Can a Canadian franchise end the nation's Stanley Cup drought? It's a talking point this time every year, with the exception of 2016 (sorry), but the 1992-93 Canadiens remain the last to hoist hockey's ultimate prize. Only the Canucks have come close in recent years.
Canada's Stanley Cup drought will turn 25 years old if the Jets and Maple Leafs fall short of a championship in 2018.
MORE: Odds to win the 2018 Stanley Cup
Fortunately, both teams have realistic odds to make a run in these playoffs. Winnipeg is loaded with offensive firepower and finished three points off the pace for the Presidents' Trophy, while Toronto's Auston Matthews, Patrick Marleau and Co. are a dark horse to make it though the rough and tumble Atlantic Division.
Consensus rarely prevails in the NHL's second season, but the road to the 2018 Stanley Cup still runs through Nashville and Tampa Bay.
Sporting News' NHL experts Brandon Schlager, Evan Sporer and Jim Cerny make their predictions below.
SN PLAYOFF SERIES PREVIEWS
EAST: Lightning-Devils | Bruins-Leafs | Capitals-Blue Jackets | Penguins-Flyers
WEST: Predators-Avalanche | Jets-Wild | Golden Knights-Kings | Ducks-Sharks
NHL playoffs 2018: Stanley Cup picks, predictions
Brandon Schlager
Eastern Conference champion: Lightning over Penguins in 7 games
Western Conference champion: Predators over Sharks in 5 games
Stanley Cup champion: Predators over Lightning in 6 games
I know, I know. Reeeeaaall original. Two No. 1 seeds haven't met in the Stanley Cup Final since 2001, when the Avalanche had Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote, Raymond Bourque!, et al, the Devils had Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Alexander Mogilny, et al, and parity was very obviously a figment of Gary Bettman's dreams. These days, there are four No. 1s, yet it still hasn't happened in the four years this silly playoff format has been in place. But hey, these were my preseason Stanley Cup picks (I swear), so I'm sticking to my guns in the interest of consistency. Allow me to gloat a little until this bracket is ripped to shreds.
In seriousness, the NHL is begging for this matchup. Two Sunbelt expansion franchises in captive, exciting destination locales. They also happen to be the two most well-rounded teams in the field. The Predators are built from the back, out. Pekka Rinne is the Vezina shoo-in and this year they might actually have four Erik Karlssons in front of him. Sign me up for a nightly battle between that defense corps and the dynamic duo of Nikita Kucherov (remember him?) and Steven Stamkos.
The blue line isn't the Lightning's strength, but the top pair of Norris front-runner Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman is still one of the best lockdown partnerships in the league. Throw in newcomer Ryan McDonagh and Mikhail Sergachev, who led all rookie defensemen with 40 points, as anchors and all of a sudden Tampa can roll out three formidable pairs in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy, who's untested in the playoffs but still one of the best goalies in the NHL. They'll need to be on point. Nashville added Kyle Turris, Nick Bonino and a healthy Ryan Johansen on top of its Stanley Cup roster from a year ago. They have a top six of capable centers alone, without factoring in Filip Forsberg and Victor Arvidsson.
Got all that? I haven't even mentioned the coaching matchup between Jon Cooper and Peter Laviolette, two of the best tacticians in the game. Stanley Cups aren't won on paper. More likely, what happens over the next two months will defy logic. This is nothing more than an educated guess.
Conn Smythe winner: Filip Forsberg
MORE: Four reasons the Predators are better equipped to win it all
Evan Sporer
Eastern Conference champion: Lightning over Penguins in 6 games
Western Conference champion: Jets over Ducks in 6 games
Stanley Cup champion: Jets over Lightning in 6 games
How about two teams that were outside of the playoff picture a year ago going head-to-head for the Stanley Cup a year later? How about guys like Stamkos, Kucherov, Point, and Wheeler, Scheifele, Laine buzzing around the offensive zone? How about two of the best, young goaltenders in the game in Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy? Top to bottom, these might be the two most complete teams in the NHL. Should they reach the Cup Final, they would have both traversed incredibly difficult roads, no favors done for them by the playoff format. Tampa Bay finished with the highest goals-for percentage in the NHL (57.18) and Winnipeg fourth in the league and second in the West (54.72).
This would be an absolute war, and also a complete showcase of where hockey is trending, in its purest, best, most entertaining form. These are two free-flowing offensive teams that emphasize skating and skill over grit and physicality. That's not to say there won't be any checks thrown in this series (see: Byfuglien, Dustin) but the point is these two teams can play.
So what makes the difference in this type of series? Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice has two fantastic centers in Paul Stastny and Bryan Little when it comes to defensive assignments. Heck, he can feel very comfortable throwing the Scheifele line out against anyone. And then there's the Jets' fourth line with Adam Lowry down the middle. It's one of the ingenious things about how this group was constructed: While there's a clear pecking order, and each line brings different strengths, there isn't a group that you worry too much about getting caught out there.
This is going to be the model moving forward. The Jets are in the ultimate position to winnow with guys like Laine and Connor on entry-level deals, and a deadline acquisition like Stastny. And when it's all said and done, they'll parade the Stanley Cup down the grey, dreary streets of Winnipeg, where the Jets will get the last laugh.
Conn Smythe winner: Blake Wheeler
MORE: Patrik Laine has personality, pedigree of next great goal scorer
Jim Cerny
Eastern Conference champion: Lightning over Penguins in 6 games
Western Conference champion: Predators over Kings in 6 games
Stanley Cup champion: Predators over Lightning in 6 games
Two disclaimers to start. Predicting a Stanley Cup Final when so much can and will take place over the next six weeks is a fairly difficult crapshoot. And I didn't go into this looking for the "easy" Stanley Cup Final pick of the respective top seeds; but no matter how much I try and avoid it, I keep coming back to the Predators and Lightning. They are the best teams in their respective conferences, and I believe each will carve a similar path to the Final.
I see Nashville taking out Colorado with relative ease before winning a seven-game war with Winnipeg in the second round. The Preds will then advance to a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance by beating the Kings in six games.
Likewise, Tampa Bay will beat New Jersey in five games to start the tournament and then be pushed to the seven-game limit before defeating Toronto in Round 2. To reach their second Final in four years, the Lightning will beat the two-time defending Cup champion Penguins in six games.
As far as this Final goes, the Predators will win the 2018 Stanley Cup because of their deep defense corps and the outstanding play of goaltender Rinne — the best defense/goalie tandem Tampa Bay will face this post-season.
Conn Smythe winner: Pekka Rinne
