LOS ANGELES – I have been making playoff predictions in various places for over a 
decade and this is the first year where the first round is a crapshoot. Virtually every series is up for grabs.
WASHINGTON VS TORONTO
The Capitals are the best team in the East. Washington is built like their Captain Alexander Ovechkin. Big, fast, skilled and nasty. Toronto’s turnaround this season has been remarkable. The Leafs rookies Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander took the NHL by storm. The veterans who have survived last season’s purge have also contributed. Toronto’s fairy tale season ends here. Washington’s brilliant goalie Brandon Holtby will not let Toronto win this series. If Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals are going to choke it will be in the second round per usual. CAPITALS IN 5
PITTSBURGH VS COLUMBUS
The defending Stanley Cup Champions enter this year’s playoffs banged up. They will be even more banged up after this series. The Blue Jackets will try everything legal and illegal to stop Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Columbus net minder Sergei Bobrovsky has had an amazing season but he has not proven himself in the playoffs. Penguin’s goalie Matt Murray has. Columbus’ number one defenseman Zach Werenski will play. The Penguin’s number one Kris Letang will not. The Penguins should be used to playing without Kris Letang by now. PENGUINS IN 6
MONTREAL VS NEW YORK
The Montreal Canadiens vs New York Rangers series is a battle of goaltending royalty. The Ranger’s Henrik Lunqvist will battle Montreal’s Carey Price. Lunqvist has had more team success while Carey has achieved more individually. Both have looked at their very best and shockingly mediocre this year. The Rangers offense has cooled down after its torrid start but is still lethal. The Canadien’s Max Pacioretty has over thirty goals but Paul Byron is next on the scoring list. Brandon Gallagher and Andrew Shaw will need to step up. New York’s defense has been maligned for its age. Rookie Brady Skjei has given them a youthful shot in the arm. Montreal’s defense is no spring chicken especially Shea Weber, who showed his age last spring. RANGERS IN 6
OTTAWA VS BOSTON
The Ottawa Senators vs Boston Bruins is a series where both teams are happy to be there yet both are expecting more. The Senators have dealt with adversity all season. Senator’s goalie Craig Anderson’s wife’s battle with cancer has galvanized this organization. The Senators are playing as a team this year. Superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson is actually playing defense. Losing Karlsson’s partner Marc Methot will hurt Ottawa. Boston has less defensive depth than Ottawa and will be missing Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo. Patrice Bergeron and Brad ( The Rat) Marchand gives the Bruins more star power up front but the Senators have more depth. SENATORS IN 7
CHICAGO VS NASHVILLE
This is the best Chicago Blackhawk team since their 2009, this generation’s first Cup. Head Coach Joel Quenneville has sprinkled the young kids (Nick Schmaltz Ryan Hartman) in with the Hall of Famers (Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa) to make a lethal offensive mix. Johnny Oduya’s return to Chicago has turned the Chicago defense, a possible weakness, into strength. Nashville is the second best team in the Central. Unfortunately for the Predators, they did not play up to their potential. Their punishment is a rested Chicago dynasty. BLACKHAWKS IN 5
MINNESOTA VS ST LOUIS
The Minnesota Wild had everything going for them this winter. Unfortunately the playoffs are played in the spring. The St. Louis Blues fired their coach (Ken Hitchcock) , traded a top defenseman (Kevin Shattenkirk) and lost a key forward (Robbie Fabbri ) to injury. The Wild’s leadership defenseman Ryan Suter, forward Zach Parise and Head Coach Bruce Boudreau need this series. The Blues do not. Minnesota will need goaltender Devan Dubnyk to outduel the Blues’ backstopper Jake Allen. He will. WILD IN 7
ANAHEIM VS CALGARY
The Anaheim Ducks are poised to make a deep run in this year’s playoffs. The Calgary Flames have not won in Anaheim since they built Disneyland. The Ducks have home ice so it doesn’t look good for Calgary. The Ducks don’t depend on Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry to do everything anymore. Rickard Rakell, Patrick Eaves, Jacob Silfverberg give the Ducks firepower up front. Ryan Kesler is playing like it’s 2012. The Flames Captain Mark Giordano knocked out the Ducks best defenseman Cam Fowler but the Ducks have blueline depth. The Flames will have moments of offense with Sean Monahan and Johnny (Johnny Hockey) Gaudreau and mayhem with Matthew Tkachuk. Just not enough moments. DUCKS IN 6
EDMONTON VS SAN JOSE
The San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers will play in the most entertaining series of the first round. Many people compare this year’s Oilers to the 2007 Penguins. Sidney Crosby’s first playoff team was run out of the playoffs by the Ottawa Senators. The Sharks will not run Connor McDavid’s Oilers out of the playoffs. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are the real deal. The 2007 Penguins did not employ the likes of Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, Zach Kassian that will ensure nobody will be running the Oilers anywhere. The Oilers are peaking at the right time. The Sharks never peaked this year. All world defenseman Brent Burns carried them for awhile as Mr. San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau. Joe Thornton and Logan Couture are not one hundred percent. Oilers goalie Cam Talbot is having the year Shark’s goalie Martin Jones did last year. OILERS IN 7
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