Stanley Cup Playoffs: 1 reason each team can win the Stanley Cup

This is going to be the craziest Stanley Cup Playoffs ever, so here’s why each team can win the whole thing.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs officially start on August 1st. It’ll be a spectacle that fans have never seen before, as 24 teams will be competing to lift what might be the toughest title in NHL history. Whoever emerges from the carnage as the champion will certainly have earned it.

2020 has been an absolutely crazy year. Fans should expect the unexpected and because no teams have played since mid-March, the cliche “get in and you have a chance” couldn’t ring more true.

Every team in the postseason has a shot at lifting the Stanley Cup. Let’s take a look at one reason why each team could win the whole thing.

Arizona Coyotes – Elite Goaltending

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The Arizona Coyotes have two outstanding goaltenders. Both Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta finished in the top 10 in GSAA (goals saved above average), according to Evolving Hockey. The rest of the team is flawed, but as we all know, goaltenders are the ultimate equalizers.

Boston Bruins – Experience

There isn’t much the Boston Bruins haven’t experienced. They’ve played the most games of any team in the salary cap era. The Bruins are led by the fearless Zdeno Chara, arguably the best trio of forwards in the league, and an impressive goaltending tandem. This postseason is going to be a crazy one and the Bruins have the experience necessary to emerge from the rubble as the champs.

Calgary Flames – Johnny Hockey

Johnny Gaudreau had a rough season, but entering the hiatus, he seemed to be back to his usual self, picking up 18 points in his final 18 games. When he’s at his best, he’s a dynamic difference maker capable of dominating games. The Flames better hope he’s at his best.

Carolina Hurricanes – An Elite Blueline

Brett Pesce won’t be back until September and Dougie Hamilton isn’t quite at 100%, but they should be getting the latter back fairly early in the postseason. Beating the New York Rangers in the opening round won’t be easy, but if they can get past them and get Hamilton back healthy, the Hurricanes look like a dark horse Stanley Cup contender.

Chicago Blackhawks – Kane And Pray For Rain

The Chicago Blackhawks are the most flawed team in the postseason. Their defense is downright horrific. However, they’ve got Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane leading the way on offense and goaltender Corey Crawford should be in net as the play-in round starts.

Colorado Avalanche – Nathan MacKinnon

The Colorado Avalanche finished in second place in the Western Conference despite suffering numerous injuries. Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon is why they were able to do it. The Avalanche are finally healthy and MacKinnon’s ready to lead Colorado to the promised land. They’re a surprisingly balanced team too.

Columbus Blue Jackets – The Champions 2020 Deserves

Nobody’s giving the Columbus Blue Jackets a chance. If you ask me, that’s not too smart. The Blue Jackets have done their best work when they’ve adopted an “us against the world” mentality. Also, let’s be honest, we all know the champion is going to be a weird team no one expected to win. Sounds like the Blue Jackets!

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Dallas Stars – The NHL’s Best Goaltending Tandem

The Dallas Stars are a pretty darn boring team. However, boring works in hockey. Plus, the Stars have the NHL’s best goaltending tandem with Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin. No team is built better to prevent goals against than Dallas. Scoring goals will be an issue, but with Bishop and Khudobin as their options in net, they might not need to score that many.

Edmonton Oilers – McDavid And Draisaitl

You need skill to win the Stanley Cup and no team has a better one-two punch at the top of their lineup than the Edmonton Oilers, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Yes, the rest of the team is flawed. But McDavid and Draisaitl are fully capable of dragging the Oilers kicking and screaming as far as they want.

Florida Panthers – Joel Quenneville

The Florida Panthers goal this season was to make the playoffs. It took an expanded postseason for them to get in, but the fact is they’re in the postseason. Sergei Bobrovsky is coming off the worst season of his career, but maybe a break is all he needed to get back on track. And it’s hard to bet against head coach Joel Quenneville in the playoffs.

Minnesota Wild – A Suffocating Defense

No team is stronger defensively than the Minnesota Wild. They prevent scoring chances against better than anyone else. Unfortunately, their goalies haven’t been holding up their end of the bargain. But with Kevin Fiala heating up and guys like Eric Staal able to provide scoring, that should ease the pressure on their goaltending.

Montreal Canadiens – The Price Is Right

It’s been about five years since Carey Price was the best goaltender in the world. Yet players still fear him. If Price gets hot during the playoffs, the Canadiens could go a lot further than anyone expects them to do.

Nashville Predators – Roman Josi

Forget the Norris Trophy. Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi should have been in the Hart Trophy discussion. No defenseman in the NHL creates offense like he does. Nashville’s blueline is very hard to matchup against thanks to the likes of Josi and Ryan Ellis.

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New York Islanders – Barry Trotz

Barry Trotz knows what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. He had to wait a long time to do it, but he finally helped the Washington Capitals get over the hump in 2018. This year’s New York Islanders squad isn’t nearly as talented, but Trotz knows what it takes to win and it wouldn’t surprise me if he finds a way to get the Isles and their flawed roster to win.

New York Rangers – Czar Igor

Artemi Panarin is pretty freaking terrific and would be my pick for the Hart Trophy. Mika Zibanejad has been so much fun to watch this season. But the reason the New York Rangers can win the Stanley Cup is because of Igor Shesterkin, who has proven to be worth the wait after the Rangers waited five years to get him to North America.

Philadelphia Flyers – Carter Hart (doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo)

The Philadelphia Flyers history has been filled with mediocre goaltending. But now they have Carter Hart in net. He has a talented and well-balanced team in front of him. Hart won’t be playing in the friendly confines of the Wells Fargo Center, where he tied for the league-lead in wins with 20 in 25 games, but he’s good enough to take the Flyers to the next level regardless of where he’s playing.

Pittsburgh Penguins – A Finally Healthy Team

Few teams lost more games due to injuries than the Pittsburgh Penguins. But when you consider who they lost, you could argue the Penguins were hit the hardest by injuries. It’s been over eight months since the Penguins lineup had all three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jake Guentzel in it.

St. Louis Blues – From Russia, With Glove

The St. Louis Blues finished with the best record in the Western Conference despite not having star forward Vladimir Tarasenko for most of the season. Tarasenko will be back for the postseason, which should give the Blues the offensive spark they lacked for most of the season. They’re in a very good position to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Darkest Before The Dawn

Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning got embarrassed by the Blue Jackets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They had some lessons to learn and it appears they’ve learned them. The Lightning played with the physical edge they lacked last season. On paper, the Bolts have a roster quite capable of winning the whole thing.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Incredible Skill

John Tavares was injured for most of this season with a hand/wrist problem. He’s finally healthy, which means he’ll be back to dominating. Auston Matthews and Tavares are going to be a problem for any team to match up against. With Ilya Mikheyev likely rejoining the third line, the Leafs will have no issues scoring goals.

Vancouver Canucks – Young Talent

The Vancouver Canucks are stacked with talent and most of it is young. They’ve got Elias Petersson and Bo Horvat leading the way down the middle. Flanking them are talented wings like J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, and Tyler Toffoli. Quinn Hughes is already one of the NHL’s best defensemen. Jacob Markstrom is no spring chicken, but he’s coming off a great season in goal. The Canucks are flawed, but they have enough skill to cancel those flaws out.

Vegas Golden Knights – Balance

Perhaps no team in the NHL is more well-balanced than the Vegas Golden Knights. They can score goals with the best of them and their defense was much better this season than the numbers suggest. Trade deadline acquisition Robin Lehner has the potential to be a huge difference-maker in net, which would erase their only glaring flaw.

Washington Capitals – Ovi And Kovy

If you’re looking for a good story, the Washington Capitals are the team for you. They’re a fun as heck team with some lovable personalities. And outside of New Jersey Devils fans, who isn’t rooting for Ilya Kovalchuk to put an exclamation point on his already stellar Hockey Hall of Fame resume? With Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, Jakub Vrana, Nicklas Backstrom, and Braden Holtby leading the way, Kovalchuk has a real chance of lifting Lord Stanley.

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Winnipeg Jets – Ain’t No Helleubyck Girl

The Winnipeg Jets are a very flawed team. However, Connor Hellebuyck, who should be the Vezina Trophy winner, is capable of masking those flaws. If he plays as well as he did during the regular season, the Jets have a real chance of upsetting quite a few teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs

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