2021 Stanley Cup playoffs skating thread

We have some regular season games left, but hey, we have one playoff game scheduled already, so let's get rolling with this.

EAST
(1) Pittsburgh vs. (4) N.Y. Islanders
(2) Washington vs. (3) Boston (series starts Saturday after Preakness on NBC)

CENTRAL
(1) Carolina vs. (4) Nashville
(2) Florida vs. (3) Tampa Bay

NORTH
(1) Toronto vs. (4) Winnipeg or Montreal
(2) Edmonton vs. (3) Winnipeg or Montreal
Note: Assuming the tiebreakers haven't changed, Winnipeg just needs one point or one Montreal dropped point to clinch the three seed, since they'll have far more regulation/overtime wins than the Habs

WEST
(1) Vegas or Colorado vs. (4) St. Louis
(2) Vegas or Colorado vs. (3) Minnesota
Note: Some stakes left here. You'd much rather draw the Blues than the Wild. Also, both teams still have a shot at the President's Trophy. Vegas has one game left with the Sharks; Avs host the Kings twice to end the year. ROW are tight between the two (Vegas with 38, Colorado 37), so there are a lot of ways this could still finish.

I'll update this post once the field is set. Pittsburgh is almost certain to be the fourth seed among division winners, since Toronto still plays twice and is only a point behind.

 

Panthers-Lightning is a first
Should be fun
Those two teams don’t like each other

 

North division will start late to finish the regular season. They may do 4 games in 5 nights like in the old days.

 

My favorite sports time of the year is hockey playoff time. I kind of hope someone can dispatch Vegas in the West. Personally I would love to see a McDavid-MacKinnon matchup but I’m not holding my breath.

It’s also going to be interesting to have playoffs among teams who saw an awful lot of each other in a condensed amount of time. Those first and second rounds will be a blast.

 

I do not like the Caps' chances of getting out of this division. Goaltending is a problem. Kuznetsov's mercurial nature is a problem. Oshie being out? That would be a problem. That said, I had little faith in 2018 either and Devante Smith-Pelly ended up being a playoff hero. So who the hell knows. Let's play the games.

 

The Penguins managed two Stanley Cup runs with Matt Murray. Anything is possible.

 

The Pekka Rinne skate last night was a Top 5 all-time Preds highlight, amirite @dixiehack?

 

Updated. For some reason I can't edit my original post in the thread.

EAST
(1) Pittsburgh vs. (4) N.Y. Islanders
(2) Washington vs. (3) Boston (series starts Saturday after Preakness on NBC)

CENTRAL
(1) Carolina vs. (4) Nashville
(2) Florida vs. (3) Tampa Bay

NORTH
(1) Toronto vs. (4) Montreal
(2) Edmonton vs. (3) Winnipeg

WEST
(1) Colorado vs. (4) St. Louis
(2) Vegas vs. (3) Minnesota

Quick first-round picks.
Pens in 6
Caps in 7
Canes in 5
Lightning in 6
Leafs in 5
Oilers in 7
Avs in 5
Knights in 6

 

Since the Red Wings own the Caps’ No.1 pick, I hope you’re right