Forman Faceoff 2020 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Eastern/Western Conference Semifinals

After an interesting (to say the least) qualifying round in the playoffs, the 1st round round saw 6 of the 8 round-robin teams win, with only the Islanders and Canucks winning from the play-in round. I went 3/8 in the 1st round (picking Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Colorado), definitely showing how unpredictable these playoffs have been. We started with 24 teams and now are down to the final 8, and this article will look at how we got to the 8 teams and a preview/prediction of the second round match-ups. Hope you enjoy!

1st Round Results:

Eastern Conference:

#1 Philadelphia Flyers defeat #8 Montreal Canadiens (4-2)

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning defeat #7 Columbus Blue Jackets (4-1)

#6 New York Islanders defeat #3 Washington Capitals (4-1)

#4 Boston Bruins defeat #5 Carolina Hurricanes (4-1)

Western Conference:

#1 Vegas Golden Knights defeat #8 Chicago Blackhawks (4-1)

#2 Colorado Avalanche defeat #7 Arizona Coyotes (4-1)

#3 Dallas Stars defeat #6 Calgary Flames (4-2)

#5 Vancouver Canucks defeat #4 St. Louis Blues (4-2)

Playoff Scoring Leaders:

1. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) - 13 points

2. Elias Pettersson (VAN) - 13 points

3. Miro Heiskanen (DAL) - 12 points

4. Sebastian Aho (CAR) - 12 points (eliminated)

5. Nazem Kadri (COL) - 11 points

6. JT Miller (VAN) - 10 points

7. Mikko Rantanen (COL) - 10 points

8. Brayden Point (TBL) - 10 points

9. Josh Bailey (NYI) - 10 points

10. Ryan O'Reilly (STL) - 10 points (eliminated)

Second Round Matchups:

Eastern Conference:

#1 Philadelphia Flyers vs #6 New York Islanders

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs #4 Boston Bruins

Western Conference:

#1 Vegas Golden Knights vs #5 Vancouver Canucks

#2 Colorado Avalanche vs #3 Dallas Stars

2nd Round Preview and Predictions:

Eastern Conference:

#1 Philadelphia Flyers vs #6 New York Islanders

Season Series: Islanders won the season series 3-0-0

October 27, 2019: New York Islanders 5, Philadelphia Flyers 3 
November 16, 2019: New York Islanders 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3 (SO)
February 11, 2020: New York Islanders 5, Philadelphia Flyers 3

Players to Watch:

Philadelphia: Carter Hart, Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny

New York: Mat Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Josh Bailey, Semyon Varlamov, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Pulock

X-Factor:

Philadelphia: Carter Hart

New York: Mat Barzal

Season Stat Leaders:

Philadelphia

Goals: Travis Konecny (24), Kevin Hayes (23), Sean Couturier (22)
Assists: Jakub Voracek (44), Sean Couturier/Travis Konecny (37), Claude Giroux (32)
Points: Travis Konecny (61), Sean Couturier (59), Jakub Voracek (56)
Wins: Carter Hart (24), Brian Elliott (16)
Goals Against Average: Carter Hart (2.42), Brian Elliott (2.87)
Save Percentage: Carter Hart (.914), Brian Elliott (.899)
Shutouts: Brian Elliott (2), Carter Hart (1)

New York

Goals: Brock Nelson/Jean-Gabriel Pageau (26), Anders Lee (20), Mat Barzal (19)
Assists: Mat Barzal (41), Josh Bailey (29), Brock Nelson (28)
Points: Mat Barzal (60), Brock Nelson (54), Anders Lee/Josh Bailey (43)
Wins: Semyon Varlamov (19), Thomas Greiss (16)
Goals Against Average: Semyon Varlamonv (2.62), Thomas Greiss (2.74)
Save Percentage: Semyon Varlamov (.914), Thomas Greiss (.913)
Shutouts: Semyon Varlamov (2)

Playoff Stat Leaders:

Philadelphia

Goals: Jakub Voracek (4), Scott Laughton/Joel Farabee/Michael Raffl (3)
Assists: Kevin Hayes (6), Sean Couturier (5), Claude Giroux/Jakub Voracek (4) 
Points: Jakub Voracek (8), Kevin Hayes (7), Scott Laughton/Sean Couturier (5)

New York

Goals: Anthony Beauvillier (6), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4), Mat Barzal/Brock Nelson (3)
Assists: Josh Bailey (8), Ryan Pulock (5), Mat Barzal/Brock Nelson (4)
Points: Josh Bailey (10), Anthony Beauvillier (9), Mat Barzal/Brock Nelson (7)

Prediction: The Flyers come into this series having beaten the Canadiens in 6 games and they will have their hands full with the stingy Islanders, fresh off upsetting the 3rd-seeded Capitals in 5 games. Both of these teams have shown they are capable of going far in the playoffs, and it's going to be interesting to see which team has the advantage in this series. The biggest factor will be between the pipes with Carter Hart vs. Semyon Varlamov, both goalies have been tremendous so far in the playoffs. While I think this series can go either way, I think the Islanders pull off another upset and take this in 7

