2024 NHL Playoffs Preview
| April 17, 2024 | Sports,
With the 2024 regular season winding down, teams are rushing to make the cut for the playoffs. Before the postseason begins, each team needs to be examined to see who stands the most probable chance at winning the Stanley Cup.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Florida Panthers
The pundits early on had predicted that last year’s finals run from the Panthers was nothing more than a flash in the pan for the franchise, and that this season would be a return to normalcy for them. However, they have taken the Eastern Conference and taken it on their own.
With one of the best wingers in the league, Matthew Tkachuk and two-time Vezina trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky manning the goal, the Panthers have a serious argument for being the favorites in not just the Eastern Conference, but the whole playoff field for the Cup this year.
They play the Lightning to start this postseason. The Panthers have got the talent to go the distance once again, and they should be able to get past the Lightning. Not without serious effort, though. It should be about seven games long.
Boston Bruins
After dominating the regular season last year, the Bruins were stunningly upset by the final Wild Card placed Florida Panthers during the first round of last season’s playoffs. After that blow, and age catching up with plenty of Boston’s main core, many pundits were unsure about how the Bruins would do.
Despite these questions, the Bruins have kept their regular season domination up. With David Pastrnak at right wing, and the domination in net of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, they may shed their demons from last season.
They face the Maple Leafs to start, and the last few seasons have shown that the Maple Leafs haven’t been able to show up where it counts. The series will be a hard fought one though, possibly going to seven games.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are looking to reach lofty goals after long droughts. They want their first Stanley Cup since 1966-1967, 57 years later.
They haven’t even made an NHL Conference Final since 2002. And yet, there is much hope in the fanbase for this year.
With three players making more than 75 points this season through Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Auston Matthews, they have an extremely tough road to the finals, facing either the Lightning or the Bruins. They need to get past at least the second round this season, otherwise it may start the downturn of those core three.
To start it off, though, they face the Boston Bruins. It’ll take their best efforts to get past the Bruins, but if they can produce where necessary, one of their toughest opponents will be out of their way.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The dominating squad of the Tampa Bay Lightning have shown that, while not as clutch in the regular season, they have the talent to get it done. While Toronto may have a lot of scoring, the Lightning take it even further, with four players scoring over 75 points.
Having won two Stanley Cup trophies and three finals appearances in the last six years, the Lightning are currently riding high, with a slight hiccup last season. With the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy manning the goal, they can rely on their defense to boot. They’ll be tough to beat.
The Lightning begin this postseason against the Panthers and as stated, their run might be coming to an end after winning two consecutive cups in 2020 and 2021. But you never know when you will have a Vezina Trophy winner lighting up between the goalposts.
Metropolitan Division
New York Rangers
After getting eliminated in the first-round last year, the Rangers switched things up with the coaching after letting go of Gerard Gallant. They replaced him with Peter Laviolette, which made the new season murky, as new coaching tends to do.
Despite the murkiness, the Rangers have proven to be dominating down the stretch. Now the Rangers look toward finally shedding their demons and getting their first Cup since 1994.
Being the Presidents’ Trophy winners this season, it may be both a blessing and curse. No Presidents’ Trophy winning team has won a Stanley Cup since the Blackhawks did in 2013, over 10 years ago. They start out the effort to end the curse with a matchup against the Capitals. With the age and the decrease in output from the Capitals, the Rangers should handle them in four games.
Carolina Hurricanes
Having fought their way to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, things have been relatively stable for the Canes as the season finishes up. Thanks to coach Rod Brind’Amour, they have made the playoffs every year he has coached them, with two Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
With main offensive pieces like Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, and defense stalwarts Brady Skjei and Jacob Slavin, they hope to finally break through the barrier to have a chance at winning their second Stanley Cup.
Carolina opens their playoffs against the Islanders, and with their combined offensive output and their stalwarts, they can go into the series confidently, hoping for a possible sweep.
New York Islanders
The team from Long Island haven’t made much of a splash this season overall. After beating the Devils on April 16, they secured their spot in the playoffs. With one player scoring over 75 points this season in Mathew Barzal, but their comparatively average defensive play, they might make it past the first round but probably not past the second.
They’ll start on the road against Carolina. But with the Hurricane’s surprising upturn in the past couple of years, the Islanders might not get anywhere near cup contention.
Washington Capitals
D.C. has come a long way from their Stanley Cup victory in 2018. The Caps have stayed within playoff reach all season, but just barely. After winning on April 16, they secured the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
As an old team with an average age of 27.9 years, this is going to be a tough battle for the Capitals. They face the Presidents’ Trophy winners, the New York Rangers. If history is any indicator, the Rangers may not get the cup this year thanks to the Presidents’ Trophy curse. But, it will more than likely come from another team down the road.
Western Conference
Central Division
Dallas Stars
The Stars hope to win the Stanley Cup Final after losing their chance at it in the COVID-19 playoff format in 2020. They look set to be the favorites out of the West, despite fierce competition from the Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks.
