Nothing about the 2020 NHL playoffs will be normal. Not the time of the year, not the 24-team field, not the best-of-five qualifying round series, and certainly not the bubble environments.
But then again, nothing about the NHL playoffs is ever normal.
Last year, the Lightning — with the best record in league history — swept in the first round. The year before, the Golden Knights — in their first year of existence — made the Stanley Cup Final. The year before that, the Predators — a 41-win No. 8 seed — made the Final.
So perhaps predicting the postseason, especially in this year of chaos, is futile. But what’s the fun in that?
Western Conference qualifying round
(5) Oilers over (12) Blackhawks
The Hawks have a very real chance in this series, especially with a now-healthy-again Corey Crawford.
The experience meter tips drastically in their advantage — the Hawks have three players with more than 120 games of playoff experience, while the Oilers have only one with more than 50. And they played well against Edmonton this year, winning two of three meetings.
But it’s hard to argue against the league’s top two scorers, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. They should have a field day against the Hawks’ defense, which allowed the most scoring chances in the league.
(6) Predators over (11) Coyotes
In a battle of regular season underachievers, Roman Josi’s Predators should prevail over a turmoiled Coyotes team distracted by Taylor Hall’s contract and John Chayka’s resignation.
(10) Wild over (7) Canucks
The Canucks’ exciting young core is easy to root for, but Minnesota quietly might have the league’s best group of defensive forwards. Jordan Greenway, Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson Ek all ranked in the top 16 at limiting opponent scoring chances.
(9) Jets over (8) Flames
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck nearly broke the Hart Trophy’s anti-goaltender bias with his spectacular season, which kept a gutted Winnipeg ‘D’ core competitive. And never is goaltending more valuable than in the playoffs.
Eastern Conference qualifying round
(5) Penguins over (12) Canadiens
In what was already a lopsided matchup, Jake Guentzel’s return to health only further aids the Penguins. Coach Mike Sullivan would be wise to give 2019 breakout Tristan Jarry the reins in goal over Matt Murray.
(11) Rangers over (6) Hurricanes
The Rangers have won 29 of their last 35 meetings against the Hurricanes dating back to 2011-12. They’re a strong Cinderella candidate with MVP candidate Artemi Panarin up front and two excellent goalie options, Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin, in back.
(7) Islanders over (10) Panthers
This is another battle of underachievers: the Islanders lost 20 of 30 games after New Year’s Day; the Panthers lost 12 of 18 after Feb. 3. But Barry Trotz has done a better job implementing his system with the Isles than Joel Quenneville has with the Cats.
(8) Maple Leafs over (9) Blue Jackets
The Leafs’ historical playoff ineptitude aside, their offensive attack is one of the league’s most dangerous. Plus, it seems unlikely Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins can stay as good — and Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen as bad — as they were last winter.
West Finals: Avalanche over Blues
The Avalanche have all the pieces in place to become a dynasty.
Nathan MacKinnon might be the best all-around player in the NHL. Linemates Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, now healthy, form the best first line in hockey. Defenseman Cale Makar has a 50-50 chance to win the Calder Trophy. Goalies Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz were quietly one of the league’s best duos.
The Blues retain all the needed pieces for their title defense and the Stars have towering Ben Bishop in net, but this feels like it could be the Avs’ breakthrough year.
East Finals: Lightning over Penguins
The Lightning feel ready to translate their sustained regular season dominance into the postseason. They have one of the NHL’s best offensive forwards in Nikita Kucherov, best defensive forwards in Anthony Cirelli, best defensemen in Victor Hedman and best goalies in Andrei Vasilevskiy — they’re 159-60-15 over the last three seasons for a reason.
Meanwhile, it’d be surprising if at least one team from the qualifying round didn’t make a run to the conference finals. The Penguins are a good bet, although David Pastrnak, Tuukka Rask and the Bruins will have something to say about it.
Cup Finals: Lightning over Avalanche
It’d be a crime if the Lightning never get a Cup out of this stacked current core. If they win this year, it’d certainly hush any talk of an asterisk accompanying the adapted format champion.
