Here are my predictions for the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Eastern Conference
(M1) Washington Capitals vs (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers: This should be a fun first round series between these two division foes. The Capitals and Flyers both are very good offensively led by their respective captains Alex Ovechkin and Claude Giroux. TJ Oshie and Justin Williams have to have big series for the Capitals and so do Wayne Simmonds and Jacub Voracek for the Flyers. Both teams aren't bad defensively although the Caps have a slight advantage there with guys like Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik. Rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbhere has been a pleasant surprise this year for the Flyers, but they need other guys like Andrew McDonald and Mark Streit to step up on that end. Both goalies are solid and have experience in Vezina trophy candidate Brayden Holtby for the Caps and Steve Mason for the Flyers. I believe this will be a more competitive series than people think and I believe Ovechkin and Company will move on to the second round to face one of their other division rivals in either the Pittsburgh Penguins or the New York Rangers.
Prediction: Capitals in six games.
(M2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (M3) New York Rangers: For the third straight year, these two teams will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Both of these teams are a bit banged up right now though. Sidney Crosby has led this great run Pittsburgh has been on by going 14-2-0 in their final sixteen games, but guys like Chris Kunitz and Phil Kessel have to step up offensively since Evengi Malkin may not be back until later in the series. Rick Nash had a disappointing regular season, mainly due to injury, but he must step up for the Rangers. Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello have had career years and they should provide some offense as well as Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider. Both teams are mainly banged up on the defensive end. The Pens are have been missing Olli Matta due to an undisclosed injury and the Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh recently hurt is hand and is unlikely to start the series. Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been sidelined by a concussion so it's undermined whether he'll be ready for the start of the series. Of course, the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist, who usually steps up his game another level come playoff time. This is the most dead even series of the first round, sans all the injuries. Yes, the Penguins have been the hotter team coming into the playoffs, but I like Lundqvist and the Rangers to get McDonagh back at some point here and to move on and eliminate the Pens for the third straight season.
Prediction: Rangers in seven games.
(A1) Florida Panthers vs (WC1) New York Islanders: This should be a very interesting series. Florida is a team on the rise with a mix of both youth and veterans. Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Alesander Barkov lead the way on offense for the Cats. Captian John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Brock Nelson, and Frans Neilsen are your top offensive weapons on the Isles. Defensively, the Panthers have veterans Brian Campbell and captain Willie Mitchell leading the way. The Islanders are a bit banged up on that end with Travis Hamonic trying to come back from a knee injury, but they still got Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy on the backend. Roberto Luongo has had some playoff experience behind the net for the Cats, but Thomas Greiss, who is filling in for the injured Jaroslav Halak, has never started a playoff game for the Isles. This was a pretty tough call considering how improved the Panthers are, but I think Tavares and the Islanders will finally get over the hump and make it past the first round for the first time in a long time.
Prediction: Islanders in six games.
(A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs (A3) Detroit Red Wings: These two teams met in the first round a year ago and here we are again. Tampa is very banged up right now up front with Steven Stamkos out for the season with a blood clot and Tyler Johnson being out with a upper body injury and it's unknown when he'll be back, so guys like Jonathan Druin, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov have to step up. Detroit's offense is led by captain Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Gustav Nyquist, and rookie Dylan Larkin. The Lightning's defense will be depleted with the injury to Anton Stralman but Victor Hedman will be back from his upper body injury. The Red Wings defense is decent with guys like Mike Green and Danny DeKeyser. Ben Bishop was decent last season in the Bolts run to the Stanley Cup Final last season in net. The Wings have the duo of Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard behind the net and while Mrazek struggled late in the season, Howard finished strongly, so it will be interesting to see what they do behind the net. With the Lightning very banged up, they'll miss key guys like Stralman and Stamkos, so the Wings will take advantage of it and move on to the second round for the first time since 2013.
Prediction: Red Wings in six games.
Western Conference
(C1) Dallas Stars vs (WC2) Minnesota Wild: This should be a fun matchup out west between these two division foes. Offense is Dallas's strength led by captain Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Patrick Sharp, and Jason Spezza. Minnesota has a decent offense too led by captain Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, and Nino Niederreiter. On the defense, the Stars have Johnny Oduya, John Klingberg, and Kris Russell, who are all decent. The Wild have a decent defense as well led by Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon. The goaltending for the Stars isn't great by any stretch with Antti Niemi, who has won a cup and Kari Lethonen. The Wild probably have the better goalie in the series with Devan Dubnyk. This wasn't an easy call, but I like the Stars with that potent offense to advance to the second round.
Prediction: Stars in six games.
(C2) St. Louis Blues vs (C3) Chicago Blackhawks: Here's a rematch from a first round series from two seasons ago between these two bitter rivals. St. Louis is a very good and loaded offensive team led by Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Steen, David Backes, and Paul Stasny. Chicago is also loaded offensively led by captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and rookie sensation Artemi Panarin. Both teams are very good defensively as well with the Blues having Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, and rookie Colton Parayko and the Blackhawks defense is led by Duncan Keith, who will miss game one due to his suspension and Brent Seabrook. The Blues will ride with the very good goalie duo of Brian Elliott and Jake Allen, while the Hawks have Corey Crawford, who was great this regular season. This should be an outstanding series, but this is always the time of the year when the Blackhawks play their best hockey and they should advance to the second round and eliminate the Blues for the second time in three seasons.
Prediction: Blackhawks in six games.
(P1) Anaheim Ducks vs (WC1) Nashville Predators: This should be an interesting series to say the least. Anaheim has a potent offense led by captain Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kessler. Nashville has a decent offense led by Filip Forsberg and James Neal. The Ducks defense isn't too shabby led by Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler, and Kevin Dieska. The Preds have a great defense led by Shea Weber and Roman Josi. The goaltending in this series will be very good with the duo of John Gibson and Fredrick Andersen for the Ducks and Pekka Rinne for the Predators, although Rinne didn't have his best season. I believe this will be a more competitive series than people think, but the offensive power of the Ducks will prevail and they'll advance to the second round.
Prediction: Ducks in six games.
(P2) Los Angeles Kings vs (P3) San Jose Sharks: This should be a fun series between these two rivals in a rematch from two seasons ago. The Kings offense should receive a boost if Marian Gaborik comes back from injury during this series. Anze Kopitar, Tyler Tiffoli, and Jeff Carter will provide offense as well. The Sharks offense is potent with guys like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and captain Joe Pavelski. The Kings defense is outstanding led by Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, and Alec Martinez. The Sharks defense is solid as well with guys like Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Jonathan Quick is all world in net for the Kings, especially come spring time. Martin Jones has been solid most of the season for the Sharks behind the net, but trade acquisition James Reimer has been hot down the stretch, so it should be interesting to see what Pete DeBoer does there. This should be a good series, but the Kings are back in the playoffs after missing out last season and they'll be motivated to go on another long run so they should eliminate the Sharks for the third time in four seasons.
Prediction: Kings in six games.
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