The playoffs are finally here, and with it comes the annual onslaught of analysis and projections on which team will come out of what series, and who will eventually hoist hockey’s most cherished prize, the Stanley Cup. From scoring and special teams, to more specific stats like shooting percentages and the season series between two teams opening their playoff runs by facing off against each other, there are a lot of variables that factor into predicting who will come out on top.
The members of the Devils Army Blog staff have gotten together to collectively submit their predictions on who will come out of the opening playoff round. From now until the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals, we’ll be submitting our round-by-round predictions and ultimately see which of us gets closest to making the most accurate predictions from now to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Eastern Conference
|
Teams |
Record | Avg Goals | Avg Goals Against | PP/PK% | Shots/Game | Shot% | FO% | Hits/Game |
| Rangers | 53-22-7 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 16.8/84.3 | 31.5 | 9.7 | 46.7 | 23.3 |
| Canadiens | 50-22-10 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 16.5/83.7 | 28.5 | 9.4 | 52.1 | 20.7 |
| Capitals | 45-26-11 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 25.3/81.2 | 29.5 | 10.0 | 51.2 | 28.4 |
| Islanders | 47-28-7 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 18.7/78.0 | 33.8 | 9.1 | 49.2 | 32.7 |
| Lightning | 50-24-8 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 18.8/83.7 | 29.6 | 10.7 | 49.7 | 21.4 |
| Red Wings | 43-25-14 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 23.8/83.7 | 29.6 | 9.6 | 51.5 | 19.1 |
| Senators | 43-26-13 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 16.8/82.9 | 31.0 | 9.3 | 48.2 | 27.8 |
| Penguins | 43-27-12 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 19.3/84.8 | 31.6 | 8.5 | 49.1 |
30.4 |
Montreal Canadiens (1) Vs Ottawa Senators (4)
| Teams | Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% |
Hits/Game |
| Canadiens | 1-3-0 | 2.2 | 15.4 | 31.7 | 46.0 |
18.7 |
| Senators |
3-1-0 |
3.5 |
13.3 | 32.0 | 54.0 |
31.0 |
Corey Beasley: Senators in 6
Matt McCrohan: Canadiens in 7
Mike Luci: Senators in 6
Matt Cook: Canadiens in 7
Kelsey O’Donnell: Canadiens in 6
Michael Michalski: Canadiens in 6
Christopher Salavarrieta: Senators in 7
Tampa Bay Lightning (2) Vs Detroit Red Wings (3)
|
Teams |
Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% | Hits/Game |
|
Lightning |
3-1-0 | 2.0 | 12.5 | 29.2 | 54.9 |
15.0 |
| Wings | 1-2-1 | 2.2 | 23.0 | 25.5 | 45.1 |
23.5 |
Corey Beasley: Lightning in 5
Matt McCrohan: Lightning in 6
Mike Luci: Lightning in 5
Matt Cook: Lightning in 5
Kelsey O’Donnell: Red Wings in 6
Michael Michalski: Lightning in 5
Christopher Salavarrieta: Red Wings in 7
New York Rangers (1) Vs Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
|
Teams |
Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% |
Hits/Game |
|
Rangers |
3-0-1 | 4.0 | 16.6 | 31.5 | 48.9 | 26.5 |
| Penguins | 1-2-1 | 1.7 | 11.1 | 35.0 | 51.1 |
34.7 |
Corey Beasley: Rangers in 5
Matt McCrohan: Rangers in 6
Mike Luci: Rangers in 5
Matt Cook: Rangers in 5
