Chandan: Blues in six Wischusen: Avalanche in six Matiash: Flames in seven The winger is having an unbelievable regular season but hasn't scored a playoff goal since 2017-18 and has only eight assists in 12 postseason games the past two years. NHL.com staff members have made their predictions for the Stanley Cup First Round and Playoffs, and most believe the Honda West Division representative will win it all. Bold prediction: Nashville shocks the hockey world by going from wild-card entrant to Western Conference finalist. Offseason keys for eliminated teams, Sean Allen: Panthers in six on the season, while still finding time to amass 68 penalty minutes. But I think Shesty has one that does, too. Can Georgia pull off a repeat? They'll help power what could be a last attempt at a Cup for this aging core, with Malkin, Letang and Rust among the team's pending free agents. Look back at how Nashville started the season, winning just one of its first five games but then exploding to earn the NHL's best record (23-7-2) from mid-October to early January. As Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said: Their problem offensively was not having elite goal-scorers. Defenseman Jacob Trouba's booming hits took out Penguins star Sidney Crosby for two critical games, and then Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis in Game 7. They had three 40-goal forwards in Johnny Gaudreau, who posted a remarkable 115-point season, Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm, with Andrew Mangiapane (35 goals) not far off the pace. The Footballers (7-9) have the worst record of any playoff team they tied the 2010 Seattle Seahawks for the worst record for a playoff team in N.F.L. McDonough: Flames in seven In the East, it'll be a battle of the goaltenders with the excellent matchup between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin. Tampa Bay is better 5-on-5. For the first time since 1991, the Flames and Oilers meet up in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avalanche remember well how Vegas cut through them like butter in the playoffs last year. Case for a Stanley Cup run: The Stars made the playoffs in large part because of their top line. It doesn't help that in front of Bobrovsky, Florida got a little too comfortable late in the season as the Cardiac Cats. There's a lot we already knew about the Lightning after back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, from their ability to win in a variety of ways to their efficiency in elimination games. CAR (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 100% Tragic number: N/A. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? The Rangers had their share of breaks. Facebook; Twitter; Facebook Messenger; Pinterest; Email; print; The first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs was a doozy, including five series going to Game 7 -- and two of those Game 7's . Metro: CAR | NYR Keith did that for the Oilers against Calgary, steering them out of a potential loss in Game 2 and picking up some of the responsibilities for the not-100% healthy Darnell Nurse. The format is a set bracket that is . Granted, that included 12 overtime losses, a middling even-strength offense and goaltending issues galore. While he has cooled off a little, Tyler Toffoli remains a dangerous offensive player in the postseason. Boucher: Avalanche in six MacKinnon's contributions will be massive for the Avs. If Edmonton can do that again in the conference finals, Colorado's march to the Cup finals will be severely impeded -- and perhaps derailed. What he's done this year has been insanely impressive. Saros missed the last two games of the season with a lower-body injury, and his status is uncertain heading into the postseason. He heads to New York with 1,225 points in 1,161 regular-season games. But teams win with depth in the playoffs, and there's been some falloff here for the Flames. Jump to a team: Biggest flaw(s): Power plays don't always come easy in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers still aren't an impressive five-on-five team, relying on Shesterkin to bail them out at even strength, which he has. Case for a Stanley Cup run: What if a team had its best regular season in franchise history and no one noticed? We're learned that fatigue hasn't yet been an issue for a team that's gone all the way in two straight postseasons -- perhaps because they followed truncated regular seasons? The Oilers bought into playing good defense, stuck to their structure and chipped away at Quick until they broke through. Those matchups are plenty intriguing. LA | DAL. He backstopped the Kings to the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, posting an incredible .946 save percentage to win that initial championship. Their power play is going