The NHL Playoffs opening round was as thrilling as anyone could’ve hoped with 5 series going to Game 7.
We now know all the second round matchups with two series beginning on Tuesday, May 17 and the other two set for Wednesday, May 18. Here’s a quick preview with predictions for each Round Two series.
Florida Panthers (58-18-6) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (51-23-8)
Following their Game 7 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Tampa Bay Lightning now take on the Florida Panthers in the Second Round. The Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals in six games in the First Round. However, Washington was able to expose some flaws in Florida’s game.
Though they won the Presidents’ Trophy, Florida’s defense and goaltending proved to be incredibly shaky against a Washington team that does not have a very deep offense past their top guys. This season, Florida ranks just 17th in the league in five-on-five expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA).
While Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was not bad in the First Round, he was not anything special as he produced a 0.906 save percentage through six games. Meanwhile, Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy lived up to his reputation in Games 6 and 7 when he shut down one of the league’s best offenses with a 0.938 save percentage.
Against the Lightning this season, Bobrovsky possesses a mere 0.850 save percentage and a 4.03 goals allowed average. For the season, Vasilevskiy ranks higher than Bobrovsky in five-on-five goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx).
These two teams split the season series with two wins apiece, foreshadowing a series that should go 6 or 7 games. Under the current playoff format, 79.17% of series in the Second Round have gone to at least six games.
It is also worth noting that under the current playoff format, the Presidents’ Trophy winners have made it past the Second Round just once since It was adopted in 2014. With all of that being said, I think Tampa Bay will be just too much for Florida.
Tampa Bay is far superior to Washington, and Washington put up a good fight against Florida. Give me the team with more playoff experience and the better goaltender at plus money.
Prediction: Lightning (+150)
Carolina Hurricanes (54-20-8) vs New York Rangers (52-24-6)
It took the Hurricanes seven games to dispatch the Boston Bruins, winning all four at home, which makes having home-ice advantage through this series with New York all the more important.
The Canes leaned heavily on their defense, not just defending their end with backup Antti Raanta handling the net but also on offense. Defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Jaccob Slavin led Carolina in points with eight apiece, DeAngelo with one goal and Slavin with two. Vincent Trocheck and Teuvo Teravainen led the forward group with seven points each through the first round. The Hurricanes also received a big performance from Max Domi in Game 7, where he had two goals and an assist in their 3-2 win. Raanta has played admirably in the net with a .927 SV% and a 2.37 GAA. He had an injury scare early on but was able to stick it out to win the series for his team.
Meanwhile, the Rangers went to Game 7 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the final game 4-3 in overtime. Artemi Panarin was the hero, ending the Pens’ run with a powerplay goal. Mika Zibanejad led New York in scoring with three goals and 11 points. Defenseman Adam Fox is right behind him with three goals and ten points. Chris Kreider continued his goal-scoring into the playoffs, leading the Rangers with five goals. Igor Shesterkin had a few shaky starts but got the job done in the final three games. He has a .911 SV% and a 3.66 GAA. New York won a critical Game 6 on the road to send the final game back to Madison Square Garden.
Against the puck line, New York is 45-44 and 24-20 on the road, while Carolina is 44-45 and 23-22 at home. A couple of trends to watch are the over is 7-0 in the Rangers’ past seven games and the over is 6-0-1 in the Hurricanes’ past seven games following a win. In both of their previous series, the combined over was 12-1-1.
The danger for the Hurricanes is whether or not Shesterkin has completely shaken off all the cobwebs. The Rangers’ future (in these playoffs and beyond) goes the way of his play. If Shesterkin is on, there is no telling how far they can go, but it’ll be a quick second-round exit if he doesn’t perform better than he did against the Penguins.
Prediction: Hurricanes (-190)
Colorado Avalanche (56-19-7) vs St. Louis Blues (49-22-11)
The Avs have lost just one first-round game in their last three playoff appearances. The issue is after dominating in the first-round series, they have inexplicably fallen on their faces in each of their previous three second-round series.
The Blues only edge in this series seems to be at the forward position.
The Avs have a considerable advantage in goal over the Blues. The Blues will shuffle goaltenders to try to find the hot-hand in goal.
The Avs won two out of three regular-season games against the Blues in the regular season.
The Blues averaged the third-most goals per game in the league at 3.77 goals and finished in the top-10 with the second-highest producing power play at 27.0% and a fifth-ranked penalty kill at 84.1%. So they could get hot and cause the Avs significant issues.
This series seems like a no-brainer because of the Avs domination of the regular season and the first round of these playoffs. But the past three years have caused concern. The Avs will be too good in Goal for the Blues, and overall the Avs are better at most positions. I think the Blues will be competitive in this series.
Prediction: Avalanche (-400)
Calgary Flames (50-21-11) vs Edmonton Oilers (49-27-6)
The Battle of Alberta resumes in the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and this heated rivalry promises to get even hotter.
The Flames had to go overtime to get rid of the Dallas Stars in Game 7; most people thought that the series would be much easier than it was.
The Oilers struggled much like the Flames in a series most thought they would win easily before serving in a Game 7 at home.
Connor McDavid contributed a playoff-leading 14 points in the Oilers’ effort, including six games with multiple points, which hadn’t been done since the Bruins’ Rick Middleton managed the feat in 1983.
This series promises to be emotional and physical. The penalties were up in the first round of the playoffs, and hopefully, officiating will not kill this series.
The Health of Calgary’s blue line. The Flames need to be at full strength to win this series. Tanev missed game seven against the Stars, and it looks like he could miss at least game one of this series.
The Oilers are not as good defensively as the Stars, which makes this a tough series for the Oilers to win. The Dallas Stars defense and goaltending gave them a shot to upset the Flames in round one. Markstrom and a formidable Flames’ blue line will give the Oilers issues.
Prediction: Flames (-190)
