Colorado-Edmonton
The Avalanche-Oilers showdown could become one of the most open conference finals in years. Both teams lead the best-performing teams in the current playoffs, averaging more than four goals per game (Edmonton – 4.33, Colorado – 4.30).
And it’s not at all surprising: for several seasons, the Avalanches have advocated offensive hockey with total control of the puck at high speed, and the main stars of the Oilers are the most productive hockey players of the last six years ( McDavid – 649 points, Draisaitl – 556).
The clash between the two fiery “Macs” of Nathan McKinnon and Connor McDavid is perhaps the main poster of the entire Stanley Cup playoffs. The superstars of our time have been able for the first time in their careers to take their clubs to such a high level, and they have no intention of stopping.
Besides them, the series is full of other brilliant offensive players, where Colorado (Kadri, Rantanen, Landeskog) has a slight advantage over Edmonton (Dreiseitl and part Nugent-Hopkins). The same goes for offensive depth – Comper and Helm proved it in Game 6 of the series against St. Louis.
The defensive lines of both teams also have a big roll towards the attack. Makar (3+10), Teives (4+4) and Byram (0+6) are the main characters on which the most powerful attack support is based (Girard can also be included here, but due to a fracture sternum, he was eliminated until the end of the playoffs). Edmonton’s defense is not as brilliant, but as efficient: Bouchard, Barry, the more experienced Keith and others scored 30 (8+22) points in total.
At the same time, these bright artists perform a sufficient number of imports. In fact, for both teams, there is only one defender who can be called truly reliable – Colorado’s Josh Manson, who scored a decisive block in Game 6 against the Blues. This factor also gives Avalanche a small, but still, advantage.
Edmonton’s main asset, formed in two rounds, is the goaltender. 40-year-old veteran Mike Smith is hardly a reliable goaltender, having made some of the worst mistakes in the playoffs, but in the context of Darcy Kemper, who is the Stanley Cup’s worst goaltender by difference between expected and actual (GSAx) goals conceded (-3.0), he can really help his team.
But whether that factor will help the Oilers in a series against a club that’s been considered a top Stanley Cup contender for several years but still hasn’t reached the third round is a big question.
Prediction: Colorado (4-3)
Rangers – Tampa Bay
The Eastern Conference Finals could be the complete opposite of the Western showdown. The Rangers have had two straight seven-game streaks in these playoffs — both an offense against Pittsburgh and a fairly closed one against Carolina. Tampa Bay is famous for its systemic universalism for the third straight season.
The first six games of the series with Toronto could lead to the conclusion that the Lightning had forgotten how to act from their rivals. But after that, “Tampa” turned on its championship hockey, honed for the maximum possible reliability near its own goal and clear use of opponents’ mistakes. Florida, which suffered a straight 0-4 loss, suffered the most.
The Rangers, at a pivotal moment in the series with the Carolinas, also proved they could use team defense effectively. Even in Game 1 of the series, New York managed to keep opponents out of the slot for dangerous shots for 50 minutes, and in Game 7, when Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the eighth minute. , they repeated this number. , making it better and more successful.
Personally, Tampa’s line of defense, both in skill and experience, seems stronger. One of the strongest all-round defenders Viktor Hedman (2+8), along with his main assistants McDonagh and Sergachev, should on paper outperform the top 4 Rangers (Fox, Lindgren, Miller, Truba). Certainly, compared to two league seasons, the Lightning defense began to make more individual errors.
Offensively, both teams have similar issues. In this playoff, only Mika Zibanejad (7+12) and Nikita Kucherov (4+11) demonstrate their usual performance. Neither Panarin (4+7), nor Stamkos (4+4), nor the other offensive stars are still in good shape in the regular season. On the Tampa side, in this line, it is once again experience and greater versatility.
The main decoration of the series is the confrontation of goalkeepers. The best goaltender of the last five years Andrei Vasilevsky against the best goaltender of the past regular season Igor Shesterkin, who, after some difficulties at the start of the playoffs, is back in top form. The Russians are by far the Stanley Cup leaders in GSAx (Shesterkin +11.4, Vasilevsky +11.0). It’s incredibly difficult to give preference to anyone in this duel, but the cup experience is once again on the Lightning representative’s side.
Tampa is playing a slew of games for the third straight season, and the Rangers had to go all 14 games, finding themselves on the brink of elimination five times, to reach the Eastern Finals. The NHL’s best coach of recent years, John Cooper, and one of the leading specialists in the momentary production of a successful game, Gerard Gallan, have a serious job of getting their hockey players into working physical shape. The greater versatility of Cooper’s playing model gives the Lightning another bright spot in the dispute with the Rangers.
Prediction: Tampa Bay (4-2)
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
