Our predictions for round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Canucks Conversation
6 days ago
On yesterday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal broke down their picks for the first round of the playoffs.
Harm predicted a few straightforward series: “New York over Washington in five. No one believes in Washington; they’re not a real playoff team. I also don’t believe in the Islanders. The only way they make it through is with miraculous goaltending, but Carolina has been red hot too, so that could cancel out. Carolina is one of the best teams on paper. Florida in six over Tampa.”
He threw a curveball with his Toronto vs. Boston prediction: “My ‘hot take’ out of the East is Toronto over Boston in seven. You can’t just pick the higher-seeded team every round.” While Quads favoured Boston, Harm questioned their strength: “It’s a coin flip for me, but I don’t like either team. I think they’re both frauds as Cup contenders. I lean towards Toronto because they won round one last year, even without Auston Matthews going beast mode. One of these days, I think this might be the year, he’ll go beast mode and single-handedly win a series, the way MacKinnon, McDavid, and Draisaitl can. Toronto’s blue line sucks; it’s straight-up bad. You cannot win a cup with that group. They just don’t have any high-end top-four workhorses beyond Morgan Reilly. They have way more offensive firepower than Boston – Pastrnak is Boston’s only forward that scored seventy points this year. Who else scares you offensively?”
Quads stood firm: “I agree, but ultimately, we have too much of a sample size. Toronto’s firepower gets shut down as soon as the postseason comes. They can’t get it done.”
The Western Conference offers less predictable outcomes. While Harm has the Canucks beating Nashville, he sees a potential shocker: “Winnipeg in seven over Colorado. It’s a coin flip, and two weeks ago, I would’ve said Colorado. But given how their goaltending has imploded, and with Winnipeg entering the playoffs on a seven-game win streak, I give them the slight edge. Their power play is clicking, and that top line is finding chemistry again – a key part of their success this season.”
Quads disagreed, picking Colorado, but acknowledged one of the toughest battles: “Dallas and Vegas is going to be a hell of a series, and it could be the hardest matchup Dallas has if they go all the way. Facing Vegas in round one could be harder than facing Colorado or Winnipeg in round two.”
“I have Florida in five,” Quads continued. “It’ll be a fun series, but Florida means business in these playoffs, and I think they’re coming out of the East. Carolina in five over the Islanders, the Rangers sweeping the Capitals. My only ‘upset’ is Colorado, who I have beating Winnipeg in six.
You can watch the full replay of yesterday’s show in the video below:
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