Vengeance on menu in quarter-finals
Ovechkin’s Capitals will face coach who guided them to Cup then left
Revenge. A dish best served cold. In the icy arenas holding the Stanley Cup conference quarter-finals.
There’s Robin Lehner, traded from Chicago at the deadline because, well, the Blackhawks weren’t going to make playoffs, were they? Now he’s in net for Vegas, taking on the ... Blackhawks. There’s the Washington Capitals, who didn’t take it personally at all that their Cup-winning coach bolted for the Islanders the first chance he got. Now guess who faces who. And there’s Tampa Bay facing the Blue Jackets, who unceremoniously bounced the Lightning in the same round a year ago. Well, 16 months ago to be accurate.
“You worry about your own team, not about who you’re playing,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. Right, said everybody else. It all starts Tuesday. Here’s a look at the eight series, with best guesses as to who wins (this corner went 5-3 in the qualifying round) and some fun facts starting with this one: This is the first time the first round of the NHL playoffs comes second.
FLYERS-CANADIENS
The Flyers went 3-0-0 to win the round robin and earn the top seed. They were probably the healthiest of the top four in the East. They seem in sync. They finished 20 points ahead of Montreal in the regular season. They scored an average of 3.67 goals in the round robin and allowed one a game. That was without their power play even scoring. And the Flyers — yes the Flyers — have a reliable goalie.
The Canadiens’ young group impressed with Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi seemingly having matured through the pandemic. Shea Weber remains a man-mountain on defence. Jeff Petry has two game-winning goals against the Penguins. It could come down to firepower vs. goaltending. The Habs did not score a power-play goal, either. Everything points to Philadelphia. But …
Pick: Canadiens in seven
LIGHTNING-BLUE JACKETS
The Lightning may not be over how they lost to Columbus last season. At this point, they could be without both Steve Stamkos (leg), who missed all of the round robin, and Victor Hedman, injured Saturday, at least to start the series. The power play operated at 40 per cent in the round robin.
Not sure if the Blue Jackets are harder to watch or play against. It’s a brutal form of fun-sucking hockey. The Lightning are built up front like the Leafs, whom Columbus shut out twice in the qualifying round. Put five guys in front of a goalie and see if you can get a shot through. Pierre-Luc Dubois is having a coming-out party. Seth Jones leads all players in average ice time at 29:28. Pick: Blue Jackets in seven
BRUINS-HURRICANES
From training camp through a disappointing 0-3-0 round robin, the Bruins have been Team Disarray. Sorry. Not buying it. They are also the Presidents’ Trophy winners and have simply too much talent. They’re just gearing up. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak form the most dangerous line in hockey. If they lose, it will all be Tuukka Rask’s fault.
Carolina’s defence got them here. They even got through the first round without Dougie Hamilton, and he might return. But it’s their offence everyone should be talking about. Sebastian Aho (three goals, five assists) and Andrei Svechnikov (three goals, two assists) stole the show in a sweep of the Rangers. The goaltending of Petr Mrazek and James Reimer was, shall we say, better than just OK. Pick: Bruins in six
CAPITALS-ISLANDERS
The Capitals were kind of meh through the round robin, beating only Boston. Evidence: Radko Gudas led all Washington scorers with two assists. That said, they might be extra motivated against their old coach. Alexander Ovechkin must be just a little bit happy there’s no Sidney Crosby lurking in some other series to take all the accolades. The Eastern spotlight is Ovie’s.
The Islanders could probably use a guy like John Tavares right about now, but the fan base he left behind is pretty gleeful about this turn of events. Anthony Beauvillier has emerged as an offensive threat; two of his three goals were game-winners. They continue to be a no-name, under-the-radar team that gets the job done. Pick: Islanders in seven
KNIGHTS-BLACKHAWKS
The Golden Knights led all teams by averaging five goals a game, even without leading scorer Max Pacioretty. He will be back for what should be the marquee series. If Lehner earns the job in net over MarcAndré Fleury, he’ll face the team that traded him at the deadline.
Of the teams that survived, no one gave up more than Chicago’s 3.75 goals per game. Safe to say the Blackhawks are the happy-to-be-here team, but they are not to be underestimated. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford know how to win. Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik and Kirby Dach are learning. Kubalik had two game-winners. The Blackhawks won twice despite giving up the first goal. Pick: Vegas is six
Nathan MacKinnon has a chance to assert himself as a dominant star without the lights shining on Crosby, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. He’s certainly able to carry a team on his shoulders, but won’t need to with Colorado’s depth. Nazem Kadri (one goals, three assists) and Mikko Rantanen (four assists) led Avalanche scorers in the round robin.
The Coyotes got their act together despite the resignation of GM John Chayka. Phil Kessel (one goal, three assists) is good in the playoffs, ain’t he? Clayton Keller (two goals, two assists) is coming of age. There are things to like about the Coyotes. But not their chances against Colorado. Pick: Avalanche in five
CANUCKS-BLUES
The Blues went 0-2-1 and didn’t look like Stanley Cup champions. The power play scored once in 12 chances. They admitted they weren’t that motivated by the roundrobin format and now get to face an up-and-coming challenger.
The Canucks got 12 points from defencemen, second best in the league, and already have a well-rounded offence up front with Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat. The Canucks took more minor penalties (28) and spent more time in the box (19.5 minutes per game) than any other team in the qualifying round. Pick: Canucks in six
FLAMES-STARS
Dallas does seem to find ways to get close and then underachieve. The trick is figuring out which round it’s going to happen. This seems awful early. But the Stars were without both goalie Ben Bishop and star centre Tyler Seguin on Sunday, simply listed as “unfit to play.” If they start the series without them, uh-oh.
The Flames may have got lucky in the qualifying round when the Jets ran into injuries to key players, but Calgary got the job done with their top scorers scoring, their best defenders defending and timely saves. They’re still smarting from an early exit last year. They’re dangerous and hungry, led by Sean Monahan (two goals, four assists) Pick: Flames in six