2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions

Today begins one of the most fun and most stressful (if your team is in it) times of year: playoff hockey is upon us.

16 teams begin their quest in the next two days for the greatest trophy in all of sports. The next two weeks will be crazy though, with eight series playing out.

Today's post will focus on the first round, but at the end I will make my pre-postseason Cup prediction.


Western Conference

Nashville Predators (41-29-12) vs Chicago Blackhawks (50-23-9)
Blackhawks won 4 of 5 regular season meetings

Photo by Ronald C. Modra (Getty Images)

We've got a fairly familiar matchup on our hands here, as the Hawks face Nashville for the third time in the Kane/Toews/Keith era. This year's Hawks team wasn't supposed to be this good, given all of the youth, but the kids have played well so far this season. But playoff hockey is a different animal, and they'll need to get a crash course. Fortunately, they have good teachers in the core of the team that has been a part of three Cup winners before. Patrick Kane did Patrick Kane things again this year, and the addition of Johnny Oduya at the deadline bolstered the Hawks' defense. They'll need it against a pretty deep Predators offense. Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg each scored 31 goals for Nashville this season, and their defense, while different from years past, is still a force to be reckoned with as Roman Josi and P.K. Subban took over the top spots from Shea Weber. The big question for Nashville is whether Pekka Rinne can sustain his regular season success into the postseason, where he's been average in his career. Ultimately, I think home ice will prove to be too much for the Preds to overcome, and attempts to "keep the red out" will be met with the force of experience. Blackhawks in six.

St. Louis Blues (46-29-7) vs Minnesota Wild (49-25-8)
Blues won 3 of 5 regular season meetings

Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn (Getty Images)

This could be a burgeoning rivalry, as the Wild knocked out St. Louis two years ago and the Blues are now led by former Wild coach Mike Yeo. He's got one of the best young talents in the game in Vladimir Tarasenko, and goalie Jake Allen has played well over the last couple of months. The Blues will be depending on him a little more than they may have in years past after dealing Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline. They're taking on a Wild team that in February looked like the team to beat in the West. Then March hit, and the team took a nosedive. Devan Dubnyk, who was phenomenal early in the season, regressed, though he's still more than capable of stealing the series. The team has good supporting pieces around Zach Parise and Ryan Suter this year, with deadline acquisition Martin Hanzal adding some depth and Eric Staal turning back the clock a little bit. Both teams have playoff experience, but I think home ice and thinning of the depth in St. Louis will be a little too much for the Blues to overcome. Wild in six.

Calgary Flames (45-33-4) vs Anaheim Ducks (46-23-13)
Ducks won 4 of 5 regular season meetings

Photographer uncredited (photo from NHL.com)

This is our third repeat series from the first round of 2015 in the West, with the Ducks taking out Calgary in five games en route to the conference finals that year. Anaheim returns much of that team this year, won the Pacific for the fifth straight year, and had the third best record in the West. Ryan Getzlaf and the goon Corey Perry are playing more complimentary roles with guys like Patrick Eaves and Rickard Rakell taking on the scoring load. The Flames, meanwhile, are back into the postseason after a one year hiatus, and have a lot of depth scoring and some excitement with players like Johnny Gaudreau, while their goaltending is improved with former Blue Brian Elliott in net. The Flames are young and hungry, but the Ducks have a good deal of experience. They also have won all but one game in Orange County against Calgary since January of 2004; 25 straight regular season games and all but one playoff game have gone the Ducks' way. It's hard to overcome that. Ducks in five.

San Jose Sharks (46-25-7) vs Edmonton Oilers (47-26-9)
Oilers won 3 of 5 regular season meetings

Photographer uncredited (photo from Getty Images)

After years of the NHL colluding to give them first overall picks tanking poor play, Edmonton has its new franchise player in Connor McDavid, who in his second year has the Oilers back to the postseason for the first time since 2006, and got them there with stellar play all season. Edmonton also got good goaltending out of Cam Talbot to help get them to the postseason. But a large chunk of this roster is getting its first taste of playoff hockey, so they'll need guys who've been around the block a few times like Milan Lucic to help get them acclimated to it. They face an experience Sharks team that made the Cup Final last year. Brent Burns is an elite defenseman, but he'll have his hands full trying to deal with McDavid and company, and the Sharks have health concerns in Joe Thornton and Logan Couture. They missed time at the end of the regular season, and while I'm sure they'll gut it out for the playoffs, they may not be 100 percent. Add in former Sharks coach Todd McClellan on Edmonton's bench, and the defending Western Conference champs will have a quick exit. Oilers in six.