(NEW YORK ISLANDERS 4, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 3)

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs #3 Boston Bruins

Season Series: Lightning won the season series 3-1-0

October 17, 2019: Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Boston Bruins 3 (SO)
December 12, 2019: Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Boston Bruins 2
March 3, 2020: Boston Bruins 2, Tampa Bay Lightning 1

March 7, 2020: Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Boston Bruins 3

Players to Watch:

Tampa Bay: Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Alex Killorn, Yanni Gourde

Boston: David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Jaroslav Halak, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara

X-Factor:

Tampa Bay: Nikita Kucherov

Boston: David Pastrnak

Season Stat Leaders:

Tampa Bay

Goals: Nikita Kucherov (33), Steven Stamkos (29), Alex Killorn (26)
Assists: Nikita Kucherov (52), Victor Hedman (44), Brayden Point (39)
Points: Nikita Kucherov (85), Steven Stamkos (66), Brayden Point (64)
Wins: Andrei Vasilevskiy (35), Curtis McElhinney (8)
Goals Against Average: Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.56), Curtis McElhinney (2.89)
Save Percentage: Andrei Vasilevskiy (.917), Curtis McElhinney (.906)
Shutouts: Andrei Vasilevskiy (3), Curtis McElhinney (1)

Boston

Goals: David Pastrnak (48), Patrice Bergeron (31), Brad Marchand (28)
Assists: Brad Marchand (59), David Pastrnak (47), Torey Krug (40)
Points: David Pastrnak (95), Brad Marchand (87), Patrice Bergeron (56)
Wins: Tuukka Rask (26), Jaroslav Halak (18)
Goals Against Average: Tuukka Rask (2.12), Jaroslav Halak (2.39)
Save Percentage: Tuukka Rask (.929), Jaroslav Halak (.919)
Shutouts: Tuukka Rask (5), Jaroslav Halak (3)

Playoff Stat Leaders:

Tampa Bay 

Goals: Brayden Point (5), Tyler Johnson (3), Nikita Kucherov/Alex Killorn/Yanni Gourde (2)
Assists: Nikita Kucherov (7), Brayden Point (5), Ryan McDonagh (3)
Points: Brayden Point (10), Nikita Kucherov (9), Tyler Johnson/Alex Killorn/Yanni Gourde (4)

Boston

Goals: David Krejci/Jake DeBrusk/Brad Marchand (3), Patrice Bergeron/Charlie Coyle (2)
Assists: David Krejci (6), Brad Marchand/Patrice Bergeron/Ondrej Kase (4)
Points: David Krejci (9), Brad Marchand (7), Patrice Bergeron (6)

Prediction: The top 2 teams from the Eastern Conference in the regular season face off in a heavyweight battle in the second round, and with that both teams are missing key players in Tuukka Rask and Steven Stamkos. Rask left the bubble to be with his family and will miss the rest of the playoffs, while Stamkos remains out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Both teams won their 1st round matchup in 5 games, and it's going to be interesting to see who has the edge here. While I think it will be close and either team can win, I give the edge to the Lightning after they shed some demons after beating the Blue Jackets

(TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 4, BOSTON BRUINS 2)

Western Conference:

#1 Vegas Golden Knights vs #5 Vancouver Canucks

Season Series: Golden Knights won the season series 1-0-1

December 15, 2019: Vegas Golden Knights 6, Vancouver Canucks 3 
December 19, 2019: Vancouver Canucks 5, Vegas Golden Knights 4 (OT)

Players to Watch:

Vegas: Mark Stone, Reilly Smith, Robin Lehner, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore

Vancouver: Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Jacob Markstrom, Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, JT Miller

X-Factor:

Vegas: Mark Stone

Vancouver: Elias Pettersson

Season Stat Leaders:

Vegas

Goals: Max Pacioretty (32), Reilly Smith (27), Johnathan Marchessault (22)
Assists: Mark Stone (42), Max Pacioretty (34), Shea Theodore (33)
Points: Max Pacioretty (66), Mark Stone (63), Reilly Smith (54)
Wins: Marc-Andre Fleury (27), Robin Lehner (3)
Goals Against Average: Robin Lehner (1.67), Marc-Andre Fleury (2.77)
Save Percentage: Robin Lehner (.940), Marc-Andre Fleury (.905)
Shutouts: Marc-Andre Fleury (5), Robin Lehner (1)

Vancouver

Goals: Elias Pettersson/JT Miller (27), Tyler Toffoli (24), Bo Horvat (22)
Assists: JT Miller/Quinn Hughes (45), Elias Pettersson (39), Bo Horvat (31)
Points: JT Miller (72), Elias Petterson (66), Quinn Hughes/Bo Horvat (53)
Wins: Jacob Markstrom (23), Thatcher Demko (13)
Goals Against Average: Jacob Markstrom (2.75), Thatcher Demko (3.06)
Save Percentage: Jacob Markstrom (.918), Thatcher Demko (.905)
Shutouts: Jacob Markstrom (2)

