Our fearless scribe consults his crystal ball for a look at what may be ahead
By WAYNE REDSHAW
Is an All-Canadian Stanley Cup final on the horizon this year? The way things are shaping up, it could become a reality in June.
And it is all because a couple of the favourites — the record-setting Boston Bruins and the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche — were knocked out in the opening round.
With both the Bruins and the Avalanche suffering game seven defeats on home ice over the weekend, that enhanced the chances of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers meeting head on in the finals.
If that were to happen, it would mark the first All-Canadian final since 1989 when the Calgary Flames emerged victorious over the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
Since 1968 when the National Hockey League opened the floodgates with expansion, the only other year two Canadian-based teams squared off in the Cup finals was 1986 with Montreal topping Calgary in five games.
Of course for both the Leafs and Oilers to get to the Cup finals, they face a couple hurdles beforehand. In other words, two more rounds before the finals but the path for both is a little easier with the Bruins and the Avalanche no longer in the picture.
Before I begin predicting the second round, I will briefly recap round one. I finished five-for-eight which isn’t bad looking at my track record over the years. Besides Boston and Colorado, my only other blemish was the Winnipeg Jets.
So now, here’s my fearless forecast for round two.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton Oilers vs Vegas Golden Knights
Too bad these two teams have to square off in this round as it would have made a great conference final. But that’s how the cookie crumbles.
Edmonton took seven of the eight points up for grabs during the regular season but Vegas finished first in the Pacific Division with 111 points, two ahead of the Oilers to earn home ice advantage in this series.
The Oilers’ big guns — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — have to be firing on all cylinders for Edmonton to take this series. The supporting cast in the likes of Evander Kane, Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard, Nick Bjugstad, Darnell Nurse and Matthias Edholm have to deliver too. Bouchard was a pleasant surprise on the blueline and chipped in with two goals and eight assists in the opening round.
The key for the Knights is to stay out of the penalty box as the Oilers power play is potent scoring nine times with the man advantage against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round.
Don’t expect the Golden Knights to just roll over. They have a potent offence too with Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, Brent Howden and Chandler Stephenson providing the spark. I also like the way the Knights defence moves the puck around in their end.
In goal Vegas went with 30-year-old Laurent Brossoit in the series against Winnipeg Jets and he did an admirable job. The Oilers went with Stuart Skinner, a rookie at 24. He was briefly lifted for Jack Campbell in one game. Both netminders lack playoff experience but both survived opening round jitters. I give a slight edge here to the Oilers.
Prediction: The Oilers in seven games.
Seattle Kraken vs Dallas Stars
I didn’t give the Kraken much of a chance against the defending Cup Champion Avalanche and they shocked me dethroning the champions in seven games. So can the second-year club pull off another upset against the Dallas Stars? Frankly, No! It is not in the cards.
The Kraken will be on a high note heading into this series. The biggest question is will they have enough fuel in the tank to advance to the third round?
I just think the Stars have more strengths than the Kraken. It starts between the pipes with Jake Oettinger who stymied the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
Philipp Grubauer played all seven games for the Kraken and got them to the second round. He was busy that series facing a total 231 shots.
I don’t feel Seattle has enough depth to advance. They did an excellent job killing penalties in the first round allowing only two power-play goals in 18 chances. They lost their top scorer, Jared McCann, early in the first round and the Kraken survived. McCann’s absence is a big hole to fill for this round.
Dallas has too much firepower with the likes of Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment in the lineup.
The Stars have better balance in all departments over the Kraken. The Kraken will win one game but two would be considered grand theft.
Prediction: The Stars in five games.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes
The New Jersey Devils are just coming off a tough seven-game series with the New York Rangers. However, they are young and speedy and I think that will make a difference in the end against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Devils don’t have home ice advantage as the Canes finished one point ahead of them in the standings in their division. But that doesn’t matter.
This series features two excellent coaches with Lindy Ruff calling the shots behind the Devils’ bench and Rob Brind’Amour directing the Canes. Look for them to try to out-wit each other in this series.
Carolina plays a close checking style of game that can be boring at times to watch. New Jersey on the other hand can be free-wheeling. They can also play it tight. Their big assets are youth and speed. I admit the Canes have some speed but it doesn’t match the Devils.
The Devils’ 22-year-old Swiss goaltender, Amira Schmid, was a pleasant surprise and recorded two shutouts against the New York Rangers to send them packing. I figure he’ll get the starting nod from Ruff over Vivek Vanacek.
For the Hurricanes it will be interesting to see who gets the starting nod — Frederick Andersen or Anitti Raanta.
New Jersey has a lot of offence to go with their speed with Jack Hughes leading the charge. Then there’s Tomas Tatar and Nico Hischier among others.
The Hurricanes can answer back with Sebastian Aho, Paul Stastny, and others.
I like the Carolina defence a little better with Brent Burns, Jaccob Slavin, Brent Pesce and Brady Skjei providing a sound blueline.
Prediction: Devils in seven games.
Florida Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs
This was supposed to be the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins but somewhere along the way, the Leafs got a break. Instead of the potent Bruins they’ll now face the Florida Panthers.
It will be a much easier path for the Leafs enroute to the conference final.
One thing the Leafs can’t afford is to take the Panthers too lightly. Look what happened to Boston.
I don’t think that will happen. The Leafs have too much depth. It starts between pipes with Ilya Samsonov. The Tampa Bay Lightning outplayed the Leafs in three of the six games but Samsonov robbed them blind. He gave the Leafs that much-needed lift in the opening round that had been missing in years gone by.
Another key factor was the newcomers Toronto brought in before the trade deadline made a world of difference. Ryan O’Reilly, Jake McCabe, Noel Acciari and Luke Schenn truly provided that missing spark and grit that had been absent in past seasons come playoff time.
And Toronto’s big boys — Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, captain John Tavares and Morgan Reilly — all delivered.
The Panthers, still on cloud nine after stunning Boston, will have their hands full with the Leafs. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will have to be extra special to prevent the Leafs from advancing. Even if he stands on his head that won’t be enough.
The Panthers, coached by Paul Maurice, have some talented players like Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhard,, Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair but they do not stack up against the Leafs for this series.
Prediction: If not a sweep then the Leafs in five.
(Wayne Redshaw covered the NHL for over 40 seasons and was named a Life Member of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association in 1987.)
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