The battles in the 1st Round are all over and to be honest it was quite underwhelming compared to most years in the NHL Playoffs. Vegas and San Jose coasted to easy victories, Nashville and Pittsburgh did what was expected in fairly easy matchups and the Lightning won in a snooze fest of a series. The Bruins and Leafs are the only ones who lived up to the hype and provided us all with a thrilling game 7 series in part due to the pesky Leafs failing to go away.
Let's hope round 2 brings some more exciting series and the match-ups are certainly setup that way with many storylines to keep the media busy and fans entertained. Lets breakdown the betting angles for each round 2 matchup and make some money at the best NHL sportsbooks Betonline and Bovada.
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Western Conference 2nd Round Matchups
Nashville Predators
1st in the Central
53-18-11 (117 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Predators Won 3-1-1
Top Playoff Performers
Preds -140 To Win at BetOnline
Winnipeg Jets
2nd in the Central
43-30-9 (95 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Jets Lost 2-3-0
Top Playoff Performers
Jets +120 To Win at BetOnline
Round 1 Recap:
Nashville beat Colorado 4 games to 2:
The Predators ran into a tenacious Colorado team who had injuries but fought for every game in this series. Nashville needed to work hard at both ends of the rink to grind out their wins. Rinne did not have his best playoff series, which is a good sign that they still pulled of the series win, but he will need to improve in the second round. The defence played well in the defensive zone but only scored one goal all series. I suspect that this will not last long, Subban and Josi both had more than 50 points each in the regular season.
Winnipeg beat Minnesota 4 game to 1:
The Jets played like they have all year, free flowing and high scoring. The home crowd "whiteout" factor seem to take the Jets to another level when they play in Winnipeg, which does intimidate the visiting team. They used their depth at both forward and defence while getting solid goaltending by the ever reliable Hellebuyck. The Wild stole one game when Hellebuyck was well below average but he bounced back in the next two games, shutting out Minnesota in the final two games.
Round 2 Preview
This match up should be the Western final but with the current playoff system, two of the best teams in the west meed in round 2 and one is going home early. This series will have two great home crowds doing everything to support their teams so I am expecting a crazy atmosphere for every game. Nashville’s tough first round match up versus the Avalanche reminded them that playoff hockey is much harder than the regular season to win games. The Jets had a much easier time with the Wild but continued to play like they have all year long. This series will be a great one and it will go the distance. Nashville will take this in seven games because of their depth on defence.
Series Prediction - Nashville Predators in 7 games
- 1Depth was key to Nashville’s first round win with the likes of third liners Watson and Sissons leading the team in scoring and I expect it to carry them past the Wild as well.
- 2Filip Forsberg stepped up to the occasion big time in the 1st round when his team needed him to. He scored the big goals that changed the momentum of games and the series. With him finally playing to his full potential the Preds look damn tough to beat.
- 3The defence stood tall and played physical hockey. They were solid at the defensive end of the rink. When they start to pinch in offensively, which I believe will come in round 2, the Predators will be hard to stop.
Vegas Golden Knights
1st in the Pacific
51-24-7 (109 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Knights Won 3-0-1
Top Playoff Performers
Knights -128 at BetOnline
San Jose Sharks
3rd in the Pacific
45-27-10 (100 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Sharks Lost 1-2-1
Top Playoff Performers
Sharks +108 at BetOnline
Golden Knights vs Sharks Series Preview
Round 1 Recap:
Las Vegas beat Los Angeles 4 games to 0
This was a much tighter series than the four game sweep suggests. Every game was decided by just one goal. Marc-Andre Fleury was the star of the series for the Golden Knights and really made the difference between the pipes. The speed and discipline of the Golden Knights also caught the Kings off guard during this series. They simply do not make any dumb mistakes which is exceptional for a team of castaways.
San Jose beat Anaheim 4 games to 0
The Sharks showed they were a complete team in the opening round disposing of the Ducks like they were a non-playoff team looking for the top draft pick. The Sharks were fast, they were physical, they were technical, and they scored in bunches. This is a team who looks like they are ready for another deep run to the Cup finals.
Round 2 Preview
During the regular season, the Golden Knights won the series 3 games to 1 with San Jose winning their only game in overtime. The Golden Knights surprised me in the first round as they have all season long. If Fleury continues to be the best player on the ice, Las Vegas has a legit shot in this series. That being said the Sharks were very impressive in the first round with the more lopsided sweep. The Sharks did not rely on one player stepping up, the entire team did their job and played their roles. My money is once again against Las Vegas and on the Sharks to win this series.
Series Prediction - San Jose Sharks in 6 Games
Why Sharks Win This Series
- 1Martin Jones was second in save percentage of all first round starters. He will continue to be a solid performer in the 2nd round.
- 2The Sharks used and relied heavily on all their players in the first round. They all stepped up to the task but Couture and Pavelski will start to take the lead and the depth of the San Jose Sharks will overmatch the Knights 2nd and 3rd lines.
- 3Brett Burns knows how to shut down an opposition team’s top scorer. He's had an up and down year but he's back to his old self logging 24 minutes a game in the 1st round. With the Golden Knights lack of depth, Burns’ job will become easier and he will start putting up some big points.