Playoff Stat Leaders:

Vegas

Goals: Mark Stone/Shea Theodore/Alex Tuch (4), Reilly Smith (3), Jonathan Marchessault (2)
Assists: Reilly Smith/Jonathan Marchessault (5), Mark Stone/William Karlsson/Nate Schmidt (4)
Points: Mark Stone/Reilly Smith (8), Shea Theodore/Jonathan Marchessault (7), William Karlsson (6)

Vancouver

Goals: Bo Horvat (6), JT Miller (5), Elias Pettersson/Tyler Motte (4)
Assists: Elias Pettersson/Quinn Hughes (9), JT Miller/Brock Boeser/Chris Tanev (5)
Points: Elias Pettersson (13), JT Miller/Quinn Hughes (10), Bo Horvat/Brock Boeser (8)

Prediction: This to me is the most exciting series of the playoffs so far, the high-flying Golden Knights vs the young and upcoming Vancouver Canucks and it's going to be a dandy. The Golden Knights brushed off the Blackhawks in 5 games, while the Canucks impressively downed the defending-champion Blues in 6 games, so both teams are coming in with a lot of confidence and swagger. If Vancouver has any chance of beating the Golden Knights they need Jacob Markstrom to continue his brilliant play in net, and I would not be shocked if the Canucks were able pull off another upset. Having said that, I give the edge to the Golden Knights as the more complete team

(VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, VANCOUVER CANUCKS 2)

#2 Colorado Avalanche vs #3 Dallas Stars

Season Series: Stars won the season series 4-0-0

November 1, 2019: Dallas Stars 2, Colorado Avalanche 1
November 5, 2019: Dallas Stars 4, Colorado Avalanche 1

December 28, 2019: Dallas Stars 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 (SO)
January 14, 2020: Dallas Stars 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 (OT)

Players to Watch:

Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, Philipp Grubauer

Dallas: Miro Heiskanen, John Klingberg, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Alex Radulov, Denis Gurianov

X-Factor:

Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon

Dallas: Miro Heiskanen

Season Stat Leaders:

Colorado

Goals: Nathan MacKinnon (35), Gabriel Landeskog (21), Andre Burakovsky (20)
Assists: Nathan MacKinnon (58), Cale Makar (38), Sam Girard (30)
Points: Nathan MacKinnon (93), Cale Makar (50), Andre Burakovsky (45)
Wins: Pavel Francouz (21), Philipp Grubauer (18)
Goals Against Average: Pavel Francouz (2.41), Philipp Grubauer (2.63)
Save Percentage: Pavel Francouz (.923), Philipp Grubauer (.916)
Shutouts: Philipp Grubauer (2), Pavel Francouz (1)

Dallas

Goals: Denis Gurianov (20), Jamie Benn/Roope Hintz (19), Tyler Seguin (17)
Assists: Tyler Seguin (33), Miro Heiskanen (27), John Klingberg (26)\
Points: Tyler Seguin (50), Jamie Benn (39), Miro Heiskanen (35)
Wins: Ben Bishop (21), Anton Khudobin (16)
Goals Against Average: Anton Khudonin (2.22), Ben Bishop (2.50)
Save Percentage: Anton Khudobin (.930), Ben Bishop (.920)
Shutouts: Ben Bishop (2)

Playoff Stat Leaders:

Colorado 

Goals: Nazem Kadri (6), Nathan MacKinnon (4), Mikko Rantanen/Andre Burakovsky (3)
Assists: Nathan MacKinnon (9), Gabriel Landeskog (8), Mikko Rantanen (7)
Points: Nathan MacKinnon (13), Nazem Kadri (11), Mikko Rantanen (10)

Dallas

Goals: Denis Gurianov/Joe Pavelski (6), Miro Heiskanen (3), Jamie Benn/Alexander Radulov (2)
Assists: Miro Heiskanen (9), John Klingberg (6), Roope Hintz (4)
Points: Miro Heiskanen (12), Joe Pavelski (8), Denis Gurianov/John Klingberg (7)

Prediction: The Avalanche come into this series having walked all over the Coyotes in 5 games, outscoring them 22-8 in the process. They'll face a Stars team fresh off their 6-game series win over the Flames, and they certainly have been impressive, none more so than Miro Heiskanen who leads all defenseman with 12 points. The Avalanche have been equally impressive with Nathan MacKinnon leading the playoffs in points (13) and Nazem Kadri in goals (6), and this should be a very interesting series to watch. The Stars did win all 4 games in the regular season, and it will be interesting to watch the goalie match-ups as both teams have 2 capable goalies (don't be surprised to see all 4 play at some point). While I think this will be a close series, I give the edge to MacKinnon and the Avs

(COLORADO AVALANCHE 4, DALLAS STARS 2)

This would mean the Conference Finals Match-ups would be as follows:

Eastern Conference Finals

#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs #6 New York Islanders

Western Conference Finals

#1 Vegas Golden Knights vs #2 Colorado Avalanche

The 2nd round starts tonight!

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff