Predicting the outcome of the first game of the NHL playoffs in 2024

The final few days of the season were crucial for many of the final matchups, including the Leafs/Bruins series, which was decided four days before the playoffs started.

The matchups for the Eastern and Western conferences have now been confirmed. The Florida Panthers are taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Boston Bruins are meeting the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the New York Rangers are lining up with the Washington Capitals.

In the West, the Dallas Stars will face the Vegas Golden Knights, the Winnipeg Jets will face the Colorado Avalanche, the Vancouver Canucks will face the Nashville Predators, and the Los Angeles Kings will face the Edmonton Oilers. This is a look at the round 1 bracket.

Predicting the opening round of these playoffs is going to be tough. There are a few perceived mismatches that may become trap series, such as the Hurricanes and Islanders. I wonder why. If Ilya Sorokin or Juuse Saros really gets hot, it's going to be tough to beat a hot goalie in 4 of 7 games. Regardless, let's dive in, starting with the West.

Las Vegas vs Dallas.

all me crazy, but Dallas is going to win. The Vegas Golden Knights might not be able to topple the red hot Dallas Stars, who finished their season on an 8-2-0 run, even with the addition of Noah Hanifin. The Stars finished second this season, just one point behind the New York Rangers. Dallas is 6th in the country.

Winnipeg vs Colorado:

Pay attention. The Avs have too much firepower, even without Connor Hellebuyck. Good luck to the Jets trying to game plan for Cale Makar, who is a mystery when it comes to predicting how he'll look to generate his looks from the back end, Nathan MacKinnon played out of his mind this season. In 5. Avs. This series doesn't seem to be getting anywhere.

Vancouver vs. Nashville:

I'd love to see Saros turn it on and blow up the hockey world, but taking down the Canucks seems like an impossible task for the Preds. The list goes on and on. The Canucks are in 5 because there are too many guys to control in Vancouver. It's possible that the Preds will win one of the first two games in Vancouver.

Los Angeles vs. Edmonton:

The Kings and Oilers had a great first round last year. The Oilers have only gotten better since taking the series 4-2. However, the Kings have also improved this season, which makes this series possibly the most intriguing one in the West. The Oilers will win Game 7 thanks to Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, even though this is the only series that could go seven games in the Western Conference.

In the East, I'm anticipating two major upsets. After examining a bit, I came up with a few really interesting pairings.

Florida vs. Tampa Bay:

The Tampa Bay Lightning are still a very dangerous team, even though they are a very good hockey team. Two Stanley Cups later, they still have the majority of the core from those two championship teams on the current roster. Nikita Kucherov has been impossible to stop all year long, and I think that will translate to the playoffs. Betting against Florida can be risky, but I'm sticking with Tampa. It's a gut feeling.

Boston vs. Toronto:

There's something special about this Leafs team, even though the Bruins have been the Leafs' kryptonite for longer than I've been alive. Last summer, when Brad Treliving put his stamp on the team by adding "snot" and tenacity in the form of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves, he was very methodical.

Hey - the Buds have to get through the Bruins eventually, right? Why not this season? Leafs in 6.

New York Rangers vI'm confident that all three players will perform admirably against Boston and ease some of the pressure on the "Core 4" in Toronto. I expect Auston Matthews to have a chip on his shoulder after missing the 70-goal mark by 1 and if they get the type of goaltending they got from Ilya Samsonov when he came back from his hiatus, I don't think the B wills. Washington Capitals:

The Capitals will always have the Alex Ovechkin X-factor to consider, but with the soon-to-be all-time goalscoring leader getting up there in age, I don't think he has the strength to drag the Capitals past the regular season champs. I'm confident the Rangers will continue their dominance in the postseason. The four rangers. This is going to be a bloodbath.
Carolina versus the New York Islanders.

It would be cool for Patrick Roy to step in behind the bench mid-season and lead the Islanders to the playoffs. I think it would be a fun story, but I don't think it will be this year's story. One of the deepest teams in the National Hockey League is the Carolina Hurricanes. They have four lines, three excellent D pairs and very good goalkeeping.

The Canes are too much for the Isles after adding Jake Guentzel at the deadline, and they might be the closest to a perfectly structured team you'll find in the East.

Even though Sorokin plays at the level we've all come to expect, I think Carolina will get away with this one, even if the Islanders steal a few games.

I'm not sure if I want to go with Canes in 5 or 6.

To summarize, I've got Stars in 6, Avs in 5, Canucks in 5, Oilers in 7, Lightning in 7, Leafs in 6, Rangers in 4 and Canes in 5, setting up a Round 2 that stacks up like this:

Dallas vs. Colorado
Vancouver vs. Edmonton

Tampa vs. Toronto
New York Rangers vs. Carolina

Who do you think is the most likely Wild Card team to pull off a potential upset in the first round? Let us know in the poll below!