2022 NHL Playoff Rd 2 Primer

After an incredibly entertaining and evenly-matched first round of the playoffs, let’s quickly review picks vs outcomes from Round 1 and go over some one-liners from each series

Florida Panthers (1st in Atlantic) vs. Washington Capitals (Wild Card 2)

Pick: Florida in 5
Result: Florida in 6
Synopsis: Florida looked vulnerable when Washington’s goaltending was strong early and Jonathan Huberdeau had a forgettable series, but Carter Verhaeghe’s 12 points in 6 games brought them home - gotta love an unlikely hero.

Toronto Maple Leafs (2nd in Atlantic) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (3rd in Atlantic)

Pick: Tampa in 6
Result: Tampa in 7
Synopsis: Toronto’s roster was good enough to win this series and Tampa’s stars didn’t dominate, but at the end of the day they got it done because Vasilevskiy bailed them out when they needed it

Carolina Hurricanes (1st in Metropolitan) vs. Boston Bruins (Wild Card 1)

Pick: Boston in 6
Result: Carolina in 7
Synopsis: Boston’s reliance on their top players finally came back to haunt them, as Brad Marchand contributed to over 50% of the team’s goals in the series but they couldn’t recover from the 2-0 hole they fell into.

New York Rangers (2nd in Metropolitan) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (3rd in Metropolitan)

Pick: New York in 7
Result: New York in 7
Synopsis: Pittsburgh probably deserved to win, getting up 3-1 and battling injuries, but the Rangers stuck around and their top forwards answered the bell when it mattered.

Colorado Avalanche (1st in Central) vs. Nashville Predators (Wild Card 2)

Pick: Colorado in 5
Result: Colorado in 4
Synopsis: When I said that Nashville would win a game I thought that Juuse Saaros was playing, and I was wrong.

Minnesota Wild (2nd in Central) vs. St. Louis Blues (3rd in Central)

Pick: Minnesota in 7
Result: St. Louis in 6
Synopsis: After mediocre seasons, David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly caught fire at the right time, downing Minnesota despite 7 goals in 6 games from Kirill Kaprizov.

Calgary Flames (1st in Pacific) vs. Dallas Stars (Wild Card 1)

Pick: Calgary in 5
Result: Calgary in 7
Synopsis: If you haven’t seen the Jake Oettinger highlight pack from Game 7, it’s definitely worth watching how one guy can almost win a playoff series

Edmonton Oilers (2nd in Pacific) vs. Los Angeles Kings (3rd in Pacific)

Pick: Edmonton in 6
Result: Edmonton in 7
Synopsis: Edmonton almost blew it after beating LA by 6 goals twice in the first three games, but Connor McDavid put the entire team on his back towards the end of the series, putting up a ridiculous 14 points and absolutely refusing to lose.

Now, let’s take a look at the second round matchups!

Eastern Conference:

Florida Panthers (1st in Atlantic) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (3rd in Atlantic)

Last year, this was one of the best series to watch, and the Lightning ended up prevailing in six tight games. While that happened in the first round, there is a real argument to be made that Florida could have gone all the way if they won that series, and there’s no doubt that they are that calibre of team this time around. I think that Florida has known that this moment would arrive, and made additions such as Ben Chiarot that make them harder to play against. Unfortunately for them, I just don’t feel like they have the defensive chops to take down Tampa. Florida looked vulnerable against Washington, and while Tampa Bay took more games to close out their series, they beat a better team and never seemed too panicked by the whole process. That being said, Florida’s forward depth won their first round series for them and it’s possible they do the same here. No matter what, this series should produce some very high-quality hockey.

Pick: Tampa Bay in 7
Key stat: The Leafs’ goal in Game 7 goal was the first that Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed in a series clinching game since the third round in 2020 (six games)

Carolina Hurricanes (1st in Metropolitan) vs. New York Rangers (2nd in Metropolitan)

Carolina was probably the better team in their first-round series against Boston even though it took seven games. The same really cannot be said for the Rangers, who juuuuuuuuuuust snuck past a battered and bruised Penguins team and got outshot 45-30 in their Game 7 victory. What the Rangers did have was Igor Shesterkin, who really turned it on to help facilitate the Rangers’ comeback. So, is Carolina the better team in this series? Sure they are. Their forwards are better, and their defensemen are better. However, the biggest thing I see right now is New York having better goaltending, and it’s amazing how far that can get a team. The Rangers also showed a lot of grit to come back from 3-1 down, while Carolina nearly blew a 2-0 lead in their series. This may be Carolina’s year, but their top players have a lot to show before their names get etched in any history books. At the end of the day, their depth may be better but I trust New York’s top guys more to get it done.

Pick: Rangers in 6
Key Stat: Carolina had 9 players score 40 or more points, while New York only had 5

Western Conference:

Colorado Avalanche (1st in Central) vs. St. Louis Blues (3rd in Central)

While it can be debated whether having a long rest between series like Colorado leaves you well rested or out of sync, the one certainty is that Colorado will be confident coming into this series after absolutely laying down the law against Nashville. The Blues played a tighter series but actually were still the second team to advance despite taking six games to do so. While both of these teams are very strong, I just think that Colorado is a cut above. St. Louis certainly has the chance to put up a fight, but their best chance is to get up in the series early and sow some doubt in a Colorado team that hasn’t made it through the second round since 2002, including three consecutive second-round upsets. Each year they’ve been favoured, and yet they’ve fallen every time. If Tarasenko, O’Reilly and Perron play as well as they did in the first round, this one will be a real fight, but I truly believe it’s Colorado’s year.

Pick: Colorado in 6
Key Stat: (Defenseman) Cale Makar had 10 points in 4 games against Nashville including two highlight-reel goals

Calgary Flames (1st in Pacific) vs. Edmonton Oilers (2nd in Pacific)

It’s the battle of Alberta, baby! Like basically everyone else, I expected Calgary to dominate in the first round and then watched them white-knuckle their way to a Game 7 overtime win. However, to look only at the score of these games would be deceiving. Calgary actually played quite well, outshooting Dallas in six of seven games, and averaging an outrageous 40.7 shots per game in the series. Jacob Markstrom also played brilliantly to keep them in it while their forwards worked to solve the Stars’ unbelievable goaltending. In their series, Edmonton got the job done because Connor McDavid somehow played even better than usual, but the rest of the team still has some soul searching to do. Maybe I’m being too aggressive with my pick here, but I just think that Calgary has better depth up front and much better defense and goaltending and is simply going to grind Edmonton down even if McDavid puts up 2 points per game.

Pick: Calgary in 5
Key stat: Connor McDavid recorded a point on 6 of the 8 goals Edmonton scored in games 4-7 against the Kings

*References: NHL.com, CBS Sports