2022 NHL Round 1 Playoffs Recap
Eastern Division
Western Division
3/4 correct thanks to Colorado, Edmonton and Calgary
Round 1 total – 7/8 correct which is two standard deviations above the mean
Eastern Conference Round 2 Playoff Series
Florida Panthers (Atlantic Division #1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic Division #3)
Regular Season records: Florida 58-18-6, 122 points; Tampa Bay 51-23-8, 110 points
Head-to-Head matchups for 2021-2022: Florida split four games against Tampa Bay (2-2) and outscored the Lightning 19-15.
Panthers advanced to Round 2 by beating the the Washington Capitals in six games. First NHL playoff series win for Florida since reaching the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals (generation waited 26 years). Florida was surprised by the Capitals in Game 1 and were sleep walking in Game 5, before flipping the switch on offense. Panthers won’t have that luxury in Round 2, due to the experience and quality depth of the Lightning roster. LW Carter Verhaeghe is currently the leading scorer in the playoffs with six goals. Claude Giroux is paying dividends as a trading deadline acquisition, with three goals and four assists. Panthers will need to adjust on the fly against Tampa Bay to mitigate any momentum shifts. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will have to forget the 2021 playoff series when Tampa Bay scored on him at will in Game 4, to subsequently get the hook and benching until Florida was eliminated in six games.
Tampa Bay moved onto to Round 2 by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. Lightning showed some onions by winning Game 6 at home and Game 7 on the road. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy found another gear and concentration level for the last three games of that series, and is poised to shut the door on the crease he will be manning. Four solid lines of forwards and the steady play of defenseman Victor Hedman in Round 1, has NHL experts saying “here we go again with the Lightning, time for their three-peat.” When the stakes were the biggest in Game 7 on 5/14/22, little known LW Nicholas Paul scored two huge goals. Tampa Bay keeps coming each playoff game with their entire roster and they aren’t stopping until a team outplays them. Easier said than done.
Prediction: Lightning wins the series in six games due to their scouting of Bobrovsky and slowing down the highest scoring offense in the NHL.
Carolina Hurricanes (Metropolitan Division #1) vs. New York Rangers (Metropolitan Division #2)
Regular Season records: Carolina 54-20-8, 116 points; New York Rangers 52-24-6, 110 points
Head-to-Head matchups in 2021-2022: Carolina won all three games played and outscored the Rangers 14-8 in total goals
Hurricanes advanced to Round 2 by beating the Boston Bruins in seven games. Carolina used their home ice advantage to win Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. Road games at Boston clearly showed that the Hurricanes struggle with on-ice matchups, when they have to make line changes first. Biggest strength is team depth, due to having twelve players scoring goals in Round 1 and fifteen players chipping in with assists. Goalie Antti Raanta bounced back from injury in Game 1, to backstop a steady defense and currently has a 2.37 goals against average. Head coach Rob Brind’Amour will have his squad ready to play and trying to recapture their Round 2 magic from the 2019 NHL playoffs.
New York Rangers moved onto Round 2 by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games. Pittsburgh led the Round 1 series 3 games to 1 game, and all of the New York sports media was suggesting that head coach Gerard Gallant bench goalie Igor Shesterkin for a team spark. Gallant stuck with Shesterkin and was rewarded with 39 saves on 42 shots in Game 7 to advance in overtime. Rangers are playing sound team hockey and their defense is underrated. The big three of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox will continue to fill up the scoring sheet, but their depth will be exposed against the speedy Hurricanes. If there’s a Eastern Conference goalie that could steal a series in Round 2, its definitely Shesterkin.
Prediction: Most entertaining series of Round 2 and the Hurricanes advance in seven games due to timely special teams play.
Western Conference Round 2 Playoff Series
Calgary Flames (Pacific Division #1) vs. Edmonton Oilers (Pacific Division #2)
Regular Season records: Calgary 50-21-11, 111 points; Edmonton 49-27-6, 104 points
Head-to-Head matchups in 2021-2022: Calgary split the four games played (2-2) and outscored Edmonton 17-16 in total goals
Flames advanced to Round 2 by beating the Dallas Stars in seven games. Showed their offensive firepower and depth with Johnny Gaudreau (2 goals, 6 assists), Matthew Tkachuk (1 goal, 5 assists), and Elias Lindholm (3 goals, 2 assists). Jacob Markstrom is currently leading all playoff goalies with a stingy 1.53 goals against average. Nice to see Markstrom flourishing on the big stage, after toiling on numerous bad Canuck teams from 2013-2020. Calgary showed patience and resilience in Game 7 against Dallas, by unleashing 67 quality shots on goal and waiting for a mercurial goal from Gaudreau. This squad is just getting warmed up.
Edmonton moved onto Round 2 by beating the Los Angeles Kings in seven games. Offense was led by Connor McDavid (four goals, ten assists) and Evander Kane (seven goals, two assists). Leon Draisaitl had quiet statistical line of five goals and four assists. Mike Smith sidestepped father time yet again to start all seven games and ended up with a 2.29 goals against average. Picked a perfect time to throw a shutout in Game 7 against the Kings. Now that the Round 1 jitters and historical jinx are over, the Oilers can let their big guns skate freely on offense and see what happens in this series that all of Alberta, Canada will be watching.
Prediction: Will be a back and forth series with a ton of offensive skill and hoping it isn’t decided by a simple mistake that cost Edmonton a three peat in 1986. Flames win in seven games due to depth and having the best goalie in the Western Conference in crunch time (Markstrom).
Colorado Avalanche (Central Division #1) vs. St. Louis Blues (Central Division #3)
Regular Season records: Colorado 56-19-7, 119 points; St. Louis 49-22-11, 109 points
Head-to-Head matchups in 2021-2022: Colorado won two of the three games played and outscored St. Louis 12-11 in total goals
Avalanche advanced to Round 2 by beating the Nashville Predators in four games. Colorado was the most impressive team in Round 1 due to having a healthy roster and clicking in all three areas (offense, defense, goaltending). They look like the best team in the league, but now they get to deal with their albatross, Round 2 of the NHL playoffs. Haven’t advanced past Round 2 since 2002, and have recent history working against them from 2019-2021. Will head coach Jared Bednar adjust to the forward depth that St. Louis has? Will some Avalanche role players step up to get over this hump (Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin, J.T. Compher)? Need Nathan MacKinnon to continue to play with controlled anger and put the biscuit in the basket, since he typically disappears in Round 2 scoring sheets.
Blues moved onto Round 2 by beating the Minnesota Wild in six games. Jordan Binnington provided timely goaltending from Game 4 thru Game 6. Ryan O’Reilly looks motivated to match his 2019 playoff run with five goals and three assists. David Perron (five goals, four assists) and Vladimir Tarasenko (five goals, one assist) are gelling at the right time. St. Louis currently leads all NHL playoff teams by only allowing 1.67 goals per game average. Will the Blues defensemen corps be able to slow down the juggernaut Avalanche offense? That will be a huge factor in this series.
Prediction: Bruising series of two teams that are almost a mirror image of each other. Avalanche win in six games due to being efficient on the power play and waking up all of their offensive players.
Same bat time, same bat channel in two weeks. I’ll review the results of the NHL Stanley Cup Round 2 Playoff series and try again for the Eastern and Western Conference Championships.
