2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Florida Panthers vs. 4. Washington Capitals

Players to Watch: F Jonathan Huberdeau and Goalies Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov

Who Wins: Panthers in 5 games

2. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. 3. Tampa Bay Lightning

Players to Watch: F Auston Matthews and D Victor Hedman

Who Wins: Lightning in 6 games

Metropolitan Division

1. Carolina Hurricanes vs. 4. Boston Bruins

Players to Watch: D Jaccob Slavin and F Brad Marchand

Who Wins: Hurricanes in 6 games

2. New York Rangers vs. 3. Pittsburgh Penguins

Players to Watch: G Igor Shesterkin and F Sidney Crosby

Who Wins: Rangers in 6 games

Western Conference

Central Division

1. Colorado Avalanche vs. 4. Nashville Predators

Players to Watch: F Nathan McKinnon and D Roman Josi

Who Wins: Avalanche in 6 games

2. Minnesota Wild vs. 3. St. Louis Blues

Players to Watch: F Kirill Kaprizov and F Vladimir Tarasenko

Who Wins: Wild in 7 games

Pacific Division

1. Calgary Flames vs. 4. Dallas Stars

Players to Watch: F Johnny Gaudreau and F Jason Robertson

Who Wins: Flames in 5 games

2. Edmonton Oilers vs. 3. Los Angeles Kings

Players to Watch: F Connor McDavid and G Jonathan Quick

Who Wins: Oilers in 6 games

American League West

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Seattle Mariners

They hit the relative jackpot in getting the reigning AL Cy Young winner and a NL All-Star outfielder in the same offseason.

2. Houston Astros

Losing Carlos Correa will hurt them when it comes closer to October.

3. Los Angeles Angels

They have two of the best players in baseball today. It’s time to start seeing them play in October.

4. Texas Rangers

A lot of money was spent, but the pitching staff isn’t where it needs to be.

5. Oakland Athletics

The fire sale is happening once again. This could get ugly with the lack of a stadium deal being in place.

Player to Watch: P/DH Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels

Best Acquisition: OF Jesse Winker – Seattle Mariners

New Kid on the Block: OF Julio Rodriguez – Seattle Mariners

Continue reading →

American League West

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Oakland Athletics

With their pipeline of pitching on the way they will be hard to contend with in the dog days of summer.

2. Los Angeles Angels

Assuming Shohei Ohtani is back to his old self from his rookie season and Trout and Rendon are playing at an All-Star level, they should be in the Wild Card hunt.

3. Houston Astros

The loss of George Springer in free agency is going to hurt, but not having Justin Verlander in the rotation will be more damaging.

4. Seattle Mariners

They have some intriguing pieces in place for a possible run at a Wild Card spot.

5. Texas Rangers

The growing pains will continue, but their new ballpark looks nice.

Player to Watch: P/DH Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels

Best Acquisition: P Raisel Iglesias – Los Angeles Angels

New Kid on the Block: OF Jarred Kelenic – Seattle Mariners Continue reading →

Stanley Cup Prediction

*Because of lockdown madness, the 2020-21 NHL season will have the four divisions playing against each other in their regions. This is a breakdown of my prediction for the Stanley Cup Playoff participants for the 2020-21 season. The top 4 teams from each division will play each other in the first two rounds. Then what would be the Conference Finals, the four remaining teams will be ranked 1-4 on their regular season point totals. The one-seed will play the fourth-seed and the second-seed will play the third-seed. Continue reading →

East Division

1. Philadelphia Flyers

Last year might not have ended the way they hoped, but they are far too talented to not make another run.

2. Boston Bruins

Their defense took a hit in free agency. Their depth on offense should help offset any issues on the blue line.

3. New York Islanders

The Barry Trotz system is working to near perfection on Long Island.

4. New York Rangers

This is their chance to show a quick turnaround in their rebuild to become contenders.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins

It would be shocking to see them miss the playoffs, but there are too many holes that could be hard to overcome down the stretch.

6. Washington Capitals

The cap crunch is coming and some players are starting to show their age on the ice.

7. Buffalo Sabres

If they weren’t playing in a stacked division like this one, they could be contending for a Wild Card spot.

8. New Jersey Devils

They fell flat on the ice last year and this season won’t be any better for them. Continue reading →