The second season of the NHL has begun and as always, it’s wide open. While my Flyers are making their tee times, 16 other teams in the league have begun their journey to capture hockey’s most prized trophy. Here is my humble opinion on the possible outcome of this year’s quest for The Stanley Cup. 

Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche are coming back to the playoffs with nothing really to prove. They won the cup last year and are looking to repeat. Their bracket may have not shaped out as they would have liked with teams like The Dallas Stars or the Edmonton Oilers, but with key players like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, they have a potential for a repeat. 

Seattle Kraken: The Kraken are making their first playoff appearance in the team’s history. They are faced unfortunately in the first round against the reigning champions, but they have a chip on their shoulder as they are explosive and have nothing to lose. Especially when it comes to Phillip Grubauer, who I’m sure would love nothing more than to beat his former team in the first round. 

Dallas Stars: The stars this season are paved as one of the top teams in hockey. David Robertson put up a 41 goal season and tallied 87 points and their goalie Jake Oettinger was in the top 10 for goals against with 2.37, as well as being second for most shutouts. Along with a solid defense and great depth on their team, they are expected by many to make it to the final four. 

Minnesota Wild:  The Wild is as everyone views them, wild. With the speed of Kaprizov and Zuccarello, along with the veteran leadership of Marc Andre Fleury and John Klingberg, this underdog seems likely to make a run. They are stuck with the young Dallas Stars, who are known to be popular in the playoffs, but are hoping to hold them off from a sweep and potentially give them a run for their money. 

Vegas Golden Knights:  The Golden Nights are a very “big” team. With players consisting of Mark Stone, Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo all residing above 6’2”, the team looks to have a large size differential against their opponents. Their depth is one of the best in the league with some of their 4th linemen tallying double digits in assists and goals, which is sometimes hard for 3rd linemen to do. 

Winnipeg Jets: The Jets do not really have much going for them this playoffs. Although they had a good season as they usually do, besides their goalie Connor Hellebuyck and a few veteran forwards, their team does not likely seem like they will make it too far this season. Along with dim playoff hopes, they are faced against a massive opponent of The Golden Knights who are seeking to make a run this season. 

Edmonton Oilers:  The Edmonton Oilers have their best top 2 lines in their recent history. Connor McDavid never fails to tally a 153 point season with 64 goals and 89 assists putting him at the top of every leaderboard. Leon Draisaitl is his right hand man with the second most points in the league and the most powerplay goals. The strength of players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zack Hyman and Evander Kane this team is going to give their first round opponents a run for their money. 

Los Angeles Kings:   The Kings are in many people’s opinions a very large underdog in this playoffs. With veteran defender Drew Doughty accompanied on offense by Anze Kopitar they seem to have the street smarts to pull off some skillful wins. With other offensive studs like Alex Iafallo and Adrian Kempe, who lead the team in goals with 41 and plus-minus with 22, they have the depth and the want to be a potential Stanley Cup champion. 

Boston Bruins:  I think it is fair to say that the Boston Bruins season speaks for how people believe their playoffs will go. A record breaking 65 wins and only 12 loses this team looks unbeatable. With David Pastrnak carrying the team in points, goals and assists, this team is the one to beat if any other team who is set to face them wants any shot at making it to the cup, because right now the Bruins are a no doubt winner. 

Florida Panthers:  The Panthers are going into the playoffs just barely beating out teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators. The team is not the best of the bunch in the playoffs and unfortunately have to face a cruising Boston Bruins team. Keeping things hopeful though this team is going to have to rely on studs like center Aleksander Barkov and left winger Matther Tkachuk to bury some goals into the back of the net as they have during the season to then seek out what would be a jaw-dropping series win. 

Toronto Maple Leafs:  Ah yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs are back into the playoffs and look better than ever. Austin Matthews being their top dog and then getting injured, they relied on some of their depth to carry them far this season. With the likes of Mitchell Marner and William Nylander putting things in the back of the net, their trade deadline signing of center Ryan O’Reilly did not seem necessary. Along with a solid defense consisting of veteran Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren this team is hoping to finally accomplish what they seem to have failed numerous times in the playoffs, beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Tampa Bay Lightning:  The Lightning are a team with every hole filled in. They have won numerous Stanley Cups in the past and are looking to increase this number this season. Unfortunately their season did not turn out the way they wanted to, but they still managed to have players like Nikita Kucherov get over 100 points this season and one for their 3rd-4th lineman Brandon Hagel led them in plus minus. Although this was not their best season, they still remain with most of their classic superstars and most fans would not be surprised if they were a team who made a surprisingly far run this year. 

Carolina Hurricanes:  The Carolina Hurricanes have the best depth in hockey. Unfortunately their goalie Frederic Anderson, who last season had a great year, has not lived up to expectations and is not starting as much in the playoffs. Thankfully with defenseman like Brett Burns and Jacob Slavin both reaching above 6,3 their defense is going to need a “big” improvement come playoff time. Their offense seems fine with studs like Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas who cannot be caught when on the ice, especially when together. 

New York Islanders:  The Islanders are another team similar to the Florida Panthers who just barely snuck past their opponents into the playoffs. Signing center Bo Horvat has become one of their biggest and best changes to their lineup giving them more room to help out other offensive players Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal this gives their team what looks to be a wonderful offensive unit. Their goalie Ilya Sorokin and defenseman Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield seem to have a rhythm going for them and are giving this team a good chance for a large upset against a speedy Hurricanes team. 

New Jersey Devils:  The New Jersey Devils are a young and powerful team. They are led by captain Nico Hischier who is assisted by young stud Jack Hughes who lead the team in points and is one of their fastest skaters. He is accompanied on offense by one of their newer signings Timo Meiera and on defense by veteran Dougie Hamilton, who in big games seems to be a clutch goalscorer and can lead this team past on of the hardest teams to beat this year, the New York Rangers. 

New York Rangers:  This year The New York Rangers made vital trade deadline moves like signing Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, who both are looking to add another Stanley Cup to both of their resumes. With a supporting crew of All Stars Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox this team looks to be a real heartbreaker to many other teams in the playoffs, if they make it past the Devils that is.