity breeds contempt?).
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Los Angeles Kings – The most successful inaugural season in any sport has Vegas not only in the playoffs, but with home ice advantage.
Devils forward Taylor Hall made a serious push for the MVP award late in the season, scoring a point in 26 straight games staring January 2 with 11 multi-point games during the streak.
Can the Pittsburgh Penguins make it three straight Stanley Cups? That means goaltender Matt Murray must play as well as he did both of the last two playoff seasons. These teams were only separated by one point in the standings.
The x-factor is Ryan Miller, who’s now the Ducks’ starting goalie because of the recent injury to John Gibson. He’s gone 12-6-6 and has a.928 save percentage.
Forward Anze Kopitar could get MVP consideration after a 35-goal, 92-point campaign despite taking a team-high 5.4 defensive-zone faceoffs per game.
The Penguins should be in great shape in this series and in Game 1.
Central Division: (WC2) Colorado Avalanche vs (1) Nashville Predators: The Predators won the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history.
It will be a long and unpredictable journey, but here is how I think the first round of the playoffs will go. Anaheim has won a Stanley Cup, so they know what it takes to get the job done.
As for the determined playoff matchups in the East, the Metropolitan Division-winning Washington Capitals (49-26-7, 105) will play host to the No. 1 wild card Columbus Blue Jackets (45-30-7, 97) in their first-round series. They’ll survive the Preds in the second round and wipe out the Kings in the conference final. Third-year goalie Connor Hellebuyck went 44-11-9, and broke the single-season record for victories by US -born goalies set by Tom Barrasso.
There are others who only pay attention to the most popular sport on ice when the playoffs come around.
The Battle of Pennsylvania is on.
Things couldn’t really have started any worse for Philly out of the gate, as a bad rebound off of Bryan Elliott gave Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust a window to get his Penguins ahead 1-0 less than three minutes into the game.
This is not to say that they should be the favorites to win the series, or that they will sweep the Lightning.
The Pittsburgh Penguins had been very inconsistent for a stretch, but they ended the regular season having won four of their final five games.
The Pittsburgh Hockey Now Staff-the only Pittsburgh outlet comprised of three active Professional Hockey Writers Association members-weighed in on the Cup chase.
Pittsburgh Penguin Phil Kessel is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Ottawa Senators at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 6, 2018, in Pittsburgh. It includes Colorado, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Vegas and Winnipeg.
As the National Hockey League season starts to intensify, it’s important to note that there is always next year and the sun will always rise the next day, so don’t get too upset about the outcome.
The Lightning might have Nikita Kucherov, but the Devils have Taylor Hall. The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy posted a 44-17 record. Cory Schneider also is one of the better goalies in the league.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs player Lou Franceschetti was also present, signing autographs and answering questions.
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Don’t expect the Bruins to just lay down, though, as the young team has surpassed all expectations [VIDEO] this year. Last year’s Cinderella team has surged into the number one team in not only the Western Conference, but the whole league.
