NHL: Setting up the best Stanley Cup Playoffs
With the NHL season rounding the halfway mark, the playoff picture is starting to take shape, and it is possible that this year’s postseason could be the most entertaining in years.
With the Winter Classic in the rearview mirror and the All-Star Game in the headlights, the NHL season is officially entering its middle ages. Every team has played at least 42 games, and the best teams in the league are starting to separate themselves.
As of right now, it seems as though the delineating mark between the sure-fire playoff teams and the rest is the 50-point mark, where 15 teams have already reached. It is likely that the majority of those fifteen teams will still be in a playoff spot once the end of the season rolls around.
So, given the fact that we can predict with a fair level of confidence which teams will be in the playoffs, it is time to begin the NHL’s version of fan-fiction: dreaming about the most entertaining playoff seedings and matchups.
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Between long-time rivalries, revenge, and the traditional David vs. Goliath, the best playoff matchups have some kind of dramatic storyline underlying the action. That drama tends to translate to entertainment on the ice.
With that in mind, given where the current standings are, what is a realistic playoff bracket that would help to maximize the drama and entertainment of the best postseason in American professional sports? This is my take on that question.
Eastern Conference:
(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC2) Montreal Canadiens
(A2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A3) Boston Bruins
(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (WC1) New York Islanders
(M2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (M3) Columbus Blue Jackets
The only deviation from the current NHL standings is that the Montreal Canadiens retake the second wild-card spot from the Buffalo Sabres. This is because I believe that the Habs would have a more interesting matchup with Tampa Bay than the Sabres would.
For one, those two teams have a playoff history, having met three times in the postseason before. Throw in a great goalie battle between Carey Price and Andrei Vasilevskiy and despite the one-sided talent disparity, this should be a fun series.
Toronto and Boston would obviously be a blast based on the recent history between the two teams, and Pittsburgh is as close as Columbus has to a major rivalry given the proximity of the two cities, as well as their previous postseason meetings.
For the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders, not only is there an extensive playoff history (the Easter Epic, Dale Hunter, etc.) but this would also see Barry Trotz leading a new team against the franchise with whom he won the Stanley Cup. The storylines write themselves.
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Western Conference:
(C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild
(C2) Nashville Predators vs. (C3) Dallas Stars
(P1) Calgary Flames vs. (WC2) Edmonton Oilers
(P2) San Jose Sharks vs. (P3) Vegas Golden Knights
As with the Eastern Conference, I have made one change to the current NHL standings in the West, replacing the Colorado Avalanche with the Edmonton Oilers. While I do not believe this to be a likely scenario, it is still well within the realm of possibility.
With Nashville and Winnipeg, in the absence of rivalry I have opted to substitute geography. Winnipeg and St. Paul are just a day trip away from each other, and Nashville and Dallas a bit more apart, meaning it is possible that visiting teams could elevate the atmosphere in both cases.
In the Pacific, the only reason I have made the unlikely substitution of Edmonton for Colorado is to have the great Battle of Alberta in the first round. Calgary and Edmonton would be a lopsided series, but the hatred associated with the rivalry would make it worth it.
San Jose and Vegas had a great series last season, and the hatred between the two teams and fanbases seems to have carried over into this season. A burgeoning rivalry would be helped along its way with another meeting between these two.
Eastern Conference:
(A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (A2) Toronto Maple Leafs
(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins
I was tempted to have the same Eastern Conference Final Four as last year, but decided to have Toronto facing the Bolts instead of Boston. It is a fresh matchup that would bring all of Canada to a standstill as the Leafs played their most important series in over fifteen years.
And I doubt I need to say much about Washington and Pittsburgh. Easily the best NHL rivalry of the 21st century so far, the Capitals and Penguins have the hatred and talent (as well as the history) to once again have the best playoff series this year.
These two teams have already had three hugely entertaining and physical meetings before the new year, and will have one more during the stretch run in March. Imagine how fun these games will be in late April and May. I’m getting chills already!
