Stanley Cup Report : Second Round
Well, the Second Round is here, and the first round had some teams show their true colors while others took over the whole game! The Jets played a Colorado team that didn’t look like their regular season counterpart. The Capitals were predictably bad, the Leafs lost in game seven, which is standard and the Golden Knights are out in game seven as well. So we will have a new Stanley Cup Champion this year!
Eastern Conference
Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers
Well this series has already had one game in the books by the time I had time to write about it from France. I think the Hurricanes are in trouble because they just don’t have the depth that the Rangers have . Igor Shesterkin is a better goalie than Frederik Anderson by a slight margin, and the size of the Rangers could be a problem for Carolina.
Rangers in Six
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers
A rematch from last year’s first round matchup and what a difference a year makes. The Panthers dispatched the Lightning in five games in the first round and have had ample time to prepare for the Bruins. Matthew Tkachuk assumed they were going to get the Bruins, and he was correct even though the series went seven. The Bruins will have to find a way to contain the Panthers better than the Leafs and I just don’t see that happening. The Panthers have too many weapons and have a considerable size advantage on them.
Panthers in five
Western Conference
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars
The meeting of the juggernaut teams. Both with incredible speed and size, this will be a great series for sure. The Avs took apart the Jets in the first round but now will have a tougher test with the Stars. Valeri Nichushkin showed his value in the first round with the Avs after scoring four goals on the Jets. He will need to force against the Stars if they want to win the series. For the Stars, if they keep battling like they did vs the Golden Knights they have a good chance to beat the Avs. Also, they have the advantage in goal as well with Oettinger.
Avalanche in Six
Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks and Oilers both had series that went five. They both had defensive performances in each series that was the difference for them. The x factor is obviously McDavid for the Oilers and the Canucks can only hope to contain him. The power play for both teams looks great and in goal the Oilers have a slight edge in Skinner over Arturs Silovs. That being said if you have a hot goalie anything is possible.
Oilers in Seven
So that’s the second predictions in the books! I hope your teams do well! See you for the East and West conference championships!
