Wherever these top seeds end up, it's going to be followed by a difficult match-up.
Edmnonton Oilers vs Chicago Blackhawks
The Hawks didn't think they'd be playing meaningful games this Spring/Summer, so they sent their healthiest star goalie to Vegas and kept the one who has had concussion issues for the past two years; this summer, Corey Crawford's also gotten Covid-19. You can never count out Crawford's eliteness or his Cup-winning pedrigree, as well as that of Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but the Oilers have two of the three best forwards on the planet in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and youth should win over experience in this one.
I'm a huge Crawford fan, but I believe Mikko Koskinen is healthier (Mike Smith has a couple of 40-save games left in his fine career, but they are probably not consecutive, which a best-of-five series would require on his part, so logic would dictate he not see more than one or two games in this series). I also believe Edmonton's defense is slightly superior to that of the Hawks.
Where the Hawks have a chance is they have a higher ceiling in their middle-of-the-lineup forward group. I do not believe it beats a team playing at home, with the feverish atmosphere in the city and media, which should be enough to pump this young group up.
Offense: Oilers
Defense: Oilers
Goaltending: Oilers
Coaching: Oilers
My heart: Oilers
My pick: Oilers in 4. It might go to 5 games, because the Hawks have had the Oilers' number all year, but I can't see this 12th seed beating the fifth seed.
Calgary Flames vs Winnipeg Jets
This is the hardest one on me: I find it extremely sad that one of these teams will be eliminated in the next couple of weeks. Both are flawed, both seem on the down swing, but both are very exciting to watch and have elite attacks and top-level goaltending, with Winnipeg getting the edge on the latter with my pick for this year's Vezina Trophy, Connor Hellebuyck.
As a matter of fact, if the Jets weren't in a contract dispute with star defender Dustin Byfuglien, they would have been one of my two favourites to reach the Conference Final (with Colorado), despite their defense losing key pieces like Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot last summer - they're that good - or they would have been.
Without that kind of game-changer, though, I believe a guy like Matthew Tkachuk will have an important role, taking some of the scoring heat off of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan while attracting the bulk of Winnipeg's cheap shots and anger. And despite Travis Hamonic opting out of this year's postseason, the Flames still boast one of the five best defenses in the league, which will only help David Rittich.
I definitely prefer Calgary's current coach to the one they started the year with, but Paul Maurice's experience might be a factor in at least one game, as is the Jets' superb offensive firepower from captain Blake Wheeler, star centre Mark Scheifele, potential 50-goal scorer Patrick Laine, and all-around talent Kyle Connor.
Offense: Jets
Defense: Flames
Goaltending: Jets
Coaching: Jets
My heart: Jets
My pick: Flames in 5. They have too much to lose, which is where the Jets were last year - except Johnny Hockey and Dirty Matthew can handle five games. Their playoff path will likely end in the first round again this year, however, because I can't see them beating any one of Dallas, Colorado, St. Louis or Vegas when they're through with the Jets.
Vancouver Canucks vs Minnesota Wild
The Canucks finally have a lineup to get excited about, with Elias Petersen, Bo Horvath, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes and Jacob Markstrom, and very few people give the Wild a chance, mostly because it seems backup Alex Stalock has supplanted two-time Vezina nominee Devan Dubnyk in nets and an aging group that includes Mikko Koivu, Zack Parise and Ryan Suter - some of the NHL's most expensive veteran players. It's like they never decided to go on a rebuild but never realized they stopped contending, either.
The Canucks, on the other hand, have lost and lost and lost for years - and come up on the other side with prized prospects who are poised to start learning how to win in the postseason. They're another two or three years away from serious contention, but they're on track. This is step one, losing in the first round will be step two.
Offense: Canucks
Defense: Wild
Goaltending: Canucks
Coaching: Wild
My heart: Canucks
My pick: Canucks in 5. I have never believed in the Wild, I will not start today with pretty much the same roster - or same type of roster - they've had since Jacques Lemaire left town.
Nashville Predators vs Arizona Coyotes
I'll admit I'm underwhelmed by this one. The Preds are more boring without P.K. Subban on the back end and Peter Laviolette behind the bench, though I'll admit the latter had passed his due date. And Pekka Rinne is clearly in the twilight of his career at this point, too, as the team's entire offense at this point. Matt Duchene has once again taken the chemistry of a team away, Kyle Turris looks lost, and Ryan Johansen has never lived up to his contract or his own expectations.The defense is still miraculous, and Juuse Saros will probably eventually be really good, but this looks like a team in transition more than the team that almost won the Cup and then followed that with a Presidents' Trophy a couple of years ago.
Arizona... a team that's seemingly always for sale, without a permanent home, without a home city, now without a GM... who two best forwards - Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall - have proven time and time again to be unable to lead teams to victory and whose star defenseman - Oliver Ekman-Larsson - seems like he's evolving out of his prime at just 29 years of age.
I'm not the world's biggest Rick Tocchet fan, but he does have the edge over John Hynes here, because while he didn't win a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in his previous coaching opportunity, at least he didn't take a dynasty and sink it at the bottom of the league like Hynes did with the New Jersey Devils.
Offense: Predators
Defense: Predators
Goaltending: Coyotes
Coaching: Coyotes
My heart: Predators
My pick: Predators in 5. I do think that failing to qualify for the playoffs would be disastrous for David Poile's Preds, who has made a succession of questionable personnel decisions after being near-perfect for over a decade, but I can't see this Yotes squad accomplishing anything other than pitching two shutouts in five games - their goaltending tandem is that much better than Nashville's offense, but the Predators can still win games with just their blue line.
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