Kevin Weekes: Lightning in seven All that winning is great at the time, but it cuts into recovery. The addition of Hampus Lindholm on the back end has really strengthened the B's blue line and gives them more options to mix and match pairings throughout the playoffs as needed. Wyshynski: My Stanley Cup playoffs bracket. Tampa Bay is better 5-on-5. John Tortorella: Panthers in seven Ditto Brad Marchand. He's the kind of player to watch with your head on a swivel. Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Central playoff brackets were written by Shilton, while Wyshynski analyzed the Metro and Pacific brackets. And coach Gerard Gallant is pushing the right buttons when it comes to line combinations. There's a massive monkey on Marner's back, and seeing how he responds to that in the postseason this year is going to go a long way in determining just how good the Leafs can be. Player to watch: Claude Giroux. Meanwhile, MacKinnon will be leading the charge up front. They went 12-8-3 after that. The Blues are rightly playing with incredible confidence, and we know from past experience where that can lead them. One of the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, or Edmonton Oilers will be this year's Stanley Cup champion. If Cale Makar is the flashy rising star leading Colorado's blue line, Duncan Keith is the veteran grandmaster stabilizing Edmonton's back end. Mika Zibanejad led the way with three points. Beyond that, he hasn't won a playoff series since 2015. Not enough has been made of the Blues. Only four teams had a lower expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 than the Rangers this season: the Sabres, Kraken, Coyotes and Blackhawks. Colorado is notably multifaceted, capable of beating its opponents in different ways. Toronto is no longer the one-dimensional wonder of its past, capable of putting pucks in the net but incapable of keeping them out. Listen here . 2022-23 Fantasy Hockey Ranking & Projections - ESPN hsb.accessibility.skipContent ESPN NFL NCAAF NBA NHL Soccer MLB Watch Listen Fantasy Fantasy Hockey Home Sign Up Fantasy Store. Player to watch: Forsberg. When Boston is at its best, it is a hard-hitting, back-breaking group to go up against. Linda Cohn: Panthers in seven The legend of Mike Smith has only grown this postseason. Same with its overall consistency. Darcy Kuemper has been solid if unspectacular in the playoffs, posting a 6-2-0 record, .904 save percentage and 2.44 goals-against average. He was fourth on the team in goals scored above average. Center Steven Stamkos (eight points) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh have been there in big moments. Forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault, GM Rob Blake's key offseason pickups, were in the top four in scoring. Sorting out the optimal defensive pairings will be a task for coach Jared Bednar. Colorado has given up the third-fewest goals against per game (2.70) among remaining playoff teams, and its power play is operating at a crisp 34.5% (best in show throughout the postseason). Also on a roll: St. Louis' power play, which has been top three in the NHL since late March. That bodes well for Edmonton in this series, since Colorado happens to be a high-volume shot team (39.8 per game); if that continues, Smith will be back under a spotlight early and often in the next round. Until he does, it's Casey DeSmith's crease. Sachin Chandan: Panthers in seven The Oilers are more resilient than some observers previously thought. The Bruins' top blueliner hasn't garnered the same attention as some of the league's flashiest defenders this season, but he has been excellent in his own right. Is that a sign that Tampa is losing its legs? It breeds confidence, and that's having a huge impact on the Oilers' success in this postseason. They had three 40-goal forwards in Johnny Gaudreau, who posted a remarkable 115-point season, Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm, with Andrew Mangiapane (35 goals) not far off the pace. Period. He battled back and won a Game 7. Their second-leading scorer is defenseman Victor Hedman, who is doing as Victor Hedman does: He has 10 points in 11 games and is skating 25:03 per game. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. He does all the little things, is strong at both ends of the ice and can contribute just about anywhere. The NHL is an exciting sport to wager on and there are plenty of opportunities for wins during the bumper . While it's desirable to have the top-end talent Colorado does, it's often the unheralded players who pick up the playoff slack. