Current top team likely to be upset in the playoffs?

[TheRealPepman]

Pick among

Calgary
San Jose
Winnipeg
Vegas
Nashville

Tampa Bay
Toronto
NY Islanders
Boston
Washington

Click to read more...

 

[Master P]

Calgary, Toronto, Boston, Islanders

If you wanted us to pick one team then i'd pick Toronto

 

[rubikscube]

Calgary or Winnipeg in the west

Toronto, NY Islanders in the east.

 

[koyvoo]

I don’t like to make a guess like this without seeing matchups.

Some teams don’t match up well vs teams that they are better than and some teams match up well vs teams that are better than them.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

lightning

 

[axman15]

Lightning. Only 2 of the past 15 presidents trophy winning teams have went on to win the cup, so the odds aren't in their favour.

 

[attackfan71]

Good chance Toronto and Boston play one another and I don’t think you can call that an upset for either team regardless of outcome. Two closely matched teams just a different style of play. Same with many potential opening playoff series. Only series I consider upsets are teams that lose to wild card team.

 

[JoVel]

Tampa and its fans will be upset if they don't go 16-0.

 

[koyvoo]

Lightning. Only 2 of the past 15 presidents trophy winning teams have went on to win the cup, so the odds aren't in their favour.

The other 15 combined are always going to be a better bet than the 1 top ranked team.

At the same time, not every 1st overall team has a season that ranks historically with the very best all time.

 

[Maukkis]

Winnipeg and Washington.

 

[Cor]

Toronto, and Boston can’t really be upset.

Chances are they will meet in Round 1, and one of them will lose to the other.

Whoever wins, likely plays Tampa Bay, so if they lose there, still not an upset.


If Tampa Bay loses any round, it’s an upset, so they are the safe bet

 

[Kamiccolo]

Upset implies there is a heavy favorite. I don't think that of those there are many who would be a heavy favorite over anyone aside from maybe someone in the west if they face a really bad team in their division like if Edmonton or the Avs manage to sneak in.

Really the only heavy favorite would be Tampa in every series so I have to say them.

 

[Thrasymachus]

Isles winning a playoff round is gravy if they can take the metropolitan. Crazy we are actually considered a top team right now

Most isles fans expected us to be a bottom 5 team this year.

 

[93gilmour93]

NYI in the east
Vegas in the west

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

We talking upset in first round or? throughout the playoffs?

1st round id say

East:
Toronto, they have a good team but it looks like they are going to draw boston in round 1.... and that's a tough matchup for anyone... wouldn't really call it an "upset" but the leafs will likely be the higher seed going in. They are just going to get the worst opening round matchup out of the other top 4 east teams.

West:
I think Nash/San jose/Flames/Winnipeg(no order are far superior to anyone they will play in round 1)

San Jose - If I had to choose 1 team I would say the sharks(assuming they draw vegas)…. MAF is a goalie that can carry a team to a series win, vegas did beat the sharks last years playoffs granted san jose is better this year, and I expect them to win.... but this would be the only matchup out west I see going past 5 games.

 

[Taluss]

Feeling Caps and Flames here

 

[bukwas]

Seems like a safe bet that of the teams being offered up for sacrifice it will be one from the Pacific and probably the Atlantic as well due to the odds being extremely high two teams from each will face one another in the 1st round.
Barring a massive collapse by 1 of the top 3 in the Pacific and a less drastic one from the Atlantic, or a meteoric rise(more so the Pacific as Montreal could do it in the Atlantic with a good run) from 1 or more of the 4-8 place teams in each division it's impossible for one from each division not to be eliminated in the 1st round.
I would go with a Pacific team as they're all but locked into a showdown and the unavoidable knockout.

 

[Doctor No]

Lightning. Only 2 of the past 15 presidents trophy winning teams have went on to win the cup, so the odds aren't in their favour.

Hot Take Alert: the odds aren't in any single team's favor.

If you take an overwhelming favorite that's a 2-to-1 favorite in every single series, they're only going to win the Stanley Cup less than 20% of the time.

 

[axman15]

Hot Take Alert: the odds aren't in any single team's favor.

If you take an overwhelming favorite that's a 2-to-1 favorite in every single series, they're only going to win the Stanley Cup less than 20% of the time.

I was asked my opinion, and I stated it, plus I backed it up with some reasoning. Did you come here just to critique opinions without providing your own?

 

[super6646]

Flames. It's in our DNA.

 

[Cleatus]

Team I can see suffering the biggest upset is probably Winnipeg. They're doing really well in the standings, but haven't actually played that well for a lot of the season. If they don't get their act together fast, they could be exposed by a "lesser team" come playoff time.

 

[boredmale]

Most isles fans expected us to be a bottom 5 team this year.

I thought the team should at least be better then the 80 points then they got last year which generally wouldn't be bottom 5

 

[AlphaCatalyst]

Tampa Bay is the only answer.

Every other team losing is not really going to be seen as an upset as there really is not that much separating them.

 

[BlueBaron]

I predict the Leafs win this thread!

I don't think it's an upset if we beat Boston but I'm hoping that is what happens this year. Chara is a year older, can't hurt.

 

[Doctor No]

I was asked my opinion, and I stated it, plus I backed it up with some reasoning. Did you come here just to critique opinions without providing your own?

In the future, I'll send all of my posts to you for pre-approval. Is there an e-mail address I should use?

Anyhow, I was critiquing your reasoning, since it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Are you not familiar with the concept of a discussion forum?

As for my opinion, I don't see how one can form a good opinion until the matchups are set.