The unique NHL 2021 regular season has come to an end and the playoffs begin this week – who is going to win this year’s Stanley Cup?
The Colorado Avalanche have guaranteed themselves home ice advantage throughout the post-season by winning the President’s Trophy. The last time they did that was also the last time they went on to win the Stanley Cup, back in 2001..
Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Colorado Avalanche
One of the stars for the Avalanche franchise during the regular season has been Mikko Rantanen, who will be looking at the Spelschema Ishockey VM and hoping to be a part of the squad.
With his team leading 66 points (30 goals, 35 assists) in 52 games, the 24-year-old will not only be looking to get his hands on the big prize in the NHL but hoping to be part of the Finland team for the World Championships. Finland won the last tournament back in 2019 but Rantanen was not part of the team. He and his fellow countrymen.
Avalanche face the 2019 champions St Louis Blues in the First Round. The Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild meet in the other tie that will determine the final matchup of the West Division teams in the playoffs.
Whoever comes out on top will be the favourite to reach the Stanley Cup as they will meet the winners of the North Division in the semi-finals. That’s expected to be the Toronto Maple Leafs in what has proven to be an otherwise weak division, consisting of the seven franchises based in Canada.
The Maple Leafs face record Stanley Cup winners the Montreal Canadiens in the first round having come out on top 7-3 in the regular season series.
Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets meet in the other First Round tie with the latter having more wins than any other team versus Toronto this season, though still losing the head-to-head battle 4-6.
The more exciting matchups of the First Round take place on the other half of the draw, which sees the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders meet in what could be a close battle.
The Washington Capitals had been the team to beat at one point during the season but faded award towards the end. Can they find their form again in the best of seven series versus the Boston Bruins?
Nashville’s prize for sneaking into the playoffs in the final games of the season is a tie with the best team in the Central Division – the Carolina Hurricanes. Although the number one seeds are expected to progress, the Predators’ end of season form suggests they could cause an upset in the series.
Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Florida Panthers
Defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning lost their final three games of the regular season and have been dealt a tricky First Round tie with the Florida Panthers, who head into the playoffs on a six-game winning streak.
This is arguably the tie of the round, with the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky icing off against Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, Andrei Vasilevskiy and co.
.
You must be logged in to post a comment.