Stanley Cup Playoffs: Top Seeds Primed For Upsets
By Adam Savard
As the Stanley Cup playoffs approach you’ll hear less about the race for wild card positions and more about seeding and first round series coming into focus. As the opening round takes shape it’s interesting to consider which of the top playoff seeds could be facing a first round elimination despite having one of the strongest regular seasons. While the bracket isn’t finalized there are a few teams I can see having a short run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In the Eastern Conference the top four teams heading into Sunday nights games are the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and the New York Islanders. All four teams have traded the conference lead among each other for most of the season. The bottom half of the bracket doesn’t seem much of a threat to the top three, but the New York Islanders face a matchup problem with the Washington Capitals.
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Washington trails the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan division and if they can make that up would be looking at the 2 vs 3 bracket against the Islanders. What puts the Islanders at a disadvantage is the slow return of Kyle Okposo. Before his eye injury Okposo was helping to power one of the more potent offenses in the league. But with one goal in his last five games, Okposo needs to find that scoring touch to counter Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
The other nightmare in this matchup is special teams. The Capitals have the second best power play in the NHL which the Islanders 28th ranked penalty kill would contend with. The New York Islanders have been very good all season but if they draw the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup playoffs, their season could come to an early ending.
I find the Western Conference so much more interesting in terms of upsets. That’s even assuming the Los Angeles Kings don’t find their way to the Stanley Cup playoffs to defend their championship. The top four teams are the Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks. If the playoff positioning holds I can see two of these four facing a first round exit.
Vancouver is in the more precarious position. The third playoff team from the Pacific Division are the never-say-die Calgary Flames. The Flames fearless nature and team speed will be a nightmare for anyone to contend with and if Ryan Miller can’t find his way back from injury Vancouver could be the victim of a terrible first round matchup.
Secondly, I have a very difficult time buying into the St. Louis Blues. Despite a top-ten power play and penalty kill the Blues have been plagued by recent early exits from the Stanley Cup playoffs. If they draw arguably the hottest team in the NHL in the Minnesota Wild, they are facing another one. Minnesota was a victim of its own goaltending until Devan Dubnyk was acquired to save the season. Now playing at the level expected from October Minnesota isn’t going to be an easy team to eliminate for anyone, particularly a team with its own playoff demons.
If it wasn’t for the same inconsistent goaltending I’d argue you could see a third upset out West. I still believe the Anaheim Ducks are vulnerable to a team that can match their physicality and the Winnipeg Jets can do that. That would be a very entertaining series to watch, perhaps the best of the Stanley Cup playoffs first round.
The unpredictability of the Stanley Cup playoffs is what makes them fun. Lower seeds advance quite often and have won the Stanley Cup. When you starting filling out your Stanley Cup playoff brackets be mindful of the upsets that are bound to happen. Check back with me after the seeds are set and I’ll give you my definitive thoughts on first round winners and losers.
Next: Can The Pittsburgh Penguins Rebound In Time?
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