BSB Round 1 playoff predictions

It’s that time of year again when us here at BSB make our Round 1 playoff predictions and then get torched for them after the round finishes. I don’t think any of us have gotten even 50% of our predictions right, so if you’re looking at this for betting….don’t.

Our round 1 playoff predictions come from Nick, Tyler, Conall, Rob, JL, and Dave.

Rangers/Caps

Nick: Rangers in 5 – better goaltending defense and offense, Washington on hole 17 of their back 9 of this core.

Tyler: Rangers in 5. The Caps barely got into the playoffs. The Rangers put on quite a showing going into the final part of the season to win the President’s Trophy. With a potential return of Filip Chytil on top of it, they are poised to win the series in convincing fashion.

Conall: Rangers in 5 – if the Rangers are going to make a run this series needs to be taken care of early. Charlie Lindgren will steal a game.

Dave: Rangers in 4 – even Ryan’s brother can’t steal a game in this one.

Rob: Rangers in 6. I wanna say 5, but, come on. It’s the Rangers.

JL: Rangers in 5. Rangers should take care of Washington. Clearly the better team.

Canes/Isles

Nick: Canes in 5 – too much depth, too much scoring for the Isles. too many questions around Isles goaltending situation.

Tyler: Islanders in 7. This one may be the boldest prediction of the first round. The Islanders are by no means a perfect team, as they got a majority of their points thanks to the loser point. However, they do have some talent and are going into the playoffs with probably the hottest goalie in the league right now in Semyon Varlamov. Does he steal the series against a Hurricanes team who went off their M.O. and acquired a huge rental in Jake Guentzal?

Conall: Canes in 5- The Isles stink.

Dave: Canes in 7 – The Canes are finishing better with Jake Guentzel, but the Isles for some reason stick around in games. The Canes have suspect goaltending, which will cost them at least a game, and Varlamov will steal another.

Rob: Canes in 5. Every game will be a 1-goal game but on the balance of play, the isles will be thoroughly dominated.

JL: Canes in 7. Will be the most boring series ever but Carolina edges with slightly more skill.

Bruins/Leafs

Nick: Leafs in 7 – Toronto should win this easier than 7 but just because of the rivalry it’ll go long.

Tyler: Boston in 7. It’s the Leafs, it’s the Bruins, it’s going 7. And the Leafs are going to lose to Boston, again. Cue the memes.

Conall: Panthers in 7- Bolts will rise to the occasion but Florida finds a way to get out of it.

Dave: Leafs in 6 – Goaltending won’t matter for the Leafs yet. Boston is good, but they aren’t as good as their record.

Rob: Leafs in 7. I haven’t taken Boston seriously all season and I sure as hell ain’t starting now.

JL: Bruins in 7. Toronto thinks they might get over the hump. Probably not.

Florida/Tampa

Nick: Tampa in 7 – purely for the sake of chaos, Tampa’s pedigree will overcome their defensive issues and they’ll find a way behind Vasy.

Tyler: Panthers in 6. The battle of Florida is always a good show. This series is going to be a showing of a team carried by one of the best top lines versus one of the deepest teams in the league. The fool bets against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs, but I do think the Panthers have what it takes.

Conall: Bruins in 6 – Leafs goaltending is just too suspect for me to pick them.

Dave: Tampa in 7 – I like chaos, and Florida bowing out in round 1 is chaos for me. Plus never discount Jon Cooper in the playoffs.

Rob: Lightning in 6. My upset pick. Florida gets picked off by a Tampa team that does just enough in front of Vasilevskiy, who finds his vintage form.

JL: Florida in 7. This will be a bloodbath. Plain and simple.

Dallas/Vegas

Nick: Stars in 5 – Dallas is too complete and too good for a way too injured Vegas team to compete with.

Tyler: Vegas in 6. It brings me no joy to predict the defending champs will win a series against the Dallas Stars. The Stars are a great team with tons of promise and great young players. But thanks to the league and the cap shenanigans from LTIR, the Vegas loaded up their roster at the deadline, and with the kind of players they acquired, really are going to make noise these playoffs. Hopefully they get taken out soon after.

Conall: Dallas in 7 – brutal draw for Dallas especially if Vegas is healthy, but Dallas has the depth and goaltending. They are my favorite in the west.

Dave: Dallas in 7 – The Central Division got screwed with the playoff format. Dallas is my pick out of the west, but they have a tough road to get there.

Rob: Stars in 5. Whether or not Vegas’ injuries were legitimate, their top players missed enough time that it knocked them down to the final playoff spot. Now fully healthy, they think they can flip the switch. Not against Dallas.

JL: Dallas in 7. Vegas can only hide so much money. Luck has to run out at some point.

Winnipeg/Colorado

Nick: WPG in 6 – Georgiev will absolutely blow this series for Colorado. Avs have the better team but issues in net will cost them.

Tyler: Avalanche in 7. This is why this playoff format is the dumbest format in existence. These are two power house teams who unfortunately have to play each other in the first round. With legit MVP candidates on both teams, this is going to be a series for the ages.

Conall: Avs in 7 – another brutal series for both teams. Like them both but I’ll go Avs because of the star power.

Dave: Winnipeg in 7 – Very evenly matched teams. The stars will get Colorado close, but goaltending and depth will win it for the Jets. At least one team named the Jets can win.

Rob: Avalanche in 6. Despite Winnipeg’s great season and the presence of Hellebuyck, I’m going with championship pedigree here.

JL: Avs in 5. Avalanche steamroll Winnipeg. Easy.

Vancouver/Nashville

Nick: Preds in 7 – Andrew Brunette’s coaching will wind up stealing this series for Vancouver.

Tyler: Canucks in 6. The Canucks have had a terrific season pretty much from the drop of the puck back in October. Thanks to some career years by their star players and brilliance of Thatcher Demko, they are poised to make a great run these playoffs. The Predators since the Sphere incident went on an absolute tear themselves, but that team is lacking the amount of star power the Canucks possess in this series.

Conall: Preds in 6 – Canucks are frauds

Dave: Preds in 7 – I agree with Conall.

Rob: Canucks in 7. Nashville will give the Canucks a tough series, as Vancouver won’t be able to rely on the rush offense they did all season long.

JL: Vancouver in 6. Vancouver has enough high end skill to push past Nashville.

Oilers/Kings

Nick: EDM in 6 – LA’s scoring too up and down to compete with 97 and 29. if EDM’s goaltending holds up then this will be faster than 6, if not LA will have a chance to have a major upset.

Tyler: Oilers in 7. The Oilers accomplished quite the feat crawling from the depths of the standings to 2nd in the Pacific. This series is now in its 3rd series in 3 years, with the Oilers winning the previous two years, I do think with the McDavid/Draisaitl factor, the result is the same. This will be a hard fought series though, where I could see 3 or 4 games going into OT for the win. Will the Oilers goaltending hold up?

Conall: Oilers in 5. Connor McDavid. Enough said.

Dave: Oilers in 4 – LA really isn’t that good.

Rob: Oilers in 5. Similar to the Rangers, LA hit a significant slump in December after a tremendous start. Unlike the Rangers however, they never got their game together. Edmonton rolls.

JL: Kingsi n 7. Connor McDavid can’t do it all on his own.