With round one of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs in the books, round two begins within hours of round one. Let the quest for Hockey supremacy begin.
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars
Colorado handled Arizona much easier than anticipated in the first round. Arizona looked uninspired, and it showed, bowing out with consecutive 7-1 loss. Next up for the Lanche is a resilient Dallas Stars squad. The Stars are coming off a come from behind series win against the Calgary Flames; after being down 2-1 in the series, the Stars were able to close out the Flamers with three straight wins. The Stars have found their scoring touch as of late, coming from behind in game six to pound the Flames 7-3.
The Stars will have a much harder task in defeating the favored Avalanche. Dallas’s production comes from Heiskanen, Pavelski, Klingberg, and Gurianov, who scored four in the series clincher in game six of round one. The stars forward. Tyler Seguin continues his offensive struggles registering only three assists on 21 shots and a minus-three for the series. Colorado is firing on all cylinders and appears to be a serious contender to win the 2020 Stanley Cup. Colorado’s first and second-line centers lead the way, Nathan MacKinnon with 13 points and Nazim Kadri with 11 points in 8 games played. The supporting cast is balanced with production coming from all four lines. Colorado has more depth than Dallas, and with their superstar talent and two elite centermen, they will grind down the Stars. Colorado Avalanche wins in six games.
Vegas Knights vs Vancouver Canucks
This matchup won’t get any easier for Canucks, but if they can dispatch last year’s Stanley Cup Champions, they can hold their own against an equally tough opponent in the defensive-minded Vegas Knights.
Vancouver will have to continue to utilize their speed and skill against Vegas just as they did against the Blues; meanwhile, The Knights will need to slow down the talented Canucks through strong defensive play and solid goaltending. For the Canucks, Elias Pettersson leads the way in scoring with 13 points (4G, 9A) in 10 playoff games, followed by J. T. Miller (5G, 5A) and Quinn Hughes (1G, 9A) while captain Bo Horvat is tied for the league lead in goals with six.
The Knights have balanced scoring throughout their line-up. Their top point producers are Mark Stone (4G, 4A) in 8 playoff games, followed by Reilly Smith (3G, 5A), Shea Theodore (4G, 3A), and Jonathan Marchessault (2G, 5A). They have seven players that round out most of the scoring with between 4-6 points. It will be a tough series. Vancouver Canucks wins in seven games.
Philadelphia Flyers vs New York Islanders
The Islander’s best weapon may be behind the bench; with Barry Trotz guiding the team, the Islanders have bought into his system and are playing as a cohesive unit; everybody knows their role and executes it with maximum intensity. After defeating Trotz’s former team, the Washington Capitals, in five games, the Islanders look to move past the first round and win back to back playoff series for the first time since 1984-1985. Josh Bailey leads the Isles in points (2G, 8A), Anthony Beauvillier leads the team in goals with 6, Nick Leddy and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are tied for the club plus/minus at nine apiece.
For the Philadelphia Flyers, Jakub Voracek is the team leader in points and goals (4G, 4A) with Kevin Hayes, Joel Farabee, and Michael Raffl tied with three goals after that goal and scores for the rest of the team drop off sharply. The Flyers are strong in goal with the tandem of Brian Elliott and Carter Hart; Hart has carried the playoff load thus far and has a sparkling GAA of 1.71 with a save percentage of .943 in eight games played. The Flyers will have to find the form they had previous to the March 12 Covid-19 shut down when they were almost unstoppable. New York Islanders win in seven games.
Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning
After going 0-3 in the round-robin and losing the services of netminder Tuukka Rask, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding how the Bruins would respond. Well, Bruins fans have nothing to fear. The Bruins have risen to the challenge and dispatched a scrappy Carolina group in five games. Halak has been impressive in replacing Rask and has better numbers as well. Halak has a 2.29 GAA with an SV% of .912 after four games. David Krejci leads the Bruins in points with 9, while agitator Brad Marchand and faceoff specialist Patrice Bergeron are in close pursuit with 7 and 6 points. The Bruins are a legitimate contender for this year’s 2020 Stanley Cup; they have a wealth of playoff veterans and a good mix of grit, talent, and focus that will make them tough to beat.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, like the Bruins, is another solid bet to win the 2020 Stanley Cup. Tampa exercised last year’s demons by dispatching the hard-working Columbus Blue Jackets in five games. Tampa is reliable in every respect; if they play up to their potential, they will be tough to defeat. Vasilevskiy sports a GAA of 1.98 and an SV%.927 after eight playoff games. Every player on the team has scored a point except for Jan Rutta, who has played only one game. Braydon Point leads all scorers on the team with (5G, 5A), followed by Nikita Kucherov (2G, 7A) and three others tied with four points apiece. Tampa is tight-lipped about the return of Steven Stamkos, as he remains out indefinitely. Tampa Bay Lightning win in seven games in a clash of Titans.
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