It's that time of the year again! The Simnet Stanley Cup Playoffs are here to help provide some relief for those in quarantine and in desparate need of some hockey. Some great matchups are on tap with the defending Stanley Cup Champs taking on a red hot Montreal Canadiens...also the Washington Capitals looking to perhaps make a statement that the President's Trophy doesn't mean much in the playoffs besides home ice, but you still have to defend it. Perhaps Lord Stanley returns to the Western Conference this year. The Stars look to shine and win it all in their first trip back to the playoffs in 3 seasons. Teams like the St. Louis Blues have been high seeds in the playoffs the past few seasons, but left singing the blues and short of the cup. Also, the San Jose Sharks are chomping at the bit for a chance to secure Lord Stanley. We'll breakdown the first round matchups for you and the Habs GM will put in his "two cents".

 

In the Eastern Conference:

 

1A. Detroit Red Wings VS 4M. Washington Capitals

 

The Detroit Red Wings made some moves last summer and early in the season to help solidify their run for the President's Trophy this year. They picked up Nico Hischier during the summer and he had a big year (83 points in 82 games) and they picked up Pekka Rinne early in the season from the Nashville Predators. The Red Wings then parted ways with Jonathan Quick sending him to the Islanders. Meanwhile, the Capitals brought in veteran blueliner Ron Hainsey from the Devils in January. The Capitals swept the season series vs the Red Wings, but all of the games were fairly close. Both the Red Wings and the Capitals have a star studded lineup with some big names between the pipes. Carey Price and the Capitals could very well steal a couple of games in this first round series, but can they somehow manage to pull off the upset or will they be overpowered by the Red Wings?

 

 

2A. Buffalo Sabres VS 3A. Montreal Canadiens

 

Interesting storyline between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens. While they might be playoff foes, they've been transaction friendly. The Canadiens acquired veteran blueliner Mattias Ekholm from the Sabres back in November for prosepcts Trevor Janicke, Alex Formenton and a first round pick. Ekholm quickly excelled on the top defensive line with Keith Yandle leading the Habs in blocked shots. John Gibson and the Buffalo Sabres had the Montreal Canadiens against the wall for much of the past few seasons. The Habs managed to steal the final game of the season between these two before Montreal went on a tear in the final 10 games of the regular season. While regular season and post season play are two different beasts, perhaps the Habs carry some of the momentum into this first round matchup? They will need too facing John Gibson, Alex Ovechkin and the Buffalo Sabres. This one will likely go the distance. Perhaps Gibson and the Sabres manage to find their playoff mojo and again control the Habs or maybe Andrei Vasilevskiy and Montreal's dominating defense manage to steal the series and knockoff the defending champs.

 

 

1M. NY Islanders VS 4A. Tampa Bay Lightning

 

No other team has made quite the turn around post-all star break like the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts certainly earned this trip to the playoffs, but are now rewarded with having to face Eric Staal and the Metro Division champ, New York Islanders. The Bolts should handle their own fairly well in this series with the likes of Logan Couture, Jonathan Huberdeau, Thomas Greiss and company, but with Roberto Luongo in net and quite a few veterans with playoff experience and home ice advantage, the Islanders seem to hold the upper hand in this one. Don't be surprised to see this series go the distance as well. In what could be the final playoff run in his career, can Luongo stand tall and help the Islanders to the second round or will the Bolts continue their impressive run?

 

2M. Columbus Blue Jackets VS 3M. Pittsburgh Penguins

 

Columbus took 3 of 4 during the regular season from Pittsburgh. The Penguins took the final game of the regular season series 5-2 with Cory Schneider backstopping the Pens who are hungry for more wins against Columbus. With two solid goaltenders in Schneider and Anton Khudobin, who will Pittsburgh start in Game one on Thursday night? Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets come in with a solid lineup led by forwards Joel Armia (89 pts in 82 games) and Anthony Cirelli (77 pts in 79 games). The Blue Jackets also boast a solid powerplay, but the Penguins had a very tough penalty kill this season. The Penguins have veteran experience in their lineup headed into this series, but is it enough to solve veteran goaltender Braden Holtby? Hockey fans could be blessed with another first round, seven game series. 

