The phrase that comes to mind is “wide open” for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.
It’s absolutely true in the Eastern Conference where the New York Rangers obviously have a little cachet as the President’s Trophy winner, but there is a lot of parity with the rest of the East where anybody can beat anybody. Certainly the Ottawa Senators come into the postseason red-hot and able to go slash-for-slash with the Montreal Canadiens, and the Pittsburgh Penguins count as an extremely difficult low seed for the Blueshirts.
In the Western Conference, things open up now because the King is dead, both literally and figuratively. Los Angeles ran out of gas, and now the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators are all licking their chops knowing this might just be their lucky year. As always it will be a gauntlet for whichever hockey club does get out of the West, and it would be foolhardy to doubt a talented, experienced team like the Blackhawks with a combination of star power and character guys that live to win hockey games.
With that in mind, here are some predictions for the best time of year for the next two months, the Stanley Cup playoffs:
Eastern Conference
Rangers over Penguins – The Blueshirts take care of a Penguins club that is surprisingly thin beyond their generational talents in Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
Boston Bruins
Senators over Canadiens – Ottawa comes into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the league, and know they are angry after the PK Subban/Mark Stone incident. You just get the feeling this a season where some things will go very right for the Senators.
Lightning over Red Wings – The overwhelming offensive talent and Ben Bishop will get them through the first round against a Wings team that’s got a goalie controversy in the playoffs. That’s never a good thing.
Islanders over Capitals – This is where the Isles really get to see how good Johnny Boychuk can be when he elevates his game for the playoffs. The Capitals might just be running into a buzz-saw with that Isles offensive group.
Second round
Rangers over Islanders
Lightning over Senators
Eastern Conference Final
Rangers over Lightning in 5 games.
Western Conference
Ducks over Jets – The Jets are happy to be in the playoffs and that fan base deserves it in the Peg, but the Ducks are going to roll.
Blues over the Wild – St. Louis just has too many good players even if Minnesota has the goaltending advantage with a red-hot Devan Dubnyk.
Blackhawks over the Predators – Nashville is the perfect example of a very good regular season team that will meet an untimely demise in the postseason. It’s a tough draw with a very good Blackhawks team.
Flames over Canucks – Calgary has something special about that team with all the third period comebacks and still winning despite Mark Giordano going down. It was a nice first season for Jim Benning in Vancouver, but it will be over quickly.
Second round
Ducks over Flames
Blackhawks over the Blues…again.
Western Conference Final
Blackhawks over Ducks in 7 games.
Stanley Cup Final
Blackhawks over the New York Rangers in a sweet seven game Original Six series.
Conn Smythe Trophy winner
Jonathan Toews