The Stanley Cup playoffs are back. They start tonight. The Carolina Hurricanes will host the New York Islanders for the opening game tonight at 4:30pm PST. Sixteen teams are already out as they did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Of the sixteen remaining teams, one will be crowned the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Champion. This is the most exciting time of the year. Every play matters a lot more. Every hit it bigger. Every save is more spectacular. Even if your team isn’t in it, it is still the most exciting tournament in sports.
The number one seed Boston Bruins will face the the number eight seed Florida Panthers. The Bruins had the best record in the NHL regular season winning the Presidents Trophy. They also set the record for most wins and points in a single season. The Florida Panthers barely made the playoffs winning the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins finished the regular season with a .823 win percentage. The Panthers finished the regular season with a .561 win percentage. The Bruins went 2-1-1 against the Panthers during the regular season. Their last meeting was back on January 28th. The Panthers won that game 4-3 in overtime.
What is on my mind going into this series is that the Presidents trophy winner tends to fall apart in the playoffs. I think it was a long season for the Bruins. It’s going to be tough but they have to prove themselves in the playoffs now. I think the Bruins have a good chance at sweeping the Panthers but if the Panthers put up any resistance and force six or seven games I don’t think the Bruins will make it out of the second round. If the Bruins don’t come out and dominate I think the Panthers could take it. I think that if the Bruins dominate too much in game one the Panthers will probably win game two and go on to win the series.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 2 |
| Florida | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 17 | -2 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bostson | 82 | 65 | 12 | 5 | 135 | 305 | 117 | 128 |
| Florida | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 92 | 290 | 273 | 17 |
Game one of this series is today. Game one will be in Boston. Puck drop is set for 4:30pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning series.
The number four seed Toronto Maple Leafs will play the number six seed Tampa Bay Lightning. Both of these teams comfortably got into the playoffs. The Maple Leafs finished the regular season with a .677 win percentage. The Lightning finished the regular season with a .598 win percentage. The Maple Leafs had a regular season record of 2-0-1 against the Lightning. Their last meeting was on April 11th. Toronto won that game 4-3.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have not proven themselves to be a contender since the last NHL lockout. There is a high expectation that the Maple Leafs won’t make it past the first round again. For a while now the Maple Leafs have had trouble overcoming adversity. It remains to be seen right now if the Maple Leafs should be taken as serious contender. I think both of these teams have what it takes to make a deep run. The Lightning have been in the last three Stanley Cup Finals. If anyone knows what it takes to win or knows how to get there it is them.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 11 | -3 |
| Toronto | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 3 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 98 | 283 | 254 | 29 |
| Toronto | 82 | 50 | 21 | 11 | 111 | 279 | 222 | 57 |
Game one of this series will be on Tuesday, April 18th, 2023. Game one will be in Toronto. Puck drop is set for 4:30pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers series.
The number two seed Carolina Hurricanes will go up against the number seven seed New York Islanders. The Hurricanes made the playoffs after winning the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders barely got in after winning the second to last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes has a win percentage of .689 in the regular season. The Islanders finished the regular season with a .567 win percentage. The Hurricanes went 3-1-0 against the Islanders in the regular season. Their last meeting was on April 2nd. The Hurricanes won that game 2-1.
I think the Hurricanes should have no problem beating the Islanders in this series. I don’t think the Islanders have what it takes to push past the Hurricanes in this series.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| NY Islanders | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 12 | -3 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 113 | 266 | 213 | 53 |
| NY Islanders | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 93 | 242 | 222 | 21 |
Game one of this series will be on tonight. Game one will be in Carolina. Puck drop is set for 4:00pm PST. This will be the first game of the playoffs. The winner of this series will play the winner of the New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers series.
The number three seed New Jersey Devils will face the Number five seed New York Rangers in a series that could be iconic. Both of these teams made the playoffs comfortably. The Devils finished the regular season with a .683 win percentage. The Rangers finished the regular season with a .652 win percentage. The Devils went 3-0-1 against the Rangers during the regular season. Their last meeting was back on March 30th. The Devils won that game 2-1.
I think this will be a tough physical series with the Rangers coming out on top. Honestly a flip of a coin could predict this series just as well as anything else.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 3 |
| NY Rangers | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 14 | -3 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 112 | 291 | 226 | 65 |
| NY Rangers | 82 | 47 | 22 | 13 | 107 | 277 | 219 | 58 |
Game one of this series will be on April 18th. Game one will be in New Jersey. Puck drop is set for 4:00pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders series.
