Preds in 5. Truth to be told, the Avs have been pretty bad lately. Lucky for them, the Blues sucked even more during the last 5 games or so. It just seems like the Avs top guys are totally spent. The Preds are definitely more experienced than the Avs and have so solid defense. The goaltending edge also goes to the Preds, especially when Varlamov is out for the first round.
Jets in 6. Suter is day-to-day for Wild and there is no question that the Jets has more offensive depth than the Wild. The Wild veterans will probably win one or two home games because of their playoff experience. Since Dubnyk does not have a career year this time I think there will be some pretty ugly numbers in the Jets home games.
Kings in 7. This is truly the most difficult series to predict. I just feel like maybe Vegas won't excel when playing several times in a row against the same team. But the momentum these Golden Knights have is phenomenal and I consider this going to game 7. More salt to the wound for us Cats fans if Gallant gets the team to round two but he has yet to prove that he can actually win a playoffs series.
Ducks in 6. I really haven't followed the Quackers or the Sharks, so this series is really hard to predict in any way. Ducks got the home ice advantage with 1 point before the Sharks, might turn out as a huge factor. I think the goalie edge goes to Anaheim, Gibson has been excellent.
Lightning in 5. The Devils live and die with Taylor Hall. They really had a hell of a run this spring which spoiled the Cats' chances to clinch that WC2 spot. But I really don't think that the Devils can beat the Lightning while leaning solely on Hall and some second liners. Devils win one of their home games but that's it.
Leafs in 6. Bruins have truly struggled lately and I don't know why but they always tend to have very weak starts to games. The Leafs are known to be so tough in the first period, this might lead to some games being over before the second period. Rask has looked shaky during the past few weeks and the Bruins' core skaters have also looked weak lately.
Capitals in 7. What I find interesting is that Holtby has looked so bad this year. He had two playoff runs when he posted magical numbers (around 1.71 GAA with .943 SVS% for those two years) but last year he really let in some soft ones in the playoffs, and this spring he has again sunk to a mediocre level. I really hope the Caps start with Grubauer, he definitely deserves it and is the hotter goalie at the moment.
Penguins in 6. I hate to believe in this outcome, but the Flyers are super shaky in the goaltending department. The Penguins' lethal offense knows no mercy. Since the Flyers will be stupid and take lots of penalties, the series goes to the Penguins. If some games in this series become a goal-scoring contest, it is 100% certain that the Penguins prevail.