After having a stellar second half of March, ending the month on a six-game winning streak, they hope to continue this streak into the final weeks of the season. Peter DeBoer has gotten his tenure with the Stars off to a good start, reaching the Western Conference Finals in his first season with them last year.
They will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the playoffs. The Golden Knights have been less than consistent and that inconsistency may keep them from winning against the Stars. The Stars could win in five games.
Colorado Avalanche
The 2022 Stanley Cup Champs hope to develop into the next great modern dynasty of the NHL with another Stanley Cup this season. While not having the same streak consistency as the Stars, they’ve held their own against tough opponents in the West.
With Nathan MacKinnon scoring almost 150 points, and Mikko Rantanen scoring over 100 as well, the offense coming out of Colorado runs deep. Alexandar Georgiev manning the goal hasn’t quite been up to his standard, but he’s proven in the past that can deliver where it counts.
The Avalanche will begin the playoffs against the Jets. The defensive performance of both teams will be vital in this round for the Avalanche. If their offensive output can beat the Jets defense, a sweep could come into play. With potential Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon on the front, you can’t count the Avalanche out without a fight.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets may not be the best scoring team in the playoffs this year, but they have scored where it counts to stay well within playoff contention. They have no players that have scored over 75 points. Their strength comes from their defense, with two different players in the top five for NHL defensive point shares during the season.
To make it to the finals, the Jets need to rely on their strengths against a tough conference that has the last two cup winners possibly in their way. Winnipeg has a long road, but many believe they can make it.
They’ll begin their postseason aspirations against the 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche. This series may come down to defensive performances from the Jets, but they might not get it done.
Nashville Predators
The Predators have been an unnoticed team through the season, despite only being in the position of a Wild Card spot that’s more due to the division they’re in. The top three have been able to either have outrageous scoring, defensive strength, or a mixture of the two.
Despite being overlooked, Nashville has hope for a far run through their offense. They have two players that have scored over 75 points this season, and four players scoring over 50 points, showing that they have depth that could contribute to their efforts.
The Predators postseason starts against the Canucks, and it’s going to be a rough outing if they can’t sew up their scoring. It’s a possible sweep for them.
Pacific Division
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks have taken the Pacific Division and look to bring Canada its first Stanley Cup in 31 years. With J.T. Miller was on pace for his first 100 points season, and their offensive output rivaling that of the Avalanche, they’re giving Canada new hope for ending their Cup drought.
Vancouver has depth, the defense, and the goaltending to fight their way to the Cup. Whether they can win the Cup will be up to what happens in the East. If any team from the Great White North can end their long drought this year, the Canucks appear to be the favorites.
The Canucks face the Predators to open their playoff run. With their average defensive capability and their deep offensive output, the Canucks should take care of Nashville quickly, maybe in four games.
Edmonton Oilers
The Pacific is going to be insane in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Not only are the Canucks dominating, the Oilers also have two players that scored more than 100 points this season in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Edmonton might have stellar offensive output, but their shortfall comes in their defense. Three of the five top defensemen in the league are possible opponents of the Oilers in the playoffs. They’ll need to shore their own defensive zone up if they want to make it far, especially against extremely defensive minded teams.
They start out playing against the Kings. Los Angeles overall has been good defensively, and with the weaknesses on the defensive end for the Oilers, there might be an upset from the Kings over the Oilers in seven games.
Vegas Golden Knights
Despite being the returning Stanley Cup champions, this season has been less than desirable for the Golden Knights. After getting off to a quick start, winning nine of 10 games in the first few weeks of the season, they would have a tough end to 2023. After losing five of their final seven games of the year, they would stay around .500 going into the All-Star break.
Since then, they’ve stayed in range of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, but only just. They clinched the spot after beating the Wild on April 12. They’ll face the Dallas Stars in the first round, and it’s going to be extremely tough for the returning champs. With no player scoring over 75 points and Logan Thompson only doing slightly better than average as a goaltender, it will be a tough road for them.
Los Angeles Kings
Overall, the Kings started out well until the end of December and January. From Dec. 28, 2023, to Feb. 2024, the Kings would lose 14 of 17 games. After the All-Star break, they would stabilize and secure a spot in the playoffs on April 12.
With no team members scoring over 75 points per game and Cam Talbot, their goaltender, being their best player by point share, they’re not exactly world-beaters in their play. It may not translate to success in the playoffs.
Los Angeles starts out play against the Oilers. While their defensive performance has proven to be their best, the chances of them winning out against Edmonton might not be as good as it could be.
First Round Matchups
Eastern Conference
(A1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC1) Tampa Bay Lightning
(A2) Boston Bruins vs. (A3) Toronto Maple Leafs
(M1) New York Rangers vs. (WC2) Washington Capitals
(M2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (M3) New York Islanders
Western Conference
(C1) Dallas Stars vs. (WC2) Vegas Golden Knights
(C2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (C3) Colorado Avalanche
(P1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (WC1) Nashville Predators
(P2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (P3) Los Angeles Kings
Finals Prediction: Florida Panthers v. Vancouver Canucks, Canucks win 4-2.