Eastern Conference

Toronto Maple Leafs (40-27-15) vs Washington Capitals (55-19-8)
Capitals won 2 of 3 regular season meetings

Photographer uncredited (photo from Getty Images)

Thanks to the wild card being weird, the Maple Leafs cross over from the Atlantic to the Metropolitan, and get rewarded with the President's Trophy winners. The Caps boast Alex Ovechkin, one of the game's premier scorers, but boast a lot of other options in guys like T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Washington also added Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline, who will bolster both their blue line and their already deadly power play. The Maple Leafs aren't going to go quietly though, not after a season where a trio of rookie sensations in William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and likely Calder Trophy winner Auston Matthews. Matthews scored a whopping 40 goals in his rookie campaign, but he'll have a very tough challenge in Braden Holtby. On the Toronto side, Frederik Andersen has had his postseason moments and was good this year, but he'll really need to be on top of his game if the Leafs want to survive. All the talk this year is on Washington and its postseason history, and a good young Toronto team will pose a challenge. But the Leafs are so inexperienced, I doubt they'll stand much of a chance of winning this series. Capitals in five.

Columbus Blue Jackets (50-24-8) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (50-21-11)
Teams split 2 of 4 season series (1 each in overtime)

Photo by Aaron Doster (USA TODAY Sports)

When the Blackhawks and Blues met in the first round last year after finishing fifth and third, respectively, in the league in points, there were some people upset, but no mass calls for a change to the playoff format. But the following year, when the second and fourth place teams meet in the first round and one of them is the league's darling and defending Cup champion, all of the sudden the playoff format is a travesty and needs to be changed. I'm speaking hyperbolically, of course, but the critics have a point; it's a shame this series has to be in the first round. Columbus, a team that has exactly two postseason victories and has never won a series, made headlines by winning 16 in a row early in the season to jump out to a huge lead. They regressed a little bit but still comfortably made the playoffs. Brandon Dubinsky will be in the spotlight as he tries to keep Sidney Crosby, the league's darling even though he's a dirty player, in check. Former Blackhawk Brandon Saad will try to rekindle some of his 2015 magic on his new team, and Sergei Bobrovsky is one of the best netminders int he league. They'll take on the aforementioned Crosby, who was stellar once again this year (you know, when he's not severing guys' fingers from their hands), and Matt Murray has the experience of being a Cup-winning goaltender to draw on. The Pens are out stud defenseman Kris Letang, which is going to hurt a lot, though they've played all right without him thus far, though the playoffs are a different animal. I think though, at the end of the day, Pittsburgh's experience will be too much. Penguins in seven.

New York Rangers (48-28-6) vs Montreal Canadiens (47-26-9)
Canadiens won 3 of 3 regular season meetings

Photographer uncredited (photo from NHL.com)

The Rangers got arguably the best draw of the tournament: by finishing fourth in the stacked Metropolitan, they got the right to cross over to the Atlantic and avoid that three-headed monster above them for two rounds. Their reward for that is a still tough matchup with Montreal. This is a matchup with some history, as the Rangers knocked off Montreal in 2014 thanks in part to Chris Kreider colliding with Habs goalie Carey Price and knocking him out of the series early. Price is healthy this time around, and might finally have the cast around him for a deep run. Shea Weber, while getting up there in years, is still an elite defenseman, and his presence in front of Price helps make his job easier, though I question their scoring depth. This is especially true given the Canadiens are going up against Henrik Lundqvist, who is also getting up in years but looked good this season. The Blueshirts scored the fourth-most goals in the league this season and have a lot of scoring depth to counter Montreal's defense. But as the saying goes, defense wins championships, and with thoughts of revenge probably bubbling about Montreal's dressing room, I think the Habs advance in a hard fought war. Canadiens in seven.

Boston Bruins (44-31-7) vs Ottawa Senators (44-28-10)
Senators won 4 of 4 regular season meetings

Photo by Bob DeChiara (USA TODAY Sports)

The Senators have missed the postseason the last two years, but looked good this season, even temporarily leading the Atlantic before faltering a little bit. They've been banged up much of the year, but with two time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson good to go, the Sens' defense should be prepared. He'll be playing in front of Craig Anderson, who has played very well since returning from leave to be with his wife, who is fighting cancer. They'll need to keep up their defense against a tough Bruins team that led their division in scoring. It will also be interesting to see how new Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy handles the playoff atmosphere after taking over for Claude Julien midseason. The Bruins' problem is health, after they lost Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo near the end of the regular season, and their statuses for the playoffs are unknown. Without experienced blueliners, it will be a quick postseason for Boston. Senators in six.

Stanley Cup Prediction

Photo by Jean-Yves Ahern (USA TODAY Sports)

I'm opting for the NHL Bracket Challenge again this year, but last year I went 1 for 8 in first round picks. I'm hoping this one goes differently. You'll notice a trend this year: I went all favorites in Round 1. Some things diverge from there a little bit, but a few things never change: Washington will add to its tortured playoff history despite getting out of the Metro (though we're in the era of broken curses...) and Montreal will finally get back to the Cup Final to try to add to its legacy. Problem is, they go up against the team of the decade, who makes it four in eight after dispatching the West's new upstart. Blackhawks over Canadiens in six.