2021 NHL Playoffs Predictions and Stanley Cup prediction time: East: Islanders over Penguins in 7 Capitals over Bruins in 7 Central: Hurricanes over Predators in 5 Lightning over Panthers in 6 North: Maple Leafs over Canadiens in 5 Oilers over Jets in 6 West: Avalanche over Blues in 6 Golden Knights over Wild in 6 Round 2: Capitals over Islanders in 7 Hurricanes over Lightning in 7 Oilers over Maple Leafs in 7 Avalanche over Golden Knights in 7 Re-seeds sets up these match-ups with a proper East vs West Stanley Cup Final by my calculations: Oilers over Avalanche in 7. Hurricanes over Capitals in 7. Stanley Cup Final: Hurricanes over Oilers in 6. Hey, this could really happen, @Section 336!
I bet the Avs and Canes to win. I think the Canes are pretty undervalued. I don't see them having trouble with their division especially after the Panthers and Lightning beat the shit out of each other. Same thing with the Avs. If the VGK don't score on the rush, they struggle. Oilers don't have the goaltending/defense. Good predictions. I just don't see the Oilers beating the Avs especially without home ice but I can definitely seeing them coming out of the Canadian division. Any ideas as to how it's going to work with the Canadian teams once they're reseeded? Big disadvantage assuming they can't have fans. If the Predators get past the Canes they might go pretty deep. They're sneaky good and physical and wear teams down. I'd like to think the same about the Wild but it's just too difficult of a road to beat both the VGK and Ava back to back.
If you don't like hockey, this Lightning/Panthers series will make you a fan. Unbelievable first period so far.
Florida was an up and coming team a couple of years ago and they fired their HC for no reason even though they made the playoffs. They went through 2 more coaches before landing JQ and he has done a good job with the talent they have. That team can score especially on the PP, wouldn’t surprise me if they represent the east in finals.
I could watch Barkov play hockey every damn day. Good looks on the background. I'm about 10 years removed from watching hockey consistently after the Devils last finals visit. It's a whole new world.
I love the game, even when Islanders were bad I still watch hockey. The west coast games were hard to stay up for but managed to catch some of the games. There is no sport that can match playoff hockey for its intensity.
Yep it's awesome. I never really filled the regular season sports void between football ending and baseball. But baseball just keeps getting worse, the NBA is just a disaster and the first two rounds of the playoffs were always god awful anyways. Glad I picked this up, I'm a fan now. And good lord I've made a lot of money on this shit the past two months..except for today.
Agreed! That was the best hockey game I have watched since March 2020. The atmosphere was great. The teams were great. Should be an amazing series!
Tough loss for the Caps last night, blowing a 3-2 lead with 3 minutes left and then instantly losing in OT. You could feel it coming too. Hate losses like that. Carolina and Colorado looked dominant last night in both of their Game 1's.
TDK - do you know who wins the tiebreaker if Caps and Leafs make it to semis. Was really hoping for a Canes Caps final, but I do not see Vegas or Avs not coming out of West which puts the Canes locked in at 2, so not sure if Canes Caps final is possible without a big upset out west. I think your final 4 is a real possibility, I like the Oilers chances. Canes are sneaky good. Despite recent playoff success, their record and top end young talent they still do not garner a lot of recognition in some circles.The big knock on them is goaltending, yet there Rookie Goalie Nedeljkovich led the league in GAA at 1.90 and Save percentage .932 He did not have has many starts as a lot of the #1’s but still had enough to meet requirements for stat inclusion.
Panthers looked terribly flat yesterday. That game one loss looked like it messed up their psyche. They could get swept especially with the power play looking as ugly as it did. Way too passive on it. Shoot the puck and good things will happen. Great slate of games tonight. I think the Caps get the road win even with all the injuries. They've outplayed the Bruins for long stretches of the first two games. I'd imagine the Oilers win in a relative blowout and the Hurricanes and Avs walk to sweeps. Binnington was great against the Avs in the first two periods in game one, he just couldn't stop the final onslaught. Really don't see anyone slowing the Avs down.
Not a bad analysis, TDK, but I don't see anyone beating the Maple Leafs in the North. Of course my Toronto bias may be showing, lol. 13
Brutal. Not sure they can come back from that. Back to back games with 3rd period leads blown. Could have a 3-0 series lead, instead down 2-1. Bad mistakes too to set up each loss.
They deserved to lose yesterday at least though. Game 2 was a toss up IMO but they got dominated in both OT periods yesterday. Hit two posts in the third. I haven't watched a ton of hockey over the years but Ovechkin seems a lot less aggressive than I remember. I'm sure some of it is obviously an age decline and how much he's beaten his body up but he seems like he camps at the face off circle and if he doesn't get his shots he skates off for a change.
That depends how you look at it. They outplayed the Bruins by far in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Had the lead with 8 minutes left, took a bad penalty, and lost the lead. Then looked strong to end the 3rd, but like you said, hit a couple posts and couldn't score. OT they were outplayed for sure. It was brutal to watch, and why I don't blame Samsonov for the loss. As for Ovechkin, he is still really aggressive. He missed 7 of the last 8 regular season games due to injury, so he likely isn't 100%, but he is still playing aggressive. Definitely has lost speed over the years, but not passion or aggression.
Good calls. Are you a Caps fan? I was a bigger hockey fan from my youth and then through 05-11 when I lost interest so Ovechkin will probably always be my favorite player. Dude just plays the game the right way. I'm a Devils fan by youth allegiance but I don't have a huge allegiance. Maybe I will when they're better. Definitely young and fast. I liked what I saw from Blackwood this year.
