Here are my predictions for the Quarterfinals of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Eastern Conference
(WC2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs (M1) Washington Capitals: The intrigue of this series is one of the games best players in Alex Ovechkin going up against the Calder Trophy favorite in Auston Matthews. Mike Babcock is the best coach in the league and he deserves so much credit for getting his team to the playoffs. The Leafs are a team on the rise with a ton of young talent such as Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner, but I don't see them upsetting the Capitals, who are loaded with both great forwards and defensemen and have a great goalie in Braden Holtby.
Prediction: Capitals in five games.
(M3) Columbus Blue Jackets vs (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins: This should be a fun series between these division rivals. These teams met three years ago in the Quarterfinals, but the teams are different now. The reigning champs lost Kris Letang for the season with a neck injury and they will miss him, but they should still win this series. Sergei Bobrovsky could very well outplay Matt Murray, but the Pens offensive firepower, led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, should be what puts them over the top, although the Jackets can score with the Pens with the likes of Brandon Saad, Brandon Dubinsky, and Cam Atkinson.
Prediction: Penguins in six games.
(WC1) New York Rangers vs (A1) Montreal Canadiens: This is the best series of the first round. Carey Price vs Henrik Lundqvist is about as great of a goalie matchup you will get. This is a rematch of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals when Chris Kreider ran over Price. The Rangers have the advantage offensively with Kreider, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, and Mats Zuccarello leading the way. The Habs don't have the depth that the Rangers do offensively but Max Pacioretty is a really good player that can dominate. To me, the Habs are better defensively with Shea Weber and Jeff Petry on the top pairing and that will be the difference because the Rangers aren't really great defensively outside of Ryan McDonogh. Expect this series to go to the wire.
Prediction: Canadiens in seven games.
(A3) Boston Bruins vs (A2) Ottawa Senators: This should be a fun series between these two division rivals. The goalie matchup is really good with Tukka Rask against Craig Anderson. The Senators need Derrick Brassard to step up big time after a disappointing regular season and the Bruins need rookie Charlie McAvoy to step up defensively with the injuries to Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo, the Sens won all four matchups in the regular season, but to me that doesn't matter. The Bruins are just the better team all around and their offense is really good with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, although the Sens have Eric Karlsson that can dominate as well.
Prediction: Bruins in six games.
Western Conference
(WC2) Nashville Predators vs (C1) Chicago Blackhawks: This series is one of the more underrated series's and these teams hooked up two seasons ago in the Quarterfinals as well. I believe the Preds have a shot to pull of the upset with the loaded defense they have with PK Subban and Roman Josi and with the offensive talent with Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson. Pekka Rinne can outplay Corey Crawford as well. That said, I like the Hawks and their offensive firepower of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Artemi Panerin to put them over the top in what should be a great series.
Prediction: Blackhawks in six games.
(C3) St. Louis Blues vs (C2) Minnesota Wild: This should be a fun series as well and these teams also hooked up two seasons ago in the Quarterfinals. A fun storyline here is the fact Mike Yeo is coaching against his former team and Bruce Boudreau usually doesn't get past the first round with his teams. The Wild have the edge in net with Devan Dubnyk and they have a lot of talent with Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund, and Mikko Koivu that provide offense and Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, and Matt Dumba on the blue line. That said, both of these teams are very good in all areas, but to me the best player in this series is Vladimir Tarasenko and he along with Alex Steen, Jaden Schwartz, and the great defense led by Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester will push the Blues over the top here.
Prediction: Blues in six games.
(WC1) Calgary Flames vs (P1) Anaheim Ducks: This series has a chance to be pretty good. These teams met in the Semifinals two seasons ago. This Flames team is a team on the rise with talented guys like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monohan and they have a solid netminder in Brian Elliott. The. Ducks are just flat out the better team with the offensive firepower of Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kssler, and Corey Perry, the solid defense led by Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Mountor (and don't forget Cam Fowler is injured), and the underrated John Gibson in net.
Prediction: Ducks in six games.
(P3) San Jose Sharks vs (P2) Edmonton Oilers: This series feels like the passing of a torch series from a core that's been together for a long time that's window is closing to an up and coming team that will be around for a while. Connor McDavid no doubt is the Hart Trophy favorite and the pressure is on him to deliver in the big moment, but I sense a lot of hunger in the Sharks, who want one more crack at a playoff run led by Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and their very good defense with Norris Trophy favorite Brent Burns leading the way and Martin Jones has a very slim edge in net over Cam Talbot, due to the experience Jones gained from last seasons Stanley Cup Final run.
Prediction: Sharks in six games.
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