But that's the regular season. They're not the Maple Leafs or the Panthers, crushed by the weight of expectations and entitlement. But don't underestimate the drive of MacKinnon and McDavid to really show off here. There's a real calmness that the Lightning have in the toughest moments, a constant belief in their ability to weather any storm. Washington Capitals (MP) 8. Why not Dallas? Campbell-Pascall: Hurricanes in five Now, does that reflect a deficiency in Kuemper's game? Did he skid at the end of this season? Matiash: Avalanche in six Anze Kopitar led the team in scoring. Colton and Perry, the latter of whom was acquired as a free agent this past summer, lead the Lightning with five goals each. It's part of what has made Husso so invaluable; he covers for all manner of ills in the Blues' own end. ESPN Megacast, formerly known as ESPN Full Circle, is a multi-network simulcast of a single sporting event across multiple ESPN networks and serviceswith each feed providing a different version of the telecast making use of different features, functions or perspectives. 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs: Highlights and analysis from the entire postseason. Kavanagh: Blues in seven Case for a Stanley Cup run: What does (almost) every long playoff push include? Here is how the Stanley Cup playoffs will play out, from the opening round through the last game of the Final. With a healthy Ovechkin, they can be in any series. 2. Complete playoff coverage Colorado's will have less pressure to produce given their second unit is anchored by a guy named Nazem Kadri, who's coming off an 87-point regular season and is averaging a point per game in the playoffs. Editor's Picks. Players, coaches, execs vote for NHL's top centers, NHL Power Rankings: Checking in on each team's 25-and-under core, Lineup picks, matchups, start or sit advice for Wednesday, McAvoy scores in OT, Bruins beat Flames for 8th win a row, Gaudreau scores in shootout, Wild beat Islanders 2-1, Geekie ends drought with 2 goals, Kraken beat Blues 5-3, Robinson scores 3 goals in Blue Jackets' 5-3 win over Sabres, Who goes to the Stanley Cup Final? There's a lot we already knew about the Lightning after back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, from their ability to win in a variety of ways to their efficiency in elimination games. We've already discussed Kuemper. Your Home For Free NHL Expert Picks For The 2022/23 Season. Bold prediction: Shesterkin pitches two shutouts in the opening round as the Rangers advance. In general, Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft has been leaning on the same eight forwards up front and limiting the use of his fourth-liners. But right around the trade deadline, the Rangers' play started to pick up and continued to trend upward through the final month of the season under first-year coach Gerard Gallant. Wischusen: Rangers in seven Luckily for the Blues, that deja vu high they're currently riding is a good one. That wasn't a given before the season and certainly wasn't while Pittsburgh played through its seemingly annual spate of injuries. We're down to the final four teams of the 2021-22 NHL season. Playoff position: M2 Games left: 3 Next game: vs. as well as out-of-market games. The 24-year-old forward had 103 points and was a plus-58 (!) Metro: CAR | NYR Shilton: Flames in six Knight: Flames in six But he's expected to miss a few games in the first round due to a lower-body injury. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been, and continues to be, Tampa's MVP. It doesn't help that in front of Bobrovsky, Florida got a little too comfortable late in the season as the Cardiac Cats. Picks for Rangers-Lightning, Avalanche-Oilers, 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs: Highlights and analysis from the entire postseason, Free-agency, draft plans for Avs, Lightning, every other NHL team, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Player to watch: Miro Heiskanen. The NHL has passed the mathematical midpoint of the 2022-23 regular season. Tortorella: Avalanche in six But forwards Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie saw their offensive output drop during seasons impacted by injuries and illness. That formula doesn't generally work in the postseason. The Rangers still aren't an impressive five-on-five team, relying on Shesterkin to bail them out at even strength, which he has. Free agency is looming, and all eyes will be on Kadri as he chases that elusive championship. Failing to capitalize on man-advantage chances almost always comes back to bite teams in the postseason; ditto with struggling to keep pucks out on the kill. Cohn: Oilers in six He's a dynamic offensive talent who has 11 points in his past 15 playoff games. That, combined with St. Louis being one of the NHL's worst teams in 5-on-5 possession totals, puts a lot more pressure on Husso -- a rookie appearing in his first postseason -- at the toughest time of year. They'll help power what could be a last attempt at a Cup for this aging core, with Malkin, Letang and Rust among the team's pending free agents. Case for a Stanley Cup run: Colorado is a beast. . Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are one of the NHL's most dynamic offensive duos. Their lineup features solid two-way forwards in Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman. 2022 NHL playoff fantasy hockey pool guide: Favorites, sleepers and busts. Goalie Frederik Andersen had a dominant regular season, finishing third in goals saved above average (38.7). The Footballers (7-9) have the worst record of any playoff team they tied the 2010 Seattle Seahawks for the worst record for a playoff team in N.F.L. NHL playoff fantasy competition is its own brand of compact, focused fun. And Kane already had a pair of hat tricks in the playoffs. Campbell-Pascall: Flames in six by NHL Public Relations @PR_NHL April 29, 2022 NEW YORK - The National Hockey League today announced the dates, starting times and national television coverage for the 2022 Stanley Cup. The All-Star break is over, and we are almost three-quarters of the way through the 2022-23 season. They are firing on all cylinders. All things being equal, Colorado boasts the deeper team. Forward Jason Zucker, who could help, can't stay in the lineup due to injuries. Since being acquired at the trade deadline, the former Blackhawks winger hasn't produced. NHL playoff predictions 2022: 1st-round winners, most overrated, dark horse, Stanley Cup champion and more. Ryan Callahan: Panthers in six NHL Playoff Predictions 2022 Matchups EASTERN CONFERENCE Playoff Round 1 #1 seed Florida Panthers vs #8 seed Washington Capitals Florida wins (4-1) #2 seed Carolina Hurricanes vs #7 seed Boston Bruins Carolina wins (4-2) Metropolitan Division Match-up #2 New York Rangers vs #3 Pittsburgh Penguins New York wins (4-2) Atlantic Division Match-up Player to watch: Crosby had 84 points this season, which was his best points-per-60 minutes average for a season with at least 68 games played since 2009-10. Seeing its dedication pay off with a playoff opportunity should be all the motivation Dallas needs to give each game its best. Case for a Stanley Cup run: What if a team had its best regular season in franchise history and no one noticed? 87d ESPN staff. The Bruins have just about everything you can want in a contender: a deadly top line, an elite defenseman, and a great goalie. Colorado has given up the third-fewest goals against per game (2.70) among remaining playoff teams, and its power play is operating at a crisp 34.5% (best in show throughout the postseason). Each player had some solid stretches late in the Calgary series, but those four have combined for only five goals thus far in the playoffs. The Oilers are more resilient than some observers previously thought. Adam Fox, last year's Norris winner, had a strong encore. Center Steven Stamkos (eight points) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh have been there in big moments. There's a massive monkey on Marner's back, and seeing how he responds to that in the postseason this year is going to go a long way in determining just how good the Leafs can be. We've also learned that two straight Stanley Cups haven't made the Bolts fat and happy; the hunger to win another, and the killer instinct to close out teams, remains for Tampa. There's more to the team than just a dominant goalie, however. They could use some more from him, especially at five-on-five. Their top defensive pairings of Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson along with Chris Tanev and Oliver Kylington have been outstanding. But it's also true that the Lightning haven't faced a goalie like Shesterkin, who is playing out of his gourd right now. Wyshynski: My Stanley Cup playoffs bracket. How will the Rangers handle Nikita Kucherov? Granted, Nashville's Ryan Johansen did (accidentally) injure Kuemper's eye in the first round, but the goalie recovered and Colorado swept the Predators in time for Kuemper to return in the second round against St. Louis. While Florida's offensive talent is its best asset, if the overall team defense can't hold up (especially if Aaron Ekblad isn't able to return to form due to his knee injury), it could make for a shorter run than the Panthers are aiming for. Draisaitl has unmatched playmaking ability and when he's on a roll, it's hard to think of how Colorado will totally contain how adept he is with the puck. So it works in Nashville's favor to not just go into the postseason as a wild-card team, but to know there's an uphill battle ahead to make its time in the playoffs last. He hasn't been that guy for a while, and at 36, he might never be that guy again. Toronto is no longer the one-dimensional wonder of its past, capable of putting pucks in the net but incapable of keeping them out. What do the Stars have to lose? Biggest flaw(s): Being a top-heavy offensive team is a good problem to have when the top of one's lineup is filled with players who have more than 35 goals. Forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault, GM Rob Blake's key offseason pickups, were in the top four in scoring. NHL Predictions 2022- 23 season | NHL Projected Standings 2022-23 Eastern Conference Metropolitan Division 1. Offseason keys for eliminated teams, Sean Allen: Panthers in six Colorado is fortunate to have dynamic middle-six scorers such as Valeri Nichushkin and quiet contributors such as Artturi Lehkonen who can sneak up and burn opponents unexpectedly. When things aren't going Boston's way -- when the Bruins struggle to score a goal or give up a bad one -- can they persevere and push back? Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Central playoff brackets were written by Shilton, while Wyshynski analyzed the Metro and Pacific brackets. The XFL has entered the second week of its third season under its . Now we're onto the second round, which features four superb matchups: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers. He knows when to push and when to pull back. Then again, Kuemper hasn't been facing a ton of shots. 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