The Stanley Cup playoffs got underway on Monday night, and for most, opening night did not disappoint.
Out of the 16 teams lacing up the skates for the postseason, only six, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes, have won the Cup this century.
So who will hoist the most coveted trophy in all of sports?
The experts on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio have chimed in and provided their picks for the first round, along with who they think will win the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe. We’ll skip over the first round and go straight to what matters.
Steve Kouleas: Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand
Linda Cohn: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Martin Biron: Boston Bruins, Linus Ullmark
Mike McKenna: Dallas Stars, Jason Robertson
Jonathan Davis: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Scott Laughlin: Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak
Dave McCarthy: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Bernie Corbett: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Dennis Bernstein: Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak
Mick Kern: Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak
Gord Stellick: Toronto Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner
Peter Berce: Dallas Stars Jake Oettinger
Mike Lippa: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Jim Gordon: Dallas Stars, Miro Heikenen
Joe Thistel: Boston Bruins, Linus Ullmark
Jesse Ralph: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Shane Malloy: Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak
Tyler Madaraz: New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin
Bruce Bolton: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Jake Hahn: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Ryan Paton: Toronto Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner
Russ Cohen: Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak
Lucas Critelli: Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid
Brad (A call-in listener from British Columbia): Boston Bruins, Patrice Bergeron
The Bruins and Oilers are tied with nine votes a piece, followed by the Stars with three, the Leafs with two and the Rangers with a single vote.
Here is Mick Kern’s excerpt on a key factor in winning the Cup.
In a league that features more parity than arguably at any previous point in its long history, the factor you’ll keep hearing about is goaltending. And this isn’t new; that factor/concern has been around since they began playing the game. Modern analytics have illustrated/underscored that you don’t need superstar goaltending to win it all, but it helps.
If you look at goaltending alone, the nine experts that picked the Bruins to hoist the Cup in June would be the ones to follow since Linus Ullmark is the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy.