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? Weekes: Flames in seven Make picks throughout the postseason for a chance at $14,000 in prizes. Leah Hextall: Panthers in seven Wyshynski: Hurricanes in five, The Stanley Cup playoffs are back on ESPN and ABC! Player to watch: Miro Heiskanen. But this was his best season since 2017-18, and there were enough moments of "vintage Jonathan Quick" to make one wonder if there isn't just a little more playoff magic left in him, 10 years after winning the Conn Smythe. We've seen in other series around the league how important timely scoring is from often unheralded or unexpected players. The Big Cat's run since 2020 in elimination games is the stuff of legend: 10-0, six of the wins by shutout. A rundown of 1 to 8 in all four divisions, plus the 16-team postseason field for this upcoming season. Biggest flaw(s): Consistency and resiliency. Offseason keys for eliminated teams, Sean Allen: Panthers in six They're the NHL's top-scoring team for a reason, having been consistently outstanding offensively since Game 1. NHL playoff bracket 2022: Full schedule, TV channels, scores for postseason | Sporting News Canada -156 BUF -175 LAK -127 Thu, 7:30p CAR DET CHI 2/26, 11:00a NYI WIN 2/26, 12:30p LAK NYR. Physicality gets ratcheted up in the playoffs, and Wilson has shown the ability in the past to turn a series with one big injurious hit. That's always been ingrained in the culture of every good team I've been on here. Bold prediction: Coach Dean Evason bucks tradition by not naming a playoff starter in net, opting to alternate between Fleury and Talbot instead. Not too shabby. Kavanagh: Blues in seven What do the Stars have to lose? That mindset is critical when every team out there is looking to unseat the champions. Obviously not. Once the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchups are set, hockey fans worldwide can start creating and submitting brackets outlining their predictions for each playoff series online. As Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said: Their problem offensively was not having elite goal-scorers. NHL odds, picks, and predictions for the Calgary Flames at Vegas Golden Knights on February 23. Matiash: Avalanche in six La Greca: Hurricanes in six While Dallas has every reason to feel good about its top point-getters, in a tight playoff series the secondary scoring often puts teams over the top. Also note that wild-card teams are listed according to which playoff bracket they're playing in (the Capitals, for example, are in the Atlantic). They'll need every bit of his experience and ability to slow the Avalanche down. Artemi Panarin averaged 1.28 points per game. When things aren't going Boston's way -- when the Bruins struggle to score a goal or give up a bad one -- can they persevere and push back? It's easy to talk about Minnesota's goaltending and offensive prowess, but Brodin has been helping facilitate all that with locked-in defensive play (and he's no slouch with the puck either, registering a career high in points this season). But breaks are only breaks if one capitalizes on them, and the Rangers have shown an impressive resiliency. La Greca: Avalanche in five The Predators can score well enough, but how well they can execute team defense and keep the puck out of their own net will be the key. We just don't go away, regardless of the score and regardless of where the game is. Each player had some solid stretches late in the Calgary series, but those four have combined for only five goals thus far in the playoffs. Hosts Linda Cohn and Emily Kaplan bring their hockey expertise and passion for the sport, discussing the latest news around the league as well as interviewing the biggest names both on and off the ice. Metro: CAR | NYR Colorado's penalty kill (only 73.1%) and goaltending (see above) have underwhelmed, and would be the most likely potential issues against Edmonton. Biggest flaw(s): Defensive chemistry, and the penalty kill. Goalie Tristan Jarry, who had an outstanding regular season, has been sidelined with a broken foot that he's in the process of rehabbing. They're very ordinary on the back end without him. Bob Wischusen: Panthers in seven Kristen Shilton: Lightning in six The Hurricanes had their best success on high-danger chances, scoring eight high-danger goals against the Rangers goaltender, the second-most allowed in the second round. This postseason has been different because of how strong that duo's defensive habits are. Atlantic: FLA | TOR This series against Colorado could see each team's top talents canceling each other out. He had 23 goals and 28 assists and led all Capitals forwards in goals scored above average. No disrespect intended to Sebastian Aho, but the Rangers didn't have to face an elite offensive player like Kucherov in their series against the Hurricanes. You could put Nurse here, and say he hasn't been an