 

 

In the Western Conference:

 

1C. St. Louis Blues VS 4C. Chicago Blackhawks

 

Interesting first round matchup between the tough Blues and the revamped Chicago Blackhawks. While the Lightning turned their season around, another team that turned things around post-all star break was the Chicago Blackhawks. The team saw some different GM's over the course of the season, but GM Shaun Young has his Blackhawks in the first round led by Nikita Kucherov with 106 points (40 goals, 66 assists) in 82 games this season. Big key in this series is if Chicago can get scoring from up and down their lineup. While Kucherov put up 106 points this year, the next closest was James Van Reimsdyk with 52 and Andrew Shaw with 47. The Blackhawks will have their hands full defending guys like Vlad Tarasenko, Zach Parise, Anthony Mantha, Taylor Hall and Iyla Kovalchuk. Plus, the Hawks will have to face a tough goaltender in Robin Lehner as well. Nikita Kucherov, Jacob Markstrom and the Blackhawks will have to bring their A-game in this one. The Hawks certainly have talent, but do they have enough to pull off the upset of the Blues in round one? 

 

 

2C. Dallas Stars VS 3C. Colorado Avalanche

 

The Dallas Stars come into this series the favorites. The team made some moves throughout the course of the season and were in a rebuilding phase in recent seasons. Led by GM Josh Hockridge, the Stars have developed into a winning team that is solid from top to bottom. Led by the big "Buff", bruising defenseman and winger Dustin Byfuglien, the Stars hope this could be their year. On the other side of the puck, with guys like Steven Stamkos, David Pastranak and Brayden Point...the Colorado Avalanche stand in the way. In what could be his final trip to the post season, Henrik Lundqvist would like to make it a memorable one. He'll likely get the start between the pipes for the Avalanche and Conor Hellebuyck will likely start for Dallas. While the Avalanche have reigned in recent seasons in the west, a new contender now arises. With the firepower the Avs have in their lineup, it won't be an easy task, but the Dallas Stars have a big chance to shine in this series and move on to the second round.

 

 

1P. San Jose Sharks VS 4P. Anaheim Ducks

 

For the 3rd time in the past 4 seasons, the Sharks are playoff bound. They play host to the Ducks beginning Friday night in this first round battle of California. The Ducks meanwhile are in the playoffs for an impressive 8th straight season. Led by veteran GM Mathieu Leger, the Ducks are going for their 3rd Simnet Stanley Cup. The Sharks have the home ice advantage, but the Ducks come in with the best powerplay in the league. Led by Patrice Bergeron (115 pts in 82 games with 14 PP goals) and Torey Krug (84 pts in 82 games with 17 PP goals), the Sharks defense will have to be sharp in this one. The Ducks like to shoot averaging 32 shots per game this season just behind the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres. The Sharks took 3 of 4 in the season series against Anaheim. The Ducks managed to take the final game of the season series though in a route of San Jose 7-1. Don't expect any game in this series or the series itself to be over very quickly. This is another first round series that has the makings to go the distance with guys like Bo Horvat (103 pts in 82 games), Evgeni Malkin (95 pts in 80 games) and Philipp Grubauer for the Sharks and Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug and Tuuka Rask for the Ducks.

 

 

2P. Arizona Coyotes VS 3P. Calgary Flames

 

The Arizona Coyotes are another team that's been in a rebuild the past few seasons and it's paying off. Led by GM Andrew Payeur, the Coyotes hit 40 wins this season and secured the 2nd spot in the Pacific Divsion after suffering 52 losses two seasons ago. The Coyotes biggest strength to this point is arguaby their defense led by goaltender Frederik Andersen. The Coyotes defense this season was ranked in the top 3 for fewest shots allowed with the St. Louis Blues and the Montreal Canadiens. Perhaps the Coyotes can make a run for the cup, but standing in the way are the Calgary Flames in the first round. The Flames took 3 of 4 from the Coyotes this season, but Andersen and the Coyotes were sharp in the final game of the season series dousing the Flames 6-2. Could we expect more of that in the first round from Arizona? Possibly.  It'll be interesting to see who starts Game one on Friday night in Arizona whether it will be Antti Raanta, Mackenzie Blackwood or Antti Niemi for the Flames. Regardless of who starts though, the Flames will need Evgeny Kuznetsov (97 points in 82 games with 5 GW goals) and others to step up in front of their goaltender if they want to have a shot at ending the Coyotes run early in round one.