to do some damage. On paper, the Rangers were out in the first round. cal: Avalanche in five Daily Fantasy Picks; Projected Lineups; Player Rankings; . If he makes it back, Jarry still has to demonstrate his postseason prowess after flopping against the Islanders in their 2021 series. Now, does that reflect a deficiency in Kuemper's game? Wyshynski's NHL trade deadline tiers: From elite game-changers to bargain beauties, NHL trade deadline guides for all 32 teams: Players, picks in play, cap space, team status. Calgary got burned off a couple clean looks for that unit that turned into almost series-defining mistakes. He worked through his emotions during the Rangers' first two games in Pittsburgh, where he was pulled twice. Hextall: Flames in six The 24-year-old forward had 103 points and was a plus-58 (!) We've already discussed Kuemper. Player to watch: Tkachuk's best offensive season arrived, to no one's surprise, as he's headed into restricted free agency this summer. Might the Colorado Avalanche, the top seed in the West and an underachiever the past two postseasons, break through? But being that he's Sidney Crosby and he knows this could be the last ride for members of this group, he's absolutely the player to watch for Pittsburgh. The NHL has passed the mathematical midpoint of the 2022-23 regular season. Find North Carolina vs. Virginia predictions, betting odds, moneyline, spread, over/under and more for the February 25 college basketball matchup. The Capitals have a veteran group that can play physical hockey and defend well at 5-on-5. Players, coaches, execs vote for NHL's top centers, NHL Power Rankings: Checking in on each team's 25-and-under core, Lineup picks, matchups, start or sit advice for Wednesday, McAvoy scores in OT, Bruins beat Flames for 8th win a row, Gaudreau scores in shootout, Wild beat Islanders 2-1, Geekie ends drought with 2 goals, Kraken beat Blues 5-3, Robinson scores 3 goals in Blue Jackets' 5-3 win over Sabres, Who goes to the Stanley Cup Final? It's hard to imagine the Kings doing anything of consequence in the postseason without Doughty, an accomplished playoff performer who had 31 points in 39 games this season, averaging 25:44 per night. Heiskanen can set a tone for how the entire team approaches its defensive strategy. The role players GM Chris Drury added along the way -- such as forwards Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp -- have bolstered the team. But the Flames don't get quite as much contribution as some teams from their bottom six. NHL on ESPN. That must be what the Hurricanes felt like in 2021-22, as they set a new standard for points in a season, won the Metropolitan Division for the first time and led the league in goals-against average. Complete playoff coverage NHL . Edmonton's trio has combined for 26 goals and 67 points in 12 games. Free agency is looming, and all eyes will be on Kadri as he chases that elusive championship. Goals project to be at a premium for Dallas, so look for the team's top defender to step up in keeping pucks out of the Stars' end -- and out of their net. Record: 54-21-7 (115 points) Case for a Stanley Cup run: Toronto has got the talent in all three phases of the game.Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are one of the NHL's . Bold prediction: Toronto shocks the world and wins multiple playoff rounds. What we've learned about this team so far in the postseason. Luckily for the Blues, that deja vu high they're currently riding is a good one. NHL Predictions 2022- 23 season | NHL Projected Standings 2022-23 Eastern Conference Metropolitan Division 1. Bold prediction: Evgeny Kuznetsov leads the Capitals in scoring, but their stay in the playoffs is limited to one round. They are firing on all cylinders. I said in my series prediction . Weekes: Blues in seven Unlike Darcy Kuemper, who has faced the fewest shots among remaining playoff goaltenders, Smith has been peppered with the second-most. Football Women's Basketball Games Home ESPN Fantasy App Subscribe to ESPN+ Bold prediction: The Avalanche flip the season script, struggling to score in the early going of the playoffs and relying on team defense to step up and move them along. Biggest flaw(s): Fatigue. The Oilers peppered Calgary's Jacob Markstrom with over 34 shots per game in the second round and their elite talent up front (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, etc.) Artemi Panarin quietly had points in the last three games against Carolina, including a great outlet pass that sprung Strome for a critical goal that put them up 3-0. If that's the case, whose top line will benefit more? Washington Capitals (MP) 8. Kavanagh: Oilers in seven STL | NSH NHL Rush to the Playoffs: Three National Hockey League Games Monday, Tuesday Night, Exclusively on ESPN, ESPN+ and Hulu ESPN+ NHL Kevin Ota April 25, 2022 Twitter Monday, April 25 on ESPN+/Hulu: Flyers at Blackhawks Tuesday, April 26 on ESPN: Oilers at Penguins, Blues at Avalanche 38 out-of-market games on ESPN+ this week How they choose to defend Kucherov's line is going to be a key for the series. But that's the regular season. He knows when to push and when to pull back. How much trust should he place in Jack Johnson or Samuel Girard? Beyond that, he hasn't won a playoff series since 2015. It will all happen on the new NHL TV Networks of ESPN and TNT/Turner Sports. Playoff position: M2 Games left: 3 Next game: vs. What do the Stars have to lose? He battled back and won a Game 7. That unit shows no signs of slowing, either, and that should give Dallas a confidence boost going into the first round. Player to watch: McAvoy. Bold prediction: Brandon Hagel comes alive at last. If his Game 5 hat trick against the Blues was any indication, "Playoff Nate" is ready to dance toe-to-toe with McDavid & Co. MacKinnon already has eight goals and 13 points in 10 games. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been, and continues to be, Tampa's MVP. Unfortunately, Alex Ovechkin cornered the market on "he can still do that at his age, wow!" Bold prediction: Shesterkin pitches two shutouts in the opening round as the Rangers advance. He hasn't been that guy for a while, and at 36, he might never be that guy again. Coach Jon Cooper says his standout center -- the team's leading goal-scorer (30) over the past two postseasons -- is progressing from a lower-body injury he suffered in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs. Coach Darryl Sutter has this team primed to bring the Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993. The answer should be clear early on against Edmonton. When things aren't going Boston's way -- when the Bruins struggle to score a goal or give up a bad one -- can they persevere and push back? To help get you up to speed before the puck drops on Game 1 of the West matchup Tuesday night, we're bringing you a mega-preview, breaking down each team in five different categories and offering our predictions on which clubs will head to the Stanley Cup Final. There's a real calmness that the Lightning have in the toughest moments, a constant belief in their ability to weather any storm. Because he picked this opportunity. Biggest flaw(s): Well, let's go with "potentially biggest." This postseason, he's 8-3 with a .932 save percentage and has 6.76 goals saved above average to lead all goalies still playing in the postseason. The Panthers repeatedly fell into multiple-goal deficits they were able to erase because, well, see above. The Rangers didn't have to face Penguins starter Tristan Jarry until Game 7; instead, they saw backup Casey DeSmith for five and a half periods and then third-stringer Louis Domingue for just over six games. The NHL has passed the mathematical midpoint of the 2022-23 regular season. Their lineup features solid two-way forwards in Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman. Back in 2019, St. Louis went from flailing to thriving at the end of the regular season and carried a hot streak all the way past Boston for the franchise's first Cup title. The Eastern Conference finals series is on ESPN and ESPN+, while the Stanley Cup Final will be on ABC and ESPN+. That's where depth will come into focus, and the Oilers will want to be sure theirs is on point. Linda Cohn: Panthers in seven Sean McDonough: Panthers in seven The 2022-2023 College Football Playoff schedule will have both semifinals played on New Year's Eve at the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. Playoff teams that need to sign Nerlens Noel: 1. They're very ordinary on the back end without him. NHL Events 2022-23; ESPN, Turner Schedules; 2022-23 Must-See Games; . And there's the Leafs' excellent special teams, including the NHL's best power play and a penalty kill that is nearly as likely to score short-handed as to get scored on. Colorado has shown it can win all types of games, whether big-time blowouts or tightly contested grinders. USA TODAY Sports' NHL staffers make their predictions for the second round: Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Jimmy Hascup: Avalanche in six. Case for a Stanley Cup run: Tampa knows how to win. There is a winning pedigree in Boston that starts with its leadership, and spreads to David Pastrnak, Taylor Hall, Charlie McAvoy, and on down the list. will be coming full force. Shilton: Flames in six But equally as ominous is the Capitals' goaltending. Tortorella: Avalanche in six You could put Nurse here, and say he hasn't been an obvious difference-maker for the Oilers (to the degree a top-pairing defender usually is). They rallied to beat the Penguins after being down 