obvious difference-maker for the Oilers (to the degree a top-pairing defender usually is). Rick DiPietro: Panthers in seven Messier: Rangers in six Case for a Stanley Cup run: This is Edmonton Oilers Version 2.0. MacKinnon's contributions will be massive for the Avs. Bold prediction: Boston uses its shutdown capabilities to bounce a high-octane offensive opponent in the first round. Center Ross Colton, who scored the only goal in their Cup-clinching game last summer against the Canadiens, has played the majority of his minutes with Brandon Hagel, whom the Lightning acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline. Unsurprisingly, Florida has also produced excellent special-teams numbers (including with its top-10 power play). Did he skid at the end of this season? And there's the Leafs' excellent special teams, including the NHL's best power play and a penalty kill that is nearly as likely to score short-handed as to get scored on. We've graded all 32 teams -- including one A+ and two F's -- and announced the winners of our own batch of awards . Biggest flaw(s): Defense, and goaltending. He's both their last line of defense and their catalyst, as the Rangers feed off his performances when opponents tip the ice. There is no such problem for the Lightning. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are one of the NHL's most dynamic offensive duos. The Blues do have scoring talents, including Jordan Kyrou and Vladimir Tarasenko, but with more limited chances in tight-checking postseason games, St. Louis will have to really focus on the defensive details to avoid a letdown. . Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? The format is a set bracket that is . They're finding ways to win, finding ways to survive and I think they do it again here. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? Bold prediction: Shesterkin pitches two shutouts in the opening round as the Rangers advance. Subscribe to ESPN+ NHL playoff series odds: St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Odds provided by BetMGM Blues +130 vs. Wild -150 Easily the most polarizing series in the Western Conference, both St. Louis and. Case for a Stanley Cup run: Colorado is a beast. The Rangers had their share of breaks. ESPN revealed its top five most likely playoff . NHL Playoff Predictions 2022 Matchups EASTERN CONFERENCE Playoff Round 1 #1 seed Florida Panthers vs #8 seed Washington Capitals Florida wins (4-1) #2 seed Carolina Hurricanes vs #7 seed Boston Bruins Carolina wins (4-2) Metropolitan Division Match-up #2 New York Rangers vs #3 Pittsburgh Penguins New York wins (4-2) Atlantic Division Match-up TB | WSH All things being equal, Colorado boasts the deeper team. Bold prediction: The Oilers win their first playoff series since 2017 before bowing out to Calgary. Why? Adam Fox, last year's Norris winner, had a strong encore. If he finally emerges in this series, that's an edge for the Avalanche as well. How they got here: Defeated Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3, defeated Florida Panthers 4-0. Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023 Time: 10:00 p.m. 2021-22 NHL Predictions Updated after every game. There's an argument to be made that Kucherov is the best power-play performer in the NHL, and he has lived up to that with seven points with the man advantage. Long playoff runs result in short offseasons to follow. If he's diminished, so are the Caps' Cup chances -- significantly. Knight: Flames in six Again, a criticism of Calgary this season is like using one of those eyepieces to search for a flaw on a gorgeously cut diamond. Kane is a future Hall of Famer and arguably the best men's American hockey player of all time. There were times when Carolina created chaos around Shesterkin's crease but couldn't find the rebounds he'd leave. John Buccigross examines the historical run the Tampa Bay Lightning have had over the past two seasons. The Penguins' offense is also struggling, with an ice-cold power play and players such as Rust mired in slumps. He's the club's leading scorer, averaging more than a point a game, and eats important minutes. They could use some more from him, especially at five-on-five. The Lightning have great depth down the middle of the ice with Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos and Anthony Cirelli, electric scoring potential in Nikita Kucherov and an excellent defenseman who leads by example in Victor Hedman. Knight: Hurricanes in six Biggest flaw(s): The fact that the Kings still managed to make the playoffs without Doughty is a testament to how well they played before his injury. Colorado's big three has produced 17 goals and 31 points in 10 games. 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