With the first round (essentially) in the books, it’s time for BSB’s NHL playoffs 2nd round predictions. We did pretty well in the first round, with at least one of us getting a correct prediction. Since I’m writing this one, I want to pat myself on the back for nailing the Rangers sweep. We all whiffed on Florda/Tampa though.

The second round will likely be where we start missing on some of our predictions, with much tougher matchups as we get further into the playoffs. With no real surprises in the first round, it does feel that the top eight teams in the NHL are left standing.

Rangers/Hurricanes

Dave: Rangers in 6 – The Canes will swarm the Rangers, who are far more structured this season than in the past. Carolina relies on chaos. The Rangers will have some lapses that feed into the chaos, but in the end it will be Igor Shesterkin that holds the ship steady.

Nick: Rangers in 6 – In a matchup that’ll rely on goaltending I believe more in Igor Shesterkin stealing a series than I do Freddie Andersen. Rangers depth will also come up huge in this series.

JL: Rangers in 6 – The Rangers are more of a well oiled machine and can withstand most of Carolina’s attack. Plus the advantage on special teams and goaltending gives NYR this in 6.

Tyler: Rangers in 6 – Despite what Vegas and the sports books are saying, I think the Rangers’ upper echelon talent is better than the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes will be a formidable opponent with the addition of Jake Guentzal, but the Rangers win this especially if Filip Chytil re-enters the lineup. It’s too many weapons for the Hurricanes to try and matchup.

Panthers/Bruins

Dave: Panthers in 5 – There is nothing about the Bruins that impressed me in their win over the Leafs, and Florida is right up there with the Rangers and Carolina as a top team in the NHL.

Nick: Florida in 6 – Boston just isn’t on the same level as the Panthers offensive attack and it’ll show up in a big way this series.

JL: Panthers in 6 – Panthers are relentless. Bruins are frauds.

Tyler: Florida in 5 – Despite a 7 game war of attrition with the Maple Leafs, the Bruins stink except for the goalies. The Panthers have too much depth to not win this series against a pretty weak Bruins team. And after 7 games of battering and bruising the Maple Leafs, the Bruins are going to be feeling it as the Panthers have been resting.

Oilers/Vancouver

Dave: Oilers in 5 – Vancouver is on their third string goalie against Connor McDavid. This won’t end well.

Nick: EDM in 6- wasn’t overly impressed with Vancouver in round one against NSH and EDM showed in round one they can win the offensive slugfest or buckle down and win a 1-0 game. 97 and 29 will takeover this series early on.

JL: EDM in 7 – Edmonton has more firepower up front over Vancouver’s defense but they’ll battle it over till the death, to the pleasure of many Canadian fans.

Tyler: Oilers in 6 – The Oilers are a very good team after dominating the Kings in a 5 game series. Under Kris Knoblauch, the Oilers have been a much better structured team, and then let McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman do the majority of the their offense. This formula worked for them in round one alongside a dominant power play.

Avs/Stars/Vegas – written before Game 7

Dave: Dallas in 6/Avs in 6 (Vegas) – This was written before we knew the outcome of Game 7 between Vegas/Dallas. If Dallas wins, they are my pick out of the West and I think they clean things up against Colorado and take advantage of Alex Georgiev in net. If it’s Vegas, I just don’t think they can stand up to the Avs.

Nick: Colorado in 7- Even though I still worry about Georgiev for the Avs, they buckled down defensively and insulated him against Winnipeg in round one. They also showed when they’re going offensively they’re extremely hard to stop. We also haven’t seen Nathan MacKinnon take over yet and he’ll have to do so this round.

JL: Avs over either – All 3 squads have trouble with goaltending so Colorado will just outscore everyone.

Tyler: Avs in 7 (Vegas) – This will be a total war, the Knights with their additions are a super deep team as they’re once again loaded with star power from top to bottom. I don’t think there’s a team in the league though with more top end talent than the Colorado Avalanche. It will be a close series, but Colorado comes out on top.

Tyler: Avs in 7 (Dallas) – After a gruesome 7 game series with the Golden Knights, the Stars have to be exhausted. They have a super deep team, but they don’t have a Nathan MacKinnon on their team. With a rested Avalanche team, and what I think will be a close series, the Avalanche will come out on top.

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