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Western Conference:
(C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (C2) Nashville Predators
(P1) Calgary Flames vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks
Starting with the Pacific Division, after the emotion of the Battle of Alberta and San Jose-Vegas, no second-round meeting will be able to live up to those dramatic highs. So a matchup between the Flames and Sharks, as the two best teams in the division, may be the best option.
Calgary has had a long history of hate with the Anaheim Ducks, so perhaps another California team would be able to begin the process of replicating that. I would not be against a Calgary-Vegas meeting, however.
On the other hand, while the first-round meetings in the Central do not have much hatred behind them, this second round rematch between two legitimate Stanley Cup contenders would be absolutely fantastic. Sign me up for round two!
For the conference finals, I will rank the four possible matchups in each conference in terms of watchability, and choose a favorite.
Eastern Conference Final Possibilities (Ranked):
1. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (M1) Washington Capitals
2. (M1) Washington Capitals vs. (A2) Toronto Maple Leafs
3. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins
4. (A2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins
Let me get one thing clear straight-away: any of these matchups would be a ton of fun. All four teams have so much talent and are legitimate NHL championship contenders, so any permutation of them facing each other would be a must-watch series.
That being said, I think a Bolts-Caps rematch would be just slightly better than the other three options. The defending Stanley Cup champions against the probable Presidents’ Trophy winners, in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, would be a gem.
Right behind this matchup is the Capitals and Maple Leafs, if only because Toronto facing the defending champs in the conference finals would send all of Canada into conniptions. Throw in a rematch of the 2017 first round, and this would be a very entertaining series.
Tampa-Pittsburgh would be another talent-filled series that is a rematch of the 2016 conference finals. Finally, Toronto-Pittsburgh would see a Matthews-Crosby matchup that would have the media salivating, although there is not much in the way of recent history between the two teams.
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Western Conference Final Possibilities (Ranked):
1. (P1) Calgary Flames vs. (C1) Winnipeg Jets
2. (C2) Nashville Predators vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks
3. (P1) Calgary Flames vs. (C2) Nashville Predators
4. (C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks
This situation is different from in the Eastern Conference, as there is a clear winner of the four: two Canadian teams meeting in the conference finals would bring about a media frenzy and atmosphere that has not been seen in the Western Conference in a long time.
Calgary-Winnipeg is not the strongest of rivalries, but they are two young and talented teams that could have a very entertaining series, especially with the Canadian market behind them. The guarantee of Canada’s first Stanley Cup finalist since 2011 would be big news north of the border.
I have Nashville-San Jose second of the four because of the interesting storyline that they were back-to-back conference champions in 2016 and 2017. Preds-Flames could also be interesting, because Nashville would have had to beat another Canadian team to make it there.
Bringing up the rear for me would be the Jets against the Sharks. There is simply no history to be had there, and while both teams boast a good amount of talent, on paper this does not look like a very entertaining series.
Stanley Cup Final Possibilities (Ranked):
1. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (P1) Calgary Flames
2. (M1) Washington Capitals vs. (C1) Winnipeg Jets
3. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (C1) Winnipeg Jets
4. (M1) Washington Capitals vs. (P1) Calgary Flames
As with the Western Conference finals, there is one potential meeting that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. The rematch of the controversial, but entertaining, 2004 Stanley Cup Finals fifteen years later would be a lot of fun.
Every hockey fan remembers that series, the last Stanley Cup before the full-season lockout, for the “goal that wasn’t,” the apparent goal that was determined not to have crossed the goal line, leading to Tampa Bay winning Game 6 in OT, and eventually taking the series:
The storylines pretty much write themselves. Throw in two very talented teams, and this would be a great and entertaining series.
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The other three possibilities were basically toss-ups. I think the Jets are a better team than the Flames, so I chose their series over the remaining Flames one. Otherwise, it is essentially picking your poison.
What do you think? What would your dream playoff bracket for the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs look like? Let us know in the comments!