ESPN will air the entirety of the Metropolitan and Pacific divisions on alternating days, beginning Wednesday, May 18. He's both their last line of defense and their catalyst, as the Rangers feed off his performances when opponents tip the ice. cal: Rangers in seven Center Steven Stamkos (eight points) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh have been there in big moments. Their power play is going to do some damage. Colorado has to frustrate the Oilers' top skaters, make it difficult for them to find space or get in a rhythm early. Artemi Panarin quietly had points in the last three games against Carolina, including a great outlet pass that sprung Strome for a critical goal that put them up 3-0. Players, coaches, execs vote for NHL's top centers, NHL Power Rankings: Checking in on each team's 25-and-under core, Lineup picks, matchups, start or sit advice for Wednesday, McAvoy scores in OT, Bruins beat Flames for 8th win a row, Gaudreau scores in shootout, Wild beat Islanders 2-1, Geekie ends drought with 2 goals, Kraken beat Blues 5-3, Robinson scores 3 goals in Blue Jackets' 5-3 win over Sabres, Who goes to the Stanley Cup Final? In over 500 minutes of game action this postseason, Kuemper has faced only 218 pucks. While offense can sometimes dry up the deeper we get into postseason play, that doesn't necessarily mean it will be the case here. Can Georgia pull off a repeat? Why not Dallas? Messier: Avalanche in seven NHL Events 2022-23; ESPN, Turner Schedules; . The Rangers didn't have to face Penguins starter Tristan Jarry until Game 7; instead, they saw backup Casey DeSmith for five and a half periods and then third-stringer Louis Domingue for just over six games. There's an enviable level of top-end talent, but the balanced depth is really what the Avalanche have displayed in the postseason. But the catalyst for their first playoff berth since 2018 wasn't the kids, but rather the established veterans. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Colorado's big winger has one goal in these playoffs, which he scored on an empty net in the Avs' 6-3 victory over St. Louis in Game 4. Subscribe to ESPN+ On paper, the Rangers were out in the first round. Same with its overall consistency. 2021-22 NHL Predictions Updated after every game. CAR (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 100% Tragic number: N/A. Meanwhile, MacKinnon will be leading the charge up front. Its defense has been a little better than Edmonton's (giving up a playoff-low 27 shots against per game versus the Oilers' 37.5) and its depth is impressive. ESPN revealed its top five most likely playoff . Subscribe to ESPN+ The Rangers didn't have to face Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen, who missed the playoffs with a lower-body injury; instead, they saw Antti Raanta for six games and half of Game 7 until his injury, and then third-stringer Pyotr Kochetkov. Ferraro: Flames in seven They're the NHL's top-scoring team for a reason, having been consistently outstanding offensively since Game 1. Biggest flaw(s): The fact that the Kings still managed to make the playoffs without Doughty is a testament to how well they played before his injury. Kuemper came through in that series when the Avalanche needed it, but there wasn't a lot of rhythm to his game. For example, we've learned that they've effectively rebuilt their bottom six after the offseason exodus of their celebrated checking line of Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow. Also on a roll: St. Louis' power play, which has been top three in the NHL since late March. Cam Talbot, solid all season, has improved even further riding shotgun with the newcomer. The Oilers are more balanced (28.1% on the power play, 85.4% on the kill). Mark Messier: Lightning in seven We've graded all 32 teams -- including one A+ and two F's -- and announced the winners of our own batch of awards . The Rangers goalie has been their best player through the first two rounds -- heck, he has even chipped in three assists on top of his stellar goaltending. We've got all the angles covered to get you ready for the playoffs as ESPN hockey reporters Greg Wyshynski and Kristen Shilton take a look at each of the 16 postseason teams, offering the reasons each team could win it all, along with their (potentially) biggest flaws, players to watch and a bold prediction for every contender. Read on for predictions for every game involving a Top 25 team on the schedule over the next seven days. In today's Morning 3-on-3, we debate whether both are playoff locks -- and a threat if they make it. Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Lightning in six Player to watch: Under different circumstances, 22-year-old defenseman Evan Bouchard might have been a Calder Trophy finalist with his 43 points in 81 games. Period. Mike Smith has been great for Edmonton in the playoffs, without question, but we haven't seen the best of Kuemper yet. Case for a Stanley Cup run: Few teams are built better for a run at the Cup than the Calgary Flames. Toronto Maple Leafs. Bold prediction: The Flames advance to the Western Conference finals, including a Battle of Alberta win over the Oilers. Case for a Stanley Cup run: Boston can be a tough team to play against. NHL playoff fantasy competition is its own brand of compact, focused fun. Pittsburgh Penguins 4. He battled back and won a Game 7. The image above displays the 2023 NHL Playoff bracket and will be updated after each week. As Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said: Their problem offensively was not having elite goal-scorers. We know Josi is a Norris Trophy-caliber defender, but the rest of Nashville's blue line doesn't exhibit nearly the same consistency. Bold prediction: Kopitar and Danault do what they can against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but the loss of Doughty proves too much and the Kings fall to the Oilers in six games. Bold prediction: The Hurricanes get past the Bruins in the first round, but it's a grinding seven-game series. Those types of intangibles are impossible to quantify in the unknowable season ahead. We'll highlight the current playoff picture in both conferences, take a look at what the first-round matchups might look like, see who's leading the race for the best odds in the draft lottery and more. Kaplan: Avalanche in six The first round might actually be the hardest for Tampa, knowing how hungry the Leafs are to overcome their checkered playoff past. Those 5-on-5 opportunities can be -- and almost always are -- limited in the playoffs. You could put Nurse here, and say he hasn't been an obvious difference-maker for the Oilers (to the degree a top-pairing defender usually is). Leah Hextall: Panthers in seven These are the playoffs. Bold prediction: The Penguins go out in the first round, but goaltending isn't the reason. Buccigross: Avalanche in seven Artemi Panarin averaged 1.28 points per game. Returning contributors Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat can play up or down the lineup with effectiveness. Mark Giordano has helped solidify the blue line, and the Leafs actually have good depth there, for once. Mleczko: Flames in six DiPietro: Flames in six Matiash: Flames in seven Some of those came on odd-man rushes, a few on chances on the doorstep. This is when he should shine. as well as out-of-market games. Sure, Penguins center Nick Bonino scored the winning goal against the Sharks in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. What will he bring to the table to help make it happen? Only four teams had a lower expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 than the Rangers this season: the Sabres, Kraken, Coyotes and Blackhawks. But teams win with depth in the playoffs, and there's been some falloff here for the Flames. Kavanagh: Oilers in seven Colorado has shown it can win all types of games, whether big-time blowouts or tightly contested grinders. It's hard to imagine the Kings doing anything of consequence in the postseason without Doughty, an accomplished playoff performer who had 31 points in 39 games this season, averaging 25:44 per night. Ryan Callahan: Panthers in six Look back at how Nashville started the season, winning just one of its first five games but then exploding to earn the NHL's best record (23-7-2) from mid-October to early January. Wischusen: Avalanche in six College Basketball Week 17 Top 25 Predictions Note: Projected winners are listed in bold. NHL trade grades: Kings make smart additions in Gavrikov, Korpisalo, NHL trade tracker: Latest deals, rumors and grades, Capitals send Eller to Avs for second-round pick, Kings deal Cup-winning G Quick to Blue Jackets, Rangers clear hurdles, get Kane from Blackhawks, Oilers bulk up defense, secure Predators' Ekholm, Leafs win Schenn sweepstakes, trade for veteran, Leafs deal Sandin to Capitals for Gustafsson, pick, Wild add depth, acquire Johansson from Capitals, Chasing history in Boston: The numbers behind the Bruins' wild 2022-23 season, McDavid, then who? Push for the Playoffs will run every morning through the end of the 2021-22 NHL season. There hasn't been a ton of that for the Oilers; most of their key tallies have come from the same group of four or five guys. We just keep on trying to find our game and playing for each other," said forward Chris Kreider. Hosts Linda Cohn and Emily Kaplan bring their hockey expertise and passion for the sport, discussing the latest news around the league as well as interviewing the biggest names both on and off the ice. Some teams have improved, while others went into re-build mode. La Greca: Hurricanes in six The role players GM Chris Drury added along the way -- such as forwards Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp -- have bolstered the team. They're finding ways to win, finding ways to survive and I think they do it again here. The team gets contributions from steady veterans (Jordan Staal), stellar young talents (Martin Necas) and other teams' castaways (the divisive but effective Tony DeAngelo). Free agency is looming, and all eyes will be on Kadri as he chases that elusive championship. We muse, one last time, on the league stages of the 2022/23 Indian Super League (ISL) season: Odisha slip through, somehow It was in their hands going into the final week. Bob Wischusen: Panthers in seven How do the Avs slow down the McDavid-Draisaitl-Kane line? Expect more great performances from him. They rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 series deficits to defeat the Hurricanes. Weekes: Flames in seven (2:28). After a bumpy road through February and most of March, the Blues caught fire into April and have been unstoppable of late. He hasn't been that guy for a while, and at 36, he might never be that guy again. Their superstars kept improving throughout the last round and were the difference-makers at critical times. The 2022-23 NHL regular season is currently at its midpoint, but it's never too early to start thinking about playoffs. Hextall: Flames in six Player to watch: Vasilevskiy. Ditto Brad Marchand. