By Wayne Redshaw
It appears my crystal ball was out of whack, especially when it came to predicting Round 2 winners of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In Round 1, I went 5-3 with the two favourites — Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche — getting knocked out right off the bat.
That immediately created possibility of an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final. But that disappeared in Round 2 when the Vegas Golden Knights sent the Edmonton Oilers packing in the seventh and deciding game and Toronto Maple Leafs went bye-bye in five-games with the Florida Panthers.
The Oilers and Leafs were not my only blemishes in Round 2. The New Jersey Devils added to the list when they lost out to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.
My only winner in round two: the Dallas Stars. They won but not in five games. Instead that series with the Seattle Kraken went the limit with Dallas eking out a narrow 2-1 victory in game seven.
So after two rounds, my won-loss prediction record dropped to 6-6. Therefore, should I trade in that crystal ball for a new one as something is out of whack. Or should I continue on?
With only three series left overall I have decided to continue with the old. After all, the old crystal ball has been with me for a long, long time.
Here we go with Round 3.
Eastern Conference Final
Florida Panthers vs the Carolina Hurricanes
The Panthers are the giant killers of the playoffs so far with series upsets over Boston and Toronto. For a team just sneaking into the playoffs by one point to nail down the second wildcard in the east, then win the first two rounds that’s quite an accomplishment. And the big thing is their ability to win on the road. Three of their four victories against the Leafs were in Toronto.
I admit, they have played well in the playoffs. Is there enough fuel in the tank to make it to the Stanley Cup finals? They are getting great mileage out of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Anthony Duclair, Carter Verhaeghe, Nick Cousins and Aleksander Barkov to name a few. And goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has played a big role in their two series conquests to date.
In fact, I think Florida has the edge between pipes with Bobrovsky and Alex Lyon over the Hurricanes’ Frederick Andersen and Antti Raanta. However, the Canes are solid on the blueline with Jaccob Slavin and veteran Brent Burns leading the way. They are sound up front with good depth too with the likes of Sebastian Aho, Jordan Martinhook and Paul Stastny. The Canes also have some excellent penalty killers.
This series also features a family act with the Panthers’ Eric and Marc Staal going up against the Canes’ Jordan Staal. Family bragging rights are on the line.
Both teams are well-coached with Paul Maurice at the controls for the Panthers and Rod Brind’Amour at the helm for Carolina. Maurice coached 11 seasons in Carolina and in 2011 had Brind’Amour as one of his assistants. However, the series will be decided on the ice.
During the regular season Carolina took two three games from Florida. Of course, the playoffs are a completely different season.
Prediction: I am going with the Hurricanes in six games.
Western Conference Final
Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Knights
This series could be a lengthy one too. So far solid forechecking has been a key to success for the Stars and they will need it again if they are to advance. When the teams are at even strength, the Knights have been stronger so far.
I like Stars’ goaltender Jake Oettinger over the Knights’ Adin Hill.
Dallas will need big efforts from Roope Hintz, Joel Pavelski, Jamie Benn, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin and Max Domi. Robertson was the Stars top sniper during the regular season with 46 goals. He has to deliver in this series.
Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel has played well in his first two rounds of the playoffs. He now knows what the playoffs are about and he has responded.
So have Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone, William Karlson and Chandler Stephenson.
A key for the Knights is to avoid costly penalties.
Prediction: Dallas in six games.
(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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