Nothing quite like the Stanley Cup playoffs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/05/2022 (1490 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — at least for half of the NHL’s 32 teams and their fans. For those who didn’t earn a ticket to Lord Stanley’s annual gala, they’ve been left to stare through the window, perhaps shedding a tear or two, watching all the fun everyone else is having without them.

Misery loves company, and the 16 markets feeling blue today about missing the playoffs entirely will soon be joined by eight more that get knocked out after the first round, then four that fall in the second round, then two that come up short in the Conference Finals, and, finally, one that got so close it could almost taste it.

Such is the nature of pro sports. The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat.

I was inside the Edmonton bubble in September 2020 to cover the Tampa Bay Lightning raising hockey’s Holy Grail to the rafters in a near-empty Rogers Place. And I was down in south Florida last July as Jon Cooper’s crew made it back-to-back championships in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd at Amalie Arena. Both marked the end of surreal, pandemic-impacted seasons.

I don’t like the odds of Lightning striking a third time later this spring. Not because they don’t have a good team. They certainly do, even if they were pounded 5-0 Monday night by Toronto as their best-of-seven series got underway. No, it’s because Tampa Bay isn’t even the best team in its own state.

That would be the Florida Panthers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy and began what they hope will be a long and successful run Tuesday by hosting the Washington Capitals. History suggests they have their work cut out of them. The NHL began handing out hardware to the top regular-season team in 1986. Since then, only eight of the 35 winners have captured the Stanley Cup in the same season. The last to do it were the Chicago Blackhawks of 2012-13. In other words, good luck gentlemen. You’re going to need it.

We love the playoffs for the unpredictability, the upsets and underdogs, the massive momentum swings and controversies and war of attrition. It really is a gruelling, two-month marathon, the toughest title in major pro sports to win. There’s nothing quite like it.

Projecting how it’s all going to unfold is a bit of a fool’s game. But that’s what I’m here for, folks.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

FIRST ROUND:

Florida over Washington in 6: The Capitals won’t be an easy out, and they’ve been here, done that before by winning it all in 2018. Still, the Panthers are a powerhouse, and they’re about to get even better with the return of Aaron Ekblad, who might have been on his way to a Norris Trophy as top defencemen until he got hurt in mid-March. Florida can score like no other squad. No lead is safe against them, either.

Tampa Bay over Toronto in 7: That was quite a statement win by the Maple Leafs on Monday. But I’m still not convinced. Don’t forget, they were up 3-1 in their first-round series against Montreal last year, so be careful about buying the hype coming out of the centre of the hockey universe. The Lightning turned it on down the regular-season stretch, and I still like their chances of setting up what would be a tantalizing Battle of Florida in the second round.

Carolina over Boston in 7: The Hurricanes handled the Bruins with relative ease in Game 1, but this feels like one that’s going to go the distance. There is so much parity in the East this season, with all eight playoff teams locked in ages ago. Expect a big bounce-back effort from Boston, but Carolina might just have the most balanced lineup in the league.

New York Rangers over Pittsburgh in 7: Andrew Copp scoring the series-winner for the Broadway Blueshirts? Why not? Jets fans should be hoping for a successful playoff run for New York, as two series victories will turn one of the second-round picks that came to Winnipeg in exchange for Copp into a first-rounder. I’d never count out Sidney Crosby and company, so this one should be a lot of fun.

SECOND ROUND:

Florida over Tampa Bay in 6: Consider the torch officially passed.

Carolina over New York Rangers in 6: These “bunch of jerks” are really good.

THIRD ROUND:

Florida over Carolina in 7: The two best teams in the conference face off for what should be an epic battle.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

FIRST ROUND:

Colorado over Nashville in 5: This has mismatch written all over it. Not only do the Predators have a question mark in goal with Juuse Saros out for at least the first two games with injury, they are the most undisciplined team in the NHL. Their own worst enemy, really. Expect the potent Avalanche power play to get all kinds of chances, and I expect they’ll make the Predators pay for their many sins.

St. Louis over Minnesota in 7: The toughest one to call in the West. The Blues drew first blood on Monday and grabbed home-ice advantage away from the Wild, but I expect there will be lots of twists and turns in this one, with a serious hate-on between two evenly matched teams. Did you see Minnesota captain Jared Spurgeon’s vicious cross-check to the ankle of Pavel Buchnevich in the third period? Spurgeon is one of the game’s true good guys, a saint on skates who is a perennial Lady Byng contender. And he lost his freakin’ mind in Game 1. Playoff hockey, baby!

Calgary over Dallas in 5: This also feels like a rout in the making. Dallas is the only team to make the playoffs with a negative goal differential (minus-five), which no doubt has teams such as Vegas (plus-18) and Vancouver (plus-13) wondering where exactly they went wrong. And Calgary is the real deal, a team that plays to its many strengths and truly does all the right things under coach Darryl Sutter. They’ll also want to pay the Stars back from bouncing them from the bubble in 2020. It shouldn’t be too difficult.

Edmonton over Los Angeles in 5: Some might question this pick, considering the Kings have jumped out to a 1-0 lead. I’m still not convinced, even though the Oilers leave me with many questions as well — particularly in net, where Mike Smith’s boneheaded blunder was the difference on Monday night. Still, one team has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and the other does not. Plus, hockey fans truly deserve a high-stakes Battle of Alberta, and I’d like to think we’re all owed some good things from the hockey gods given how the last couple years have played out.

SECOND ROUND:

Colorado over St. Louis in 5: The Avalanche have been close, but no cigar, in recent years. But it feels like they finally find a way to put it all together and make it out of their division, especially since they will likely be in better shape than the battered Blues following their respective first-round battles.

Calgary over Edmonton in 7: Oh, how much fun would this be? Certainly not for the faint of heart. With Vegas taking a significant step back this year, the door is wide open for it to happen. If it does, I’ll take the deeper, more balanced lineup to ultimately prevail.

THIRD ROUND:

Colorado over Calgary in 7: Their regular-season meetings were must-see, and this could end up being a classic.

STANLEY CUP FINAL:

Florida over Colorado in 7: A re-match of the 1996 Final, in which Colorado captured its first championship by sweeping Florida 4-0. The Panthers haven’t been back since. Now, a chance for payback, 26 years later. I say they do it. The Stanley Cup stays in the Sunshine State.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg