Sports fans, it’s that time of year again… the NHL playoffs are back! As we all know, the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the best two weeks of the year, as roughly four matchups take center stage each and every day! With games playing for 6-7 hours back-to-back on weekdays, and the always-thrilling 12-hour marathon on the weekends, there’s no shortage of time spent on the couch in the latter half of April. So here’s my preview… a little late, I know, but my predictions remain the same now as they were last week.
First, a recap. The 2023-2024 NHL season was one to remember. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov won the Art Ross Trophy scoring a league-leading 144 points; Colorado Avalanche captain, Nathan MacKinnon, finished four behind that mark and is the favorite to win the Hart Trophy as MVP. Furthermore, two players, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov, reached the rare 100-assist threshold – accomplished by only three other players before this year. With all that in mind, and one of the most electric regular seasons coming to a close, the playoffs have a ton of potential. Alright, let’s get into it.
Arguably the most intriguing first-round series features the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. Fresh off winning the Stanley Cup, everyone knew the Knights would be in the playoffs this year. Perhaps what is a bit surprising is that they finished in the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Dallas, on the other hand, spent much of the season trading places with the New York Rangers at the top of the league. This is where many could be fooled, though. Vegas is just as good as they were last year – their depth on defense is remarkable, the offense weapons they had last year are mainly the same, and both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson are providing quality goaltending. They are also, coincidentally, healthy all of a sudden… isn’t that wild how Mark Stone is suddenly back to start the playoffs… two years in a row! Dallas has much of the same talent as Vegas, except goalie Jake Oettinger has been shaky at times this year, something to watch out for. This series will be physical and heavily influenced by defensive play. My prediction for this tossup of a series: Vegas in 7 games.
Next up on the list has to be the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers. What a battle this series has been in the past and ensures to be once again. These two teams have quickly grown into major rivals and have presented one of the best rivalries in the game with all of their postseason meetings over the past few years. There are so many likely future Hall of Famers in this series, including: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy for Tampa; and Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky for Florida. While the Panthers have certainly been the better team all season, the Lightning owned the league’s best power play by a significant margin and Vasilevskiy is still the best goalie in the world. This series does favor the Panthers, but my prediction is the Lightning in 7 games.
To round out my top-3 most interesting first-round series, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs present a classic matchup, dating back to the earliest days of the NHL. The biggest headline definitely concerns Toronto. Will they finally triumph over their postseason woes? There is an immense amount of pressure on the Leafs, far greater than any other team. While finally making it out of the first round last year (beating rival Tampa Bay), they got smacked in the second round, winning only one game. To Leafs fans this year, it’s Cup or bust, no other way around it. Captain Auston Matthews, who fell one goal short of 70 this past season, must play the best hockey of his career so far to carry them to victory… especially in the first round. The Bruins are tough. They play an incredibly tight defensive game that will likely frustrate Toronto and its fans, and if they are able to beat Maple Leaf goalie Ilya Samsonov (who isn’t exactly all that great), this series could be over in six games. For some reason, despite never taking them to win the first round in the past, my vote is the Maple Leafs to win in 7 games.
For now, I’ll keep it to the best three series. For the average hockey fan, hopefully this will make you tune in to a few games. This is the time of year when the true beauty of the sport shines – there’s no other sport out there that’s as fast-paced and eye-popping as hockey. It’s truly a sight to see and a game to experience live in person. I promise that you will not be bored.
Finally, my prediction for the winner of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: the New York Rangers. I have them beating the Vegas Golden Knights. Call it basic, but I think the Rangers have arguably the easiest path to the Finals. Vegas, on the other hand, has a very challenging path to victory, starting off with the Stars.
