Wow! What an utterly ridiculous first round, both of the top seeds in the Conference and all four division winners were eliminated, all four wildcard teams advanced. Just a bonkers 1st round, one that has been entirely full of upsets and the unpredictable. Of the 8 first-round match ups, the only teams that I picked correctly to advance were Colorado and San Jose (2/8). With that being said, here's a look at the 4 Conference Semifinals match ups and how the teams stack up against each other:
1st Round Series Scores:
East:
WC #2 Columbus Blue Jackets defeat #1 Tampa Bay Lighting (4-0)
WC #1 Carolina Hurricanes defeat #1 Washington Capitals (4-3)
#2 Boston Bruins defeat #3 Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3)
#2 New York Islanders defeat #3 Pittsburgh Penguins (4-0)
West:
WC #2 Colorado Avalanche defeat #1 Calgary Flames (4-1)
WC #1 Dallas Stars defeat #1 Nashville Predators (4-2)
#3 St. Louis Blues defeat #2 Winnipeg Jets (4-2)
#2 San Jose Sharks defeat #3 Vegas Golden Knights (4-3)
Eastern Conference:
#2 Boston Bruins vs. WC #2 Columbus Blue Jackets
March 12, 2019: Columbus Blue Jackets 7, Boston Bruins 4
March 16, 2019: Boston Bruins 2, Columbus Blue Jackets 1 (OT)
April 2, 2019: Boston Bruins 6, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Players to Watch:
Boston: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy
Columbus: Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Boone Jenner
X-Factor:
Boston: Tuukka Rask
Columbus: Sergei Bobrovsky
Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Brad Marchand (BOS) - 4, Matt Duchene (CBJ) - 3
Assists: Brad Marchand (BOS) - 5, Matt Duchene/Zach Werenski (CBJ) - 4
Points: Brad Marchand (BOS) - 9, Matt Duchene (CBJ) - 7
Wins: Tuukka Rask (BOS) - 4, Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) - 4
Goals Against Average: Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) - 2.01, Tuukka Rask (BOS) - 2.32
Save Percentage: Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) - .932, Tuukka Rask (BOS) - .928
Prediction: The Blue Jackets enter the second round after their historic upset of the 128-point Tampa Bay Lightning, and you know John Tortorella will have his team fired up for this series. While I think this will be a very close series and could go either way, I give the edge to the Bruins after their grueling 7-game win over Toronto.
(BRUINS IN 6)
#2 New York Islanders vs. WC #1 Carolina Hurricanes
October 4, 2018: New York Islanders 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1 (OT)
October 28, 2018: New York Islanders 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1
November 18, 2018: New York Islanders 4, Carolina Hurricanes 1
January 8, 2019: Carolina Hurricanes 4, New York Islanders 3
Players to Watch:
New York: Mat Barzal, Robin Lehner, Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Ryan Pulock
Carolina: Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Justin Williams, Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Petr Mrazek
X-Factor:
New York: Mat Barzal
Carolina: Sebastian Aho
Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Jordan Eberle (NYI) - 4, Warren Foegele (CAR) - 4
Assists: Jaccob Slavin (CAR) - 9, Mat Barzal (NYI) - 5
Points: Jacob Slavvin (CAR) - 9, Jordan Eberle (NYI) - 6
Wins: Robin Lehner (NYI) - 4, Petr Mrazek (CAR) - 4
Goals Against Average: Robin Lehner (NYI) - 1.47, Petr Mrazek (CAR) - 2.54
Save Percentage: Robin Lehner (NYI) - .956, Petr Mrazek (CAR) - .899
Prediction: Talk about two teams coming off historic upsets, the Islanders sweeping the Penguins in 4 games and the Hurricanes knocking off the defending champion Capitals in double OT of game 7. This series is built on two stingy teams that seemed to have found another gear come playoff time, there are a lot of similarities between these two. While I think it is a toss-up, I give the edge Barry Trotz and the Islanders
(ISLANDERS IN 7)
This would have Boston and New York advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals:
#2 Boston Bruins vs. #2 New York Islanders
Western Conference:
#2 San Jose vs. WC #2 Colorado
Season Series: San Jose won the season series 3-0-0
January 2, 2019: San Jose Sharks 5, Colorado Avalanche 4
March 1, 2019: San Jose Sharks 4, Colorado Avalanche 3
April 6, 2019: San Jose Sharks 5, Colorado Avalanche 2
Players to Watch:
San Jose: Logan Couture, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski, Timo Meier
Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer, Cale Makar, JT Compher
X-Factor:
San Jose: Erik Karlsson
Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon
Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Logan Couture/Tomas Hertl (SJS) - 6, Mikko Rantanen (COL) - 5
Assists: Erik Karlsson (SJS) - 9, Nathan MacKinnon/Tyson Barrie (COL) - 5
Points: Erik Karlsson (SJS) - 9, Mikko Rantanen (COL) - 9
Wins: Martin Jones (SJS) - 4, Philipp Grubauer (COL) - 4
Goals Against Average: Philipp Grubauer (COL) - 1.90, Martin Jones (SJS) - 3.20
Save Percentage: Philipp Grubauer (COL) - .939, Martin Jones (SJS) - .904
Prediction: This to me is the most anticipated 2nd round match up, two high-powered offensive teams going head to head in the 2nd round. The Sharks enter as the favourites after defeating Vegas in a thrilling 7-game series (Barclay Goodrow scoring in OT in game 7), but don't count out the underdog Avs. Colorado looked extremely impressive knocking off top seed Calgary in round 1, and if Nathan MacKinnon continues to play as good as he has been I think they pull off the upset yet again here.
(AVALANCHE IN 7)
#3 St. Louis vs. WC #1 Dallas Stars
January 8, 2019: Dallas Stars 3, St. Louis Blues 1
January 12, 2019: St. Louis Blues 3, Dallas Stars 1
February 21, 2019: Dallas Stars 5, St. Louis Blues 2
March 2, 2019: Dallas Stars 4, St. Louis Blues 1
Players to Watch:
St. Louis: Ryan O'Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jordan Binnington, Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn, Tyler Bozak
Dallas: Ben Bishop, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Alex Radulov, John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen
X-Factor:
St. Louis: Jordan Binnington
Dallas: Ben Bishop
Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Jaden Schwartz (STL) - 4, Alex Radulov (DAL) - 4
Assists: Alex Pietragenlo (STL) - 6, Jamie Benn/John Klingberg (DAL) - 5
Points: Alex Pietrangelo (STL) - 6, Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin/Alex Radulov/John Klingberg (DAL) - 6
Wins: Jordan Binnington (STL) - 4, Ben Bishop (DAL) - 4
Goals Against Average: Ben Bishop (DAL) - 1.90, Jordan Binnington (STL) - 2.63
Save Percentage: Ben Bishop (DAL) - .945, Jordan Binnington (STL) - .908
Prediction: I think most people expected both the Predators and Jets to advance past the 1st round, but here we are, and both these teams are very deserving to be here. Both Ben Bishop and Jordan Binnington were excellent for their respective teams in round 1, and these teams are extremely well matched throughout the lineup. This is the closest 2nd-round match up and is a toss-up to predict, but I give the edge to the Blues here.
(BLUES IN 7)
This would have Colorado and St. Louis advancing to the Western Conference Finals:
#3 St. Louis vs. WC #2 Colorado
Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
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