Of all the big four sports that looked the most different during the height of the pandemic, the Stanley Cup Playoffs looked the most different. The NBA also went to a bubble and didn’t have fans and the majority of the NFL and MLB season was played in empty stadiums. The Stanley Cup Playoffs however almost need those fans, the towel-waving, rocking a color scheme, and so on. So far, most arenas are back to a decent capacity that can only grow from here.
There are many takeaways just on that aspect alone but the First Round has given the casual hockey fan a lot to think about. Some of the matchups have already concluded while others are just beginning but if there are a few themes that stand out thus far they would be the following. Top-line play affecting the rest of the lineup, teams aren’t better on paper but match up well with their opponents, and puck movement is unbeatable. Some of the matchups have only proven this point.
Capitals – Bruins
This series has to be the greatest example of the significance of a great top line that can find the back of the net in the playoffs. The Capitals’ top line struggled, with Alexander Ovechkin scoring the lines only two goals this series. The Bruins’ top line of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron scored three goals in Game Five alone. Aside from the goals that line has provided, the presence has allowed the rest of the unit to find the right line combinations, particularly, when the team acquired Taylor Hall at the trade deadline and knew they could find a backend shift to slide him into.
This series wouldn’t have been dominated by the Bruins, especially the last two games without the entire team playing well, which they did. The defense has been great all season but the speed on the unit allows the unit to cover passing lanes and eliminate odd-man rushes, two aspects of the Capitals offense which were vital to their success. This series, in particular, showed us a changing of the guard from Zdeno Chara to Charlie McAvoy, who not only became the top defenseman for the Bruins after Chara’s departure but in the greater sense has displayed the transition for defensemen from a bigger, enforcing variety to the faster, two-way prototype. The Bruins essentially outplayed the Capitals on both ends of the ice and surprised many by ending this series in five games.
Penguins – Islanders
The Islanders are not better than the Penguins, or any of the playoff teams in the East Division for that matter. The problem for the Penguins is that they match up well against what they like to do, especially on the offensive end of the ice. The Islanders have great goaltending (both Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin have been incredible this season) but have a great defense with three great pairings. The defense is able to cut off many of the Penguins’ angles through the neutral zone and make Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, and Jake Geuntzel earn their goals in the offensive zone (rather than on odd-man rushes).
The Penguins still have the slight edge in this series in large part because of their scoring depth. The team can find goals from Jeff Carter, Jason Zucker, or even Kris Letang from the point to overwhelm even the best of defenses. This series has been determined by the backend goal-scorers, with both teams relying on the third or fourth line as the top scorers are constantly blanked by the top pairings of defense.
Avalanche – Blues
This series wasn’t a fair fight, to begin with. The Blues barely made it to the playoffs with their lack of depth constantly costing them. The Avalanche, on the other hand, were the Presidents’ Trophy winners and have looked as such for the majority of the season. The Avalanche have arguably the best top line in the NHL when you include Cale Makar and Devon Toews being able to make plays from the point. Aside from the top line, the defense is healthy and deep enough to eliminate an offense for 60 minutes. In the end, this series played out as many expected it would, the Blues could have won one game but the Avalanche looks like the best team in the NHL, both with their puck movement and overall play. A Presidents’ Trophy winner hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in over a decade will they end the drought?
Golden Knights – Wild
The Golden Knights have controlled this series primarily on the backs of their goaltending and defense. This might sound odd for a fan that hasn’t watched Vegas this season but they have been led by Marc-Andre Fleury who has been dominant in the net as well as a great defense, led by Alec Martinez and Shea Theodore. The offense has also been able to find goals throughout the forwards unit but the ability to take away the speed of the Wild has given them the series control, with a 3-1 series lead.
The Wild are down in this series but not out. The Wild are still playing great defense, the question is if Cam Talbot is the answer in the net. Moreover, can the Wild find scoring throughout their lineup? Vegas has done a great job limiting young scorers like Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kevin Fiala’s scoring presence, and the Wild need to find a way to find more later line scoring. These issues present the Wild with a tough road for the next three games and an unlikelihood of them even being able to mount a comeback at all.
Panthers – Lightning
This series has honestly been defined by the Lightning, how did we underestimate them? The Lightning are the reigning Stanley Cup Champion and many didn’t even think they would advance in the series against the Panthers. There were a few things that weren’t considered in making this prediction. For starters, Nikita Kucherov returned to the lineup and was not only ready to play and start instantly on the top line but led to the Lightning’s next major attribute.
The Lightning have been incredible in their passing game, especially with Kucherov back, especially on the power play. Tampa Bay has been able to run up the score in this series primarily because of the offense, which we knew would be effective, and in large part due to the goaltending of both teams. The Lightning possesses a world-class goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy while the Panthers are still unsure of who should start their playoff games, resulting in lopsided games and a 3-1 series lead for Tampa Bay. The series is not over yet for the Panthers but it certainly feels like it.
Hurricanes – Predators
This has to be another great example of a team that is far inferior matching up well with their opponent. The Nashville Predators are not better than the Hurricanes but they have a good defense and a goalie that can take out any offense with Juuse Saros. The Hurricanes have depth on both ends of the ice and won the first two games easily but the last two have been overtime defeats in large part because of the goaltending of Juuse Saros. It’s unclear how far the Predators can push this series or if they call upset the Hurricanes. The lesson to take from this series is to not count out teams that have the ability to match up with what their opponent does.
Oilers – Jets
This has been an embarrassment for the Oilers throughout their roster. They are trailing 3-0 in the series and are likely going to be swept by a team that many thought they would handle easily to advance to the next round. If the Oilers lose (which seems a bit likely) there will be deeper questions about this team. For starters, can they win with both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two more than talented scorers but costing the team a lot of their salary cap room. Moreover, how can they reconfigure a roster to take advantage of some of the talents they possess? This series has been a testament to their inability to score on the third and fourth line and some questionable defensemen which only worsen with Mike Smith as the starting goaltender.
This isn’t meant to discredit the Jets, who have earned every ounce of the 3-0 series lead. The Jets have been led by Connor Hellebuyck, who stepped up in the first three games as the starting goaltender. Likewise, the defense has been able to limit some of the best scorers in the game. Ultimately, the Jets were discredited entering this series because of their late-season struggles, but those struggles have been a large consequence of Nikolaj Ehlers being injured. Ehlers has not only refueled the top line again, but he has also made the entire offense great with his presence on the ice helping the backend. They not only look poised to advance but Winnipeg can make noise in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Maple Leafs – Canadiens
This series has only played two games thus far. The Canadiens won the first game and Maple Leafs won the following game. There aren’t many takeaways from this series but personally, I believed the Canadiens would upset the Leafs. Granted, the Leafs have the better roster and should easily advance, especially against a struggling Canadiens team. The big reason simply is Carey Price having the ability to dominate in the net. Jack Campbell has been good for the Maple Leafs but do you truly trust him for the Stanley Cup Playoffs? The Canadiens are going to make this a series and have the talent to fuel the upset. It’s easy to neglect them when making predictions but they match up well against Toronto.