Eastern Conference 2nd Round Matchups
Washington Capitals
1st in the Metro
49-26-7 (105 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Caps Tied 2-2-0
Top Playoff Performers
Caps +105 to Win at BetOnline
Pittsburgh Penguins
2nd in Metro
47-29-6 (100 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Pens Tied 2-2-0
Top Playoff Performers
Pens -125 to Win at BetOnline
Capitals vs Penguins - Round 2 Series Preview
Round 1 Recap:
Washington beat Columbus 4 games to 2:
After losing the first two games at home, the Capitals won the next four games to take the series. This series was a close one, with four of the games going to overtime and one of them to double overtime. This series changed fortunes when Washington switched goalies and started Holtby between the pipes in game three (This was the goalie we all thought should start the series but did not). Holtby made the big saves when needed and in turn, inspired Ovechkin and company to start scoring the big goals in support.
Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia 4 games to 2:
The Penguins are on a mission for a three-peat of Stanley Cup wins. Their offence is fully focused on that, just ask the Flyer goalies during the last round. In game six they played without Malkin and still managed to score 8 goals. Murray did not have his best series and was a bit inconsistent in goal but made some key saves. Pittsburgh, as a team, will improve as the playoffs go on which is not a good news, especially for the Caps up next. However, they may have lost a key player due to injury in Malkin, we will have to keep on an that news moving forward.
Round 2 Preview
This series will be described by the media as Crosby versus Ovechkin once again, but these games will be more than that. Every hockey fan on the planet is excited about this series as there will be big saves, big hits and plenty of goals. The biggest point, for the Caps, will be to prove to themselves and the hockey world that they can win a big series in the playoffs and make a run for the Cup, the Penguins have been their kryptonite every time. The Penguins are authentic when it comes to playoff hockey and know how to win the big games as they have proven over the last two Cup runs. This series will go to seven exciting games with Crosby and the Penguins wining and moving onto the Eastern semi-finals. The Caps will go home again wondering what they need to do to win a Cup and mor eimportantly how they can knock off Crosby and the mighty Pens.
Capitals vs Penguins Prediction - Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 Games
Why Penguins Win This Series
- 1Sidney Crosby, is there anything more this player can do for the Penguins? Sid the Kid is Mr. Clutch in big games. He has shown this while playing for Canada and Pittsburgh. Can any player or team shut him down? The answer I believe is NO.
- 2The Pens are deep with forward depth. The Pens have many more weapons to help Crosby. Malkin is the obvious one but when he got hurt, players like Guentzel, Hornqvist and Kessel provided the points.
- 3Offensive support from the defensemen. Letang and Dumoulin are jumping into the play at every occasion to apply pressure in the offensive end of the rink, that makes this team incredibly hard to shutdown offensively.
Tampa Bay Lightning
1st in the Atlantic
54-23-5 (113 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Lightning Lost 1-3-0
Top Playoff Performers
Boston Bruins
2nd in the Atlantic
50-20-12 (112 points)
Head to Head Matchup
Bruins Won 3-1-0
Top Playoff Performers
Lightning vs TBA - Round 2 Series Preview
Round 1 Recap:
Tampa Bay beat New Jersey 4 games to 1.
The Lightning were striking hot in the regular season and they showed that strength again during the first round. The Devils did put up a quality fight but ultimately where no match. With a few more key signings they will be a stronger force next season. Tampa Bay got solid goaltending from Vasilevskiy who was still, unfortunately, not at his best. The defence, led by Hedman, were physical. The supporting cast picked up the slack early in the series while Kucherov grew in stature as the series wore on.
Boston beat Toronto 4 games to 3.
Boston won a very hard-fought series against Toronto which was hands down the most exciting series of the 1st round. The Bruins top line of Pastrnak, Bergeron and Marchant were the best line on the ice for both teams and they made the difference in this series. This line led the series in points, played well offensively and shut down Auston Matthews at the other end of the rink. The one downside for the Bruins was the play of Tukka Rask who had a poor series in goal and allowed many soft goals on very few shots. He will need to improve next round especially against the high-octane offence of the Bolts.
Round 2 Preview
This series between Tampa Bay and Boston will be a long, high scoring and feisty series I predict. This will be a battle between the top lines on both teams who will go head-to–head for the entire series. The Bruins Bergeron line and the Bolts Kucherov line will both have to score but they may end up cancelling each other out. Both teams will look to their second and third lines to take their opportunities to score and thus make the difference in this evenly matched series. This will be another great match-up for neutral fans to watch, the supporters will be on edge in every game. Tampa Bay will win this tight series in 7 games mainly because Vasilevskiy will steal a game or two and the speed of the Lightning will start to expose the ever slowing Zdeno Chara.
Bruins vs Lightning Prediction - Lightning in 7 Games
Why Tampa Bay Win This Series
- 1Nikita Kucherov is the key player to this offence. He was the best player in the first round and all year for the Bolts. He will be very tough to stop for the Bruins.
- 2Andrei Vasilevskiy had one of the better save percentages in the first round. He made the big saves when his team needed them and will outplay Tukka Rask.
- 3The offensive depth of the Lightning is far superior to the Bruins who remain a rather one line offensive team. The second and third lines scored big goals for Tampa Bay all year and continued in the 1st round with Killhorn leading the way. It will be hard for Boston’s top line to shut them all down.
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