Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports (edited by me)

I take a look at my NHL playoff predictions from the first round to the Stanley Cup Finals.

First round

Columbus Blue Jackets v. Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning in five

The Blue Jackets win the first game of the series on the road against the Lightning, however the Lightning take the final four games of the series to move on to the second round.

Toronto Maple Leafs v. Boston Bruins

Maple Leafs in six

The Bruins win the first game of the series, but the Maple Leafs rebound to win the second game. Boston jumps back in the lead with a win in game three, however Toronto comes back to win the final three games to move on.

Carolina Hurricanes v. Washington Capitals

Capitals in six

The Hurricanes take game one, but the Capitals win games two through four to take a 3-1 lead in the series. Carolina looks to make a comeback with a game five win, however Washington squashes the comeback with a game six win.

Pittsburgh Penguins v. New York Islanders

Islanders in six

The Islanders take the first two games to take a series lead early, but the Penguins cut the lead in half as they win game three. New York claims game four and Pittsburgh rebounds to win game five, but it wouldn’t be enough as New York wins game six to move on.

Dallas Stars v. Nashville Predators

Stars in six

The Stars take game one and the Predators take game two, however Dallas puts themselves one win away with game three and game four wins. Nashville responds as they win game five, but Dallas takes game six, winning the series.

St. Louis Blues v. Winnipeg Jets

Jets in four

The Jets take the first series sweep of the playoffs over the Blues, taking games one through four consecutively.

Colorado Avalanche v. Calgary Flames

Avalanche in six

The Flames start out the playoffs strong with a game one win, but the Avalanche do not go down easy as they come back in game two. Calgary again claims the series lead with a game three win, however Colorado gets the next three games to upset Calgary and move on to the second round.

Vegas Golden Knights v. San Jose Sharks

Sharks in six

The Golden Knights take care of business in the first two games, but the Sharks take the last four to move on in the second round.

Second round

Toronto Maple Leafs v. Tampa Bay Lightning

Maple Leafs in six

The Lightning grab the first game, but again the Maple Leafs rebound in game two, but this time take the lead in game three. Tampa Bay wins game four, but Toronto earns the final two to get to the conference finals.

New York Islanders v. Washington Capitals

Capitals in six

The Islanders win game one, however Washington comes back in game two. New York gets the third game, but it wouldn’t be enough as Washington grabbed the last three games to find their way back to the conference finals.

Dallas Stars v. Winnipeg Jets

Stars in six

The Jets were unable to capitalize on momentum from their first round sweep, as the Stars claimed the first three games of the series. Winnipeg responded with wins in games four and five, but Dallas finished it off in game six to get to the conference finals.

Colorado Avalanche v. San Jose Sharks

Avalanche in six

The Sharks claimed game one, but games two through four were all Avalanche as they grabbed a 3-1 series lead. San Jose was able to stave off elimination in game five, but again it wouldn’t be enough as Colorado won game six to get in to the conference finals.

Conference Finals

Toronto Maple Leafs v. Washington Capitals

Capitals in seven

The Capitals took game one, however the Maple Leafs responded big with wins in games two through four. Washington didn’t go down easy, as they won games five and six to force maximum games, but Toronto finished off the series in game seven to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Colorado Avalanche v. Dallas Stars

Avalanche in seven

The Stars claimed game one, but the Avalanche got game two to tie up the series. Dallas won in games three and four to put themselves one game away from a Stanley Cup Final berth, but would be unable to finish the job as Colorado won the final three, as each conference final went to seven games and Colorado continued their underdog run.

Stanley Cup Finals

Colorado Avalanche v. Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs in five

The Maple Leafs take care of business in games one and two, however the Avalanche break up the sweep with a game three win. Toronto would not be denied, however, as they won the final two games to take the Stanley Cup championship, the 14th Stanley Cup for the Maple Leafs franchise and their first since 1967.

Full Prediction Overview

Let me know what your predictions are in the comments below, also I’m opening up my NHL Bracket Challenge to all of you! Feel free to join using the link below, keep in mind that you need an NHL.com account to join, let me know if you have any issues with signing up: https://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/leagues/z8-podcast-bracket-league

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