2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Semifinal Predictions

Here are my predictions for the Semifinal of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Eastern Conference
(A2) Boston Bruins vs (WC2) Columbus Blue Jackets: The Bruins are coming off a seven game series win over their division rival Maple Leafs. The Blue Jackets are coming off a stunning four game sweep over the President Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins are deep offensively led by the likes of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pasternak, Charlie Coyle, and David Krejci. Their defense is deep too led by Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Zdeno Chara. Tukka Rask has stepped up in goal so far in the playoffs. The Blue Jackets are really good offensively led by Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cam Atkinson, and Josh Anderson. Their defense has been awesome led by Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, and Ryan Murray. Sergei Brovovsky finally stepped up in a playoff series and it paid off big time in the upset. Both teams have been great with their special teams play in their first round series wins. This should be a very competitive series and these two teams have good coaches in Bruce Cassidy and John Tortorella, respectively. That said, the Bruins are better and deeper and I expect them to advance to the Conference Finals for the first time in six seasons.
Prediction: Bruins in six games.

(M2) New York Islanders vs (WC1) Carolina Hurricanes: This should be a very interesting series to say the least between these two surprise teams. The Islanders are coming off an impressive four game sweep over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Carolina Hurricanes are coming off a seven game series win over the reigning champion Washington Capitals. The Isles offense is solid led by Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey, and Brock Nelson. Their defense is pretty good with Johnny Boychuk (who isn't healthy at the moment), Nick Leddy, and Ryan Pulock. The goaltending by Robin Lehner has been nothing short of spectacular. The Hurricanes offense is very good led by Sebastian Aho, Andrei Schvetnikov, Teuvo Teräväinen, Justin Williams, and Micheal Ferland. Their defense is deep too led by Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk, Adam Fox, and Jaccob Slavin. Petr Mrazek has been very good in the playoffs thus far. Special teams for both teams have been solid for the most part, but I'd say the Islanders's have been better. Barry Trotz will win the Jack Adams Award, but Rod Bin'Amour has done a phenomenal job this year too. This should be a long series and with home ice advantage,  (although it's Brooklyn not Uniondale) I like the Islanders to advance.
Prediction: Islanders in seven games.

Western Conference
(C3) St. Louis Blues vs (WC1) Dallas Stars: This should be a fun series between these division rivals. The Blues are coming off a six game series win over the Winnipeg Jets. The Stars are coming off a six game series win over the Nashville Predators. The Blues are deep offensively led by Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly, Brayden Schenn, Alex Steen, and David Perron. Their deep defensively too with Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Boumeester, Vince Dunn, and Colton Parayko. Jordan Binnington was great in the first round and he reminds me of Matt Murray three years ago. The Stars are solid offensively led by Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and Mats Zuccarello. Their defense has been better with John Klingberg, Miro Hiskanen, and Esa Lindell. The Stars power play has been great throughout the playoffs and I think the Blues have the penalty kill to slow down that unit, but it won't be easy. Jim Montgomery has been great in year one in Dallas and Craig Berube is a Jack Adams finalist after taking over for the fired Mike Yeo with the Blues. That said, I love how the Blues have been playing them and I think they win a good series.
Prediction: Blues in six games.

(P2) San Jose Sharks vs (WC2) Colorado Avalanche: This is a sneaky good series. The Sharks are coming off a seven game series win over the Vegas Golden Knights in which they trailed 3-1 in that series. The Avalanche are coming off a surprising five game series win over the one-seeded Calgary Flames. The Sharks are deep offensively led by Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Gustav Nyquist, and Joe Pavelski (who's currently injured). Their defense is solid led by Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Marc-Édouard Vlasic, and Brendan Dillon. Mark Jones had a remarkable turnaround in goal from the first round series after struggling the first four games. The Avalanche are great offensively led by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Ratenen, Gabriel Landeskog, Carl Soderberg, and JT Compher. Their defense is improved with Cale Makar joining Tyson Barrie, Samuel Girard, and Erik Johnson. The desicion to go with Philip Gaubauer instead of Semyon Varlamov in goal has paid off so far. Both teams have been awesome on the power play throughout the playoffs thus far, but who's penalty kill steps up the most? Peter DeBoar and Jared Bednar have done great jobs with their respective teams thus far. That said, I expect this to go to distance and I like the Sharks and their experience to pay off in the end.
Prediction: Sharks in seven games.