3-1 in their first-round series. Case for a Stanley Cup run: Toronto has got the talent in all three phases of the game. That, combined with St. Louis being one of the NHL's worst teams in 5-on-5 possession totals, puts a lot more pressure on Husso -- a rookie appearing in his first postseason -- at the toughest time of year. All we know for sure is that the real winners here are those of us watching the action unfold. One of the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, or Edmonton Oilers will be this year's Stanley Cup champion. It starts with Bruins-Canes (7 p.m. More: Full playoff schedule Player to watch: Tom Wilson managed not to get suspended during the regular season, to his credit. Central: COL | MIN Player to watch: Marner. Marc-Andre Fleury has been lights out since arriving at the trade deadline from Chicago. But it's also true that the Lightning haven't faced a goalie like Shesterkin, who is playing out of his gourd right now. They were 27th in goals-against per 60 at 5-on-5 under Tippett; under Woodcroft, they were ninth. PIT | BOS Lawrence-Riddell: Avalanche in six Editor's Picks. Jake Oettinger has played well in net, and Dallas' defense has looked more cohesive lately. Toronto can't hide from its ugly postseason past. Its defense has been a little better than Edmonton's (giving up a playoff-low 27 shots against per game versus the Oilers' 37.5) and its depth is impressive. Now they also have some strong depth, and the versatility to play the Islanders' style if needed. In net, Jack Campbell appears back on his game following a midseason downturn and rib injury. But it was also a campaign that saw Alex Ovechkin score 50 goals and carry the team for stretches this season. He had 23 goals and 28 assists and led all Capitals forwards in goals scored above average. Kaplan: Avalanche in six Watching all of it from the crease is Vezina contender Jacob Markstrom. If he finally emerges in this series, that's an edge for the Avalanche as well. But we doubt that's sustainable, and the alternative remains Mikko Koskinen. What Keith does best is bring consistency to Edmonton's defensive effort. Levy: Flames in seven Back-to-back tilts against bottom feeders in the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes should produce value. Pacific: CGY | EDM There is no such problem for the Lightning. Forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault, GM Rob Blake's key offseason pickups, were in the top four in scoring. Player to watch: Under different circumstances, 22-year-old defenseman Evan Bouchard might have been a Calder Trophy finalist with his 43 points in 81 games. 2021-22 NHL Predictions Updated after every game. It was once again the Connor and Leon show, as McDavid had 123 points and Draisaitl had 110. While it's desirable to have the top-end talent Colorado does, it's often the unheralded players who pick up the playoff slack. But the defenseman is battling a core muscle injury and he's still playing over 21 minutes per game, so faulting him too harshly for not performing at his most elite would be misguided. The Stars' first line might be its superpower, but this lineup can offer a lot more than that. NBA Playoff Picture: Eastern Conference. Colorado's penalty kill (only 73.1%) and goaltending (see above) have underwhelmed, and would be the most likely potential issues against Edmonton. Do you blame us? That said, they'd like more than one goal off 18 shot attempts in 11 games from a player who had 25 goals in the regular season. Anze Kopitar led the team in scoring. Patrice Bergeron is still Patrice Bergeron. Rantanen's 36 goals led Colorado in the regular season, so seeing him hesitate to shoot the puck and fail to drive play like a $9.25 million-per-year player should in the postseason is odd. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have underperformed much of the season, and the Stars don't get much scoring help from their defensemen (John Klingberg leads Dallas blueliners with six goals). La Greca: Hurricanes in six Back for 2022 is the usual playoff format with the top team in the conference facing the second wild card, the other division winner playing the first wild card and N. 2 going up against No. Edmonton really performed well against Calgary on the penalty kill too, coming up with critical stops that frustrated the Flames' attack. Special teams will play a pivotal role. That's a killer combination. They're tremendous on the power play, as Carolina witnessed. Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Lightning in six Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Rush to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Wischusen: Flames in seven That mindset is critical when every team out there is looking to unseat the champions. Again, Hagel has done fine in the roles that they've cast him in during the playoffs. New York Rangers. But he's expected to miss a few games in the first round due to a lower-body injury. Mleczko: Hurricanes in seven If New York wants to trade chances like they did against the Hurricanes at MSG, the Lightning have finishers that make them pay in ways the Hurricanes could not. They'll need continued offense from Fox, who had 18 points in 14 games. But the kids were all right too: Forwards Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari and Quinton Byfield, as well as defensemen Mikey Anderson and Sean Durzi, also contributed. Messier: Avalanche in seven The Stanley Cup playoffs are a place where teams defy the numbers, find an undeniable belief in themselves and create - for lack of a better term - postseason magic. The Stanley Cup playoffs are back on ESPN and ABC! It starts in their own end and being engaged down low. Tim Kavanagh: Lightning in six He was fourth on the team in goals scored above average. Against Carolina, Shesterkin gave up two or fewer goals in six of the seven games in the series and won another Game 7, this time on the road. Stanley Cup Playoffs second-round predictions NHL.com staff members make their picks for four series He's an integral part of their success. That formula doesn't generally work in the postseason. A trade to move Miller out of Vancouver would be surprising considering he signed a fresh seven-year, $56-million contract ($8 million AAV) in September 2022 a deal that won't even kick in until next season. Selected by Nashville in the fourth round (No. The XFL has entered the second week of its third season under its . Biggest flaw(s): Consistency and resiliency. Again, a criticism of Calgary this season is like using one of those eyepieces to search for a flaw on a gorgeously cut diamond. NHL trade grades: Kings make smart additions in Gavrikov, Korpisalo, NHL trade tracker: Latest deals, rumors and grades, Capitals send Eller to Avs for second-round pick, Kings deal Cup-winning G Quick to Blue Jackets, Rangers clear hurdles, get Kane from Blackhawks, Oilers bulk up defense, secure Predators' Ekholm, Leafs win Schenn sweepstakes, trade for veteran, Leafs deal Sandin to Capitals for Gustafsson, pick, Wild add depth, acquire Johansson from Capitals, Chasing history in Boston: The numbers behind the Bruins' wild 2022-23 season, McDavid, then who? 4 NHL Trade Deadline Sellers Looking to Bounce Back in 2023-24. Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans Game Info. From there, things started falling apart for the Predators; they didn't perform as well at the top of the standings. Philadelphia Flyers (MP) Atlantic Division 1. The 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs begin Monday night on the networks of ESPN, . Since being acquired at the trade deadline, the former Blackhawks winger hasn't produced. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? Rantanen must be exactly that for Colorado in the series ahead. ET, ESPN), followed by Lightning-Leafs (7:30 ET, ESPN2), Blues-Wild (9:30 ET, ESPN) and Kings-Oilers (10 ET, ESPN2). But this was his best season since 2017-18, and there were enough moments of "vintage Jonathan Quick" to make one wonder if there isn't just a little more playoff magic left in him, 10 years after winning the Conn Smythe. So if there's room for improvement anywhere, it's from some of the Oilers' second- and third-line skaters like Warren Foegele, Ryan McLeod, Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi. Tampa's lineup remains as intimidating as any in the league. Any notion that the Avs' slide out of the regular season (losing six of their last seven games) was a premonition of poor playoff performance to come was unfounded. Wischusen: Rangers in seven Hilary Knight: Lightning in seven Their head-to-head matchup will be a primary talking point in the lead-up to Game 1. Period. We're down to the final four teams of the 2021-22 NHL season. 17 overall, should be able to select . Player to watch: Jonas Brodin. Facebook; Twitter; Facebook Messenger; Pinterest; Email; print; Welcome to the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs!The first round gets rolling on Saturday with Game 1 of the Washington Capitals-Boston Bruins series.. There's plenty of history in many of these matchups, as the NHL is using an intradivisional format for the first two rounds, before re-bracketing the final four for the semifinals. Season as the Cardiac Cats Conference finals series is on point members make their Picks for series. Flames do n't get quite as much contribution nhl playoff predictions 2022 espn some teams from their bottom six their.! Into playing good defense, stuck to their structure and chipped away Quick! 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