Kelsey O’Donnell: Rangers in 7
Michael Michalski: Rangers in 7
Christopher Salavarrieta: Penguins in 6
Washington Capitals (2) Vs New York Islanders (3)
|
Teams |
Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% | Hits/Game |
|
Capitals |
2-1-1 | 2.7 | 33.3 | 26.7 | 53.4 |
32.7 |
| Islanders | 2-0-2 | 3.0 | 30.7 | 33.5 | 46.6 |
41.5 |
Corey Beasley: Capitals in 6
Matt McCrohan: Capitals in 6
Mike Luci: Capitals in 7
Matt Cook: Islanders in 6
Kelsey O’Donnell: Capitals in 7
Michael Michalski: Capitals in 7
Christopher Salavarrieta: Islanders in 6
Western Conference
| Teams | Record | Avg Goals | Avg Goals Against | PP/PK% | Shots/Game | Shot% | FO% |
Hits/Game |
|
Ducks |
51-24-7 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 15.7/81.0 | 30.0 | 9.5 | 51.6 | 28.0 |
|
Blues |
51-24-7 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 22.3/83.7 | 30.9 | 9.7 | 53.4 |
22.5 |
|
Predators |
47-25-10 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 16.2/80.8 | 31.9 | 8.8 | 48.9 | 20.6 |
| Blackhawks | 48-28-6 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 17.6/83.4 | 33.9 | 8.2 | 52.0 |
16.5 |
|
Canucks |
48-29-5 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 19.3/85.7 | 29.9 | 9.8 | 46.7 | 19.3 |
|
Flames |
45-30-7 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 18.8/80.6 | 27.5 | 10.7 | 47.4 |
21.7 |
| Wild |
46-28-8 |
2.8 |
2.4 |
15.8/86.3 |
30.8 | 9.1 | 49.9 |
16.1 |
| Jets |
43-26-13 |
2.8 |
2.5 |
17.8/81.8 | 29.7 |
9.4 |
48.9 |
29.3 |
Anaheim Ducks (1) Vs Winnipeg Jets (4)
|
Teams |
Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% |
Hits/Game |
|
Ducks |
3-0-0 | 4.0 | 31.2 | 33.0 | 54.6 | 28.3 |
| Jets | 0-1-2 | 2.6 | 18.7 | 30.0 | 45.4 |
32.3 |
Corey Beasley: Ducks in 4
Matt McCrohan: Ducks in 5
Mike Luci: Ducks in 6
Matt Cook: Ducks in 5
Kelsey O’Donnell: Ducks in 6
Michael Michalski: Ducks in 5
Christopher Salavarrieta: Jets in 7
Vancouver Canucks (2) Vs Calgary Flames (3)
|
Teams |
Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% | Hits/Game |
| Canucks | 2-2-0 | 2.2 | 25.0 | 30.2 | 49.8 |
10.5 |
| Flames | 2-1-1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 27.5 | 50.2 |
25.5 |
Corey Beasley: Flames in 7
Matt McCrohan: Flames in 7
Mike Luci: Canucks in 5
Matt Cook: Flames in 6
Kelsey O’Donnell: Canucks in 6
Michael Michalski: Canucks in 6
Christopher Salavarrieta: Flames in 6
St. Louis Blues (1) Vs Minnesota Wild (4)
|
Teams |
Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% |
Hits/Game |
|
Blues |
2-2-0 | 2.5 | 30.0 | 30.0 | 51.5 | 18.7 |
| Wild | 2-1-1 | 3.2 | 20.0 | 27.5 | 48.5 |
15.7 |
Corey Beasley: Blues in 5
Matt McCrohan: Blues in 5
Mike Luci: Blues in 7
Matt Cook: Blues in 5
Kelsey O’Donnell: Blues in 6
Michael Michalski: Blues in 6
Christopher Salavarrieta: Blues in 5
Nashville Predators (2) Vs Chicago Blackhawks (3)
|
Teams |
Season Series | GF/Game | PP% | Shots/Game | FO% |
Hits/Game |
|
Predators |
1-1-2 | 2.2 | 16.6 | 20.0 | 47.9 |
21.2 |
| Blackhawks | 3-1-0 | 2.7 | 7.7 | 25.0 | 52.1 |
14.0 |
Corey Beasley: Blackhawks in 6
Matt McCrohan: Predators in 7
Mike Luci: Blackhawks in 5
Matt Cook: Predators in 7
Kelsey O’Donnell: Blackhawks in 5
Michael Michalski: Predators in 7
Christopher Salavarrieta: Blackhawks in 5