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are one of the NHL's most dynamic offensive duos. The answer should be clear early on against Edmonton. The first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs was a doozy, including five series going to Game 7 -- and two of those Game 7's going to overtime. 17 overall, should be able to select . Goalie Frederik Andersen had a dominant regular season, finishing third in goals saved above average (38.7). And yet, here we are. After Pavelski, Hintz and Robertson (who all tallied 70 or more points), Dallas' offense has been streaky. Calgary vs. Dallas: Flames in five. We've graded all 32 teams-- including one A+ and two F's -- and announced the winners of our own batch of awards. The winger is having an unbelievable regular season but hasn't scored a playoff goal since 2017-18 and has only eight assists in 12 postseason games the past two years. DiPietro: Avalanche in seven This season is shaping up in similar fashion. It's time for our experts to go on the record with their predictions on which four teams will make it one step closer to the Stanley Cup Final, which is returning to ABC this season. Ray Ferraro: Panthers in seven What Keith does best is bring consistency to Edmonton's defensive effort. How will the Rangers handle Nikita Kucherov? But the kids were all right too: Forwards Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari and Quinton Byfield, as well as defensemen Mikey Anderson and Sean Durzi, also contributed. Colton and Perry, the latter of whom was acquired as a free agent this past summer, lead the Lightning with five goals each. John Tortorella: Panthers in seven Playoff position: M2 Games left: 3 Next game: vs. The Avs' Norris Trophy finalist defenseman projects to draw Edmonton's toughest matchups, and as the Oilers proved against Calgary, its top line is tough to contain. Back for 2022 is the usual playoff format with the top team in the conference facing the second wild card, the other division winner playing the first wild card and N. 2 going up against No. Center Ross Colton, who scored the only goal in their Cup-clinching game last summer against the Canadiens, has played the majority of his minutes with Brandon Hagel, whom the Lightning acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline. We all saw what happened to netminder Sergei Bobrovsky in last season's playoffs (when he was replaced midway through the first round by rookie Spencer Knight), and the veteran has struggled down the stretch this season (with a save percentage below .900 in three of four recent appearances). Defenseman Adam Fox said he's looking forward to the battle between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Shesterkin. Case for a Stanley Cup run: This is Edmonton Oilers Version 2.0. Are we focusing heavily on the best players in this series? NBA Playoff Picture: Eastern Conference. Bolden: Flames in seven But that's the regular season. The Avalanche have an excellent power play (34.5%) but weaker penalty kill (73.1%). The 2022 college football season doesn't kick off until August 27, but it's never too soon to look at possible College Football Playoff matchups. The Panthers' depth of electric scoring ability has the potential to carry this team a long way into spring. He's the club's leading scorer, averaging more than a point a game, and eats important minutes. Bold prediction: Shesterkin pitches two shutouts in the opening round as the Rangers advance. NHL playoff series odds: St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Odds provided by BetMGM Blues +130 vs. Wild -150 Easily the most polarizing series in the Western Conference, both St. Louis and. Yes, Mike Smith has been in a groove during April, with a .948 even-strength save percentage in nine games. Never let them have the puck. Messier: Oilers in six Editor's Picks. Make Your Picks. Forsberg can, and will, challenge any defense the Predators see in coming weeks. Edmonton's top line is stacked, it's slippery and it's been operating at an incredibly high level. But now that the Penguins are in, with a lineup dotted with familiar names sporting Stanley Cup rings, the best case for a championship run is made by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Jeff Carter, Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel. The Flames' plus-85 trailed only the Presidents' Trophy-winning Panthers for the. Before the NBA resumes play on Thursday night, it is time to answer some big questions. As long as the Oilers' stars are shining that brightly, they'll have a chance to win any series. Other than Nathan MacKinnon going off in Game 5 against St. Louis, and Cale Makar just being generally excellent at every turn, it's not as if Colorado has required its superstars to carry the day. But it was also a campaign that saw Alex Ovechkin score 50 goals and carry the team for stretches this season. 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