Won’t get fooled again

The Stanley Cup playoffs begin Monday, which means it’s time for The Times’ hockey “experts” to make their calls. Times columnist Helene Elliott, an honoree of the Hockey Hall of Fame, hockey editor Hans Tesselaar and Times staffers Jim Barrero and Nick Leyva will tell you who will lift the most cherished trophy in sports. But first, Elliott would like to revisit 2021. “I still haven’t forgiven Tampa Bay for ruining my picks last season,” she said. “The Lightning lulled me into picking against them because they didn’t have a strong finish to the regular season.

“Miraculously, just in time for the lifting of salary-cap restrictions and the start of the playoffs, Nikita Kucherov returned from the long-term injured reserve list and helped the Lightning win their second straight Stanley Cup championship. I vowed not to make predictions again. Alas, my boss insisted.”