Round one recap and round two predictions

After going perfectly on some and absolutely bombing the others in the first round, we are back for the second round of predictions the Conference Semifinals, where we truly see if teams got lucky, or if they are for real. Before we get into that let's look back at the historical first round and the predictions/results.

Boston Bruins VS Florida Panthers: Prediction- Bruins in 5, Result- Panthers in 7. When going into the playoffs the Bruins were a sure lock to at least make it to the second and most likely third round and the Panthers would try and scrape out a win, but this definitely was not the case. The Panthers not only had a crazy comeback in the series (down 3-1) but also had a historical playoff win against the best regular season team of ALL TIME.

Toronto Maple Leafs VS Tampa Bay Lightning: Prediction- Leafs in 6, Results- Leafs in 6. This series was a great one to watch, nailbiting for Leafs fans as history almost repeated itself, but that was not the case; for the first time since 2004, Toronto made it out of the first round. Tampa fans should take what they can get after going to the finals in the past 3 seasons, just look at the Bruins, only 1 Stanley Cup with Bergeron.

Carolina Hurricanes VS New York Islanders: Prediction- Islander in 7, Result- Hurricanes in 6 The Islanders are a playoff team, but after head coach Barry Trotz left, who knew if they were the same, we now found out their identity (a fringe playoff team). The Hurricanes were and still are haunted by injuries and still managed to win this series in six games, they sure know how to handle adversity.

New Jersey Devils VS New York Rangers: Prediction- Devils in 7, Result- Devils in 7. The young Jersey team came back from going down 2-0 in the series to beat the so-called “superteam” Rangers. The Rangers got completely outplayed by the speed of the Devils and just could not stop them. Mr. Akira Schmid hands off to him, the 22-year-old coming in relief and taking over the series, and a shutout in game 7, WHAT.

Colorado Avalanche VS Seattle Kraken: Prediction- Colorado in 6, Result- Kraken in 7. The Kraken started off strong in every game as they scored first every time, making the defending champs having to claw back on numerous occasions. Many people were not expecting this to be such a series but look at it now. The Kraken can go on but have to face a very good Dallas team now, but speaking of Dallas.

Dallas Stars VS Minnesota Wild: Prediction- Minnesota in 7, Result- Dallas in 6. Jake Oettinger and Roope Hintz stole this series from the Wild, they played so well every game and outplayed them anytime they touched the puck or made a save. The rookie Filip Gustavsson played outstanding for his first playoffs and they most likely would have single handily pushed the series to 7 if Kirill Kaprisov would have done anything.

Vegas Golden Knights VS Winnipeg Jets: Prediction- Vegas in 5, Result- Vegas in 5. After Winnipeg won the first game, Vegas did not hold back, winning the next four games to beat the Jets in 5, this series was very fun to watch even if it was a short one. What is in store for Connor Hellybuck? Will he get traded? Or will he stay put? The Golden Knights could be a problem if their goaltending can hold up.

Edmonton Oilers VS Los Angeles Kings: Prediction- Oilers in 6, Result- Oilers in 6. This series was the most exciting (subjectively). This series had everything, it had the scoring, the playoff atmosphere, and that rivalry feeling in every game. The crazy thing about this series was that Mcdavid was not the best player, he had 3 goals (2 on the powerplay) and 10 points which is still very good but was arguably one of their worst players defensively.

These predictions were either spots on or completely wrong, going 4/8 but getting those 4 perfectly is a nice feeling; now that we are done with the recap let's get into the next rounds of predictions.

Toronto Maple Leafs VS Florida Panthers- One would think that this should be an easy series for Toronto, but do not underestimate the Panthers, they just took down the best regular season team of all time the Boston Bruins. The Leafs on the other hand just took down the team that just went to the cup final in three straight years. The Leafs won the season series 3-0-1 in the regular season, but if we learnt anything from playoff hockey, that means nothing, This series should have a lot of scoring, but NHL fans really missed a great rivalry series. Prediction- Toronto in 6.

Carolina Hurricanes VS New Jersey Devils- The Hurricanes will face a young and hungry New Jersey team who just beat the Rangers in seven games. These two teams were separated by 1 point in the regular season. Both teams have a great roster, but the Hurricanes are riddled with injuries, their goaltending will be their biggest need to help them beat the Devils. Prediction- New Jersey in 6.

Dallas Stars VS Seattle Kraken- This series might be the most random series but it definitely should be a fun one to watch, a historical series win for Seattle as it was their first series win, but it was against the defending Cup champions. The Stars are a great team that has everything, offence, defence and especially goaltending. Jake Oettinger (Dallas) is the best goalie these playoffs but Phillip Grubauer (Seattle), has been very good as well, this should be a fun goalie battle but do the Kraken have the manpower for what is in store for them? Prediction- Dallas in 5.

Edmonton Oilers VS Vegas Golden Knights- This series might be the most entertaining one, with two of the top teams in the league going at it, Edmonton having so much to prove and Vegas trying to get back the there 2018 days (Stanley Cup Final). Will Leon Draisaitl carry the Oilers again in this series? Will Mark Stone continue his great playoff start? We will find out soon. Prediction- Oilers in 7