The number three seed Colorado Avalanche will face the the number seven seed Seattle Kraken. The Avalanche are the Stanley Cup defending champions coming into this playoffs. The got their playoff spot after winning the Central Division. This is the Krakens first playoffs. They got the first of two wild card spots in the Western Conference. The Avalanche finished the regular season with a ..665 win percentage. The Kraken finished the regular season with a .610 win percentage. The Kraken went 2-0-1 against the Avalanche during the regular season. Their last meeting was back on March 5th. The Kraken won that game 3-2.
The Avalanche are favored to win this series. I think they should win this series. They have struggled against the Kraken this season though. I think the Kraken will put up a fight but the Avalanche will win.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -2 |
| Seattle | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 82 | 51 | 24 | 7 | 109 | 280 | 226 | 54 |
| Seattle | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 100 | 289 | 256 | 33 |
Game one of this series will be on April 18th. Game one will be in Colorado. Puck drop is set for 7:00pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild series.
The number four seed Dallas Stars will face the the number six seed Minnesota Wild. Both teams made the playoffs fairly easily. The Stars finished the regular season with a .659 win percentage. The Wild finished the regular season with a .682 win percentage. The Stars went 2-0-2 against the Wild during the regular season. Their last meeting was back on February 17th. The Wild won that game 1-2 in overtime.
This should be another good physical series. I think the Stars will win this one. If they have to face the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, I think the Stars have a better chance but neither team will probably make it past Colorado.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 6 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 14 | -6 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 82 | 47 | 21 | 14 | 108 | 285 | 218 | 67 |
| Minnesota | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 103 | 246 | 225 | 21 |
Game one of this series will be tonight. Game one will be in Dallas. Puck drop is set for 6:30pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Colorado Avalanche vs Seattle Kraken series.
The number one seed Vegas Golden Nights will face the the number eight seed Winnipeg Jets. The Golden Knights won the Western Conference and Pacific Division regular season titles on their way to the playoffs. The Winnipeg Jets were able to secure the last wild card spot. The Golden Knights finished the regular season with a .677 win percentage. The Jets finished the regular season with a .579 win percentage. The Golden Knights went 3-0-0 against the Jets during the regular season. Their last meeting was back on December 13th. The Golden Knights won that game 6-5 in overtime.
After the way the Jets regular season went I think that the Golden Knights have a good chance to sweep this series. The Jets kept the regular season games close but couldn’t get an edge. I think thats going to be the same here in the playoffs.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 5 |
| Winnipeg | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 | -5 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas | 82 | 51 | 22 | 9 | 111 | 272 | 229 | 43 |
| Winnipeg | 82 | 46 | 33 | 3 | 95 | 247 | 225 | 22 |
Game one of this series will be on April 18th. Game one will be in Vegas. Puck drop is set for 6:30pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Edmonton Oilers vs LA Kings series.
The number two seed Edmonton Oilers will face the the number five seed Los Angeles Kings. Both of these teams go into the playoffs fairly comfortably.
The Oilers finished the regular season with a .665 win percentage. The Kings finished the regular season with a .634 win percentage. The Oilers went 2-2-0 against the Kings during the regular season. Their last meeting was back on April 4th. The Oilers won that game 3-1.
Both teams have goaltending and defensive issues coming into this series. What I think tips this series in Edmontons favor is their offense and their coach. Their offense has been second to none in the Western Conference the last few seasons. Their coach has a lot of playoff experience in Bakersfield that I think has set him up for success at this level. I think the Oilers were just missing a few pieces that they now have to make a solid playoff run.
2023 regular season head to head record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 10 | -1 |
| Los Angeles | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 1 |
2023 regular season record:
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | 325 | 260 | 65 |
| Los Angeles | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 104 | 280 | 257 | 23 |
Game one of this series will be tonight. Game one will be in Edmonton. Puck drop is set for 7:00pm PST. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Vegas Golden Knights vs Winnipeg Jets series.
I think the finals will be the Edmonton Oilers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. I think a lot of the first round series should be easy for the higher seeds. I think the Lightning and the Rangers will have upsets. I think the oilers can upset the Golden Knights. The other finals matchup that I think could happen is Vegas vs Boston.
Game one of the Hurricanes vs Islanders series has already started. Game one of the Bruins vs Panthers starts here in a few minutes at 4:30pm. Game one of the Stars vs Wild stars at 6:30pm. Game one of the Oilers vs Kings starts at 7:00pm.
Zac Electrifly 