Hurricanes vs Bruins
Frederik Andersen will miss the first game of the series, and possibly more. Antti Raanta will start between the pipes for the ‘Canes to begin the series, and while he has been solid this year, I don’t think he will be able to withstand the onslaught of pucks a healthy Bruins team will sling at him. Whoever Boston goes with in net, Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark, will be able to keep Boston in the series. Andersen is expected back at some point so I think that Carolina will weather the storm until he returns.
My Picks: Carolina to win series -120, Carolina to win series 4-3 +450, Boston to win Game 1/Carolina to win series +450
Rangers vs Penguins
The Rangers have been dominant defensively all year – 2.49 goals allowed/game, second to only Carolina. Igor Shesterkin will likely win the Vezina Trophy. The Penguins will start the series without goaltender Tristan Jarry. Casey DeSmith will tend the net in Jarry’s stead. DeSmith is 3-2-1 with a 3.45 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage in seven career appearances against New York. I like New York to get revenge on their old bench coach Mike Sullivan and win this series easily. They are due for a long play off run and are a favorite of mine to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
My Pick: New York series win -110, New York series win -1.5 games +180 (DraftKings boost)
Maple Leafs vs Lightning
This should be an electric series. It’s unfortunate that these two teams are meeting in the first round because this matchup would make for an incredible Eastern Conference Final. But alas, this is how the bracket was drawn up. I expect Auston Matthews to show up and have an MVP-caliber performance in the series. Toronto will be missing Michael Bunting for at least the first game. I could see this heavyweight slugfest going 6 or 7 games. Both teams are loaded with star players, but I think that the Lightning’s experience will triumph over star the Leaf’s young star power in this one.
My Pick: Tampa Bay series win +110
Wild vs Blues
This series is the most evenly matched amongst all the first round matchups in my opinion. The Blues had a +69 goal differential on the season, while Minnesota was close behind with a +57 GD. Both teams were also in the top five in the NHL in goals per game. The Wild are more reliant on second year winger Kirill Kaprizov to score – 108 points on the season. St. Louis has a more even distribution of scorers – 8 different players contributed 50 or more points, compared to only 4 on the Wild. Ville Husso emerged as the top goaltender for St. Louis, dethroning Jordan Binnington from the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion team. Meanwhile Minnesota added last year’s Vezina Trophy winner and 13-year veteran Marc-Andre Fleury to help bolster the crease. Oh and by the way he also has three Stanley Cups on his resume.
My Pick: Series to go 7 games
AndyPicks 