Each Monday during the NHL playoffs, Rob Mixer takes a look at the biggest storylines from the hockey week that was.
Do we know anything more now than we did a week ago? Yes, yes we do.
We know that Barry Trotz covered his own mistake by putting Braden Holtby in net midway through Game 2 (which he should’ve done to start the series), and now the Capitals are on the verge of eliminating the Blue Jackets despite falling behind 0-2 in the series.
We know that the Predators are dangerous even when they don’t have their best stuff.
We know that the Golden Knights are no longer just a novelty. They’re for real.
And we know the road to the Stanley Cup goes through the Penguins. Right now, it looks like it’s Pittsburgh’s to lose after both what they’ve shown us in the opening round, and what we’ve seen from the rest of the field.
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Before you say “but Rob…Tampa Bay!” I’ll say that I really like the Lightning, and I think they’ll have their hands full with either the Bruins or Maple Leafs (Boston is not a good matchup for anyone this time of year) and I wouldn’t be surprised if their run ends in the second round.
Sorry, Lightning friends. There’s a lot to like about the Bolts, but the Bruins look lethal right now.
Which leads me to the premise of this week’s column: Which conference’s playoff complexion is clearer?
In the East, we’ve got two series (Maple Leafs-Bruins and Capitals-Blue Jackets) still to be decided, while the West’s second-round bracket is locked and loaded. Either Washington or Columbus will advance to play Pittsburgh, and well, good luck with that. As we just mentioned, the winner of Boston-Toronto moves on to face Tampa Bay. Not a great draw by any means, but I’m getting a stronger sense that Pittsburgh is the team to beat.
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They took some punches in the first round. The Flyers were kind of a mess, which surprised me, because I thought a chance to knock off the two-time defending champions would be something they rallied around. But they still stunned the Penguins in Game 5, then gave them a brief scare in Game 6 before fading away in the third period … and now the Penguins are one step closer to a three-peat.
If you asked me today who I thought was the odds-on Cup favorite, give me the Penguins.
That’s how I see the East shaping up right now. Want to get to the Final? Take down the Penguins. You’re probably going to see them.
In the West, I’m having a hard time not putting money on the Golden Knights.
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Many folks — some of whom I consider to be very bright — told me I was crazy to think the Golden Knights would walk all over the Kings. But let’s think about that: the NHL’s best teams are fast, skilled and have good goaltending. That’s literally the Golden Knights, who saw a ridiculously good first-round performance from Marc-Andre Fleury and got a little bit of offense from up and down their lineup.
Beating the Kings, who looked slow and indecisive, is one thing. But the Golden Knights are squaring off with the Sharks in the second round, a team that’s kind of flying under the radar right now (for the first time in what seems like forever). The Sharks are hockey’s version of 1990s-2000s Phil Mickelson — so close, so often, but they always give themselves a chance. Eventually they’re going to break through, you’d think, but heartbreak follows them like a bad cold.
And then in the Central, it’s Nashville and Winnipeg — a pair of heavyweights. This series is going to be awesome, and I have no idea who’s going to win it. I don’t really care, either. I just want to watch it.
Can the NHL make this series a best-of-23?