Welcome back to my playoff predictions. This week we are going to predict the outcomes of the Pacific division.

First up is the Calgary Flames taking on the Nashville Predators.

This series has a chance at a sweep. However, the other way than you are thinking. I think Nashville will take this series. Although, it is going to be close games almost all the way through. I think maybe a Game 5 Preds win would make the most sense. In the season series, Nashville has both games won in OT and a shootout. So obviously it is close, but the Predators have playoff experience and a slight edge. Starting off with the forwards. Johnny Gaudreau is the star in this series. He will be the only reason the Flames can get close in their games. Matthew Tkachuk is pretty good but I think he will try to be more of a rat than a threat in the playoffs because he will think that would help more. However, the Predators are pretty tough and I think they can easily take on dirty Matty. Nashville doesn’t have a 100 point scorer on offense, but Duchene has been insane this year with a 40 goal season.  Filip Forsberg has a 1.19 PPG average. Johanson has a 0.8 PPG  and can step up if he needs to. For defense Nashville has the obvious edge. Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanfin are decent. Roman Josi, though, is insane. He has a possible chance at 100 points this year, although he will probably end at over 90. He has 20 goals as a defense! Plus he is great at defense.  Mathias Ekholm is really good at defense and Ryan Ellis is about Rasmus Andersson level. The only way Calgary could pull this out is their goalie. Markstrom is really good this year. Saros is also pretty good this year, but not quite as good as Markstrom. If Calgary pulls this one out it will be because for at least 4 games Markstrom will be a brick wall. However, when the pressure gets turned on, Saros is insane too. I think Nashville is going to upset the Calgary Flames and move on to the second round using only 5 of 7 games.

Next is Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings

I think Edmonton can take this one. In the season series they are 3-1-0 against the Kings. The Kings have a couple old washed up players who have playoff experience, but their star players besides Kopitar are too young. They could pull out a couple wins but I don’t think LA has a chance at this series. First up, offense: McDavid and Draisaitl is so much better than anyone and combined they are insane. Plus, Hyman, and  Nuge, are pretty good too. On the Kings, Kopitar with a 0.81 PPG average is their best player. Then it’s Kempe, who can score goals  when needed, and Danault, who might not even get 50 points this year! Oilers have offense in the bag. Then we have defense. Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse are solid and the  rest of the Oilers defense is okay as well. Duncan Keith has lots of experience in the playoffs and could help the team through this series. On the Kings, Drew Doughty has a 0.79 PPG and is solid at defense, but the next best defense on their team is Sean Durzy. Edmonton takes that easily. Then goaltending. Mike Smith showed he still had it last year but this year he has lost some skill. However, I would take him over any LA Kings goalie any day. Edmonton is sweeping this series 4-0.

 

Edmonton Oilers vs Nashville Predators

I think Edmonton has this series also but it will be a lot closer. Edmonton beat Nashville last time they played 4-0, but that might have been a fluke. I think Game 6 is where Edmonton will make it to the Conference finals. On offense, obviously McDavid, Draisaitl, Nuge, and Hyman is better than Duchene, Johanson, and Forsberg. On defense, Josi, Ekholm, and Ellis is slightly better than Nurse, Barrie, and Keith, but not by so much that it will make a difference in the series. In goaltending, Saros will be able to be a better goalie, but Mike Smith can hold his own enough to save the team. I think every game will be close, but Nashville needs to shut down McDavid and Draisaitl. Edmonton needs to shut down Josi, Duchene, and Forsberg. Even though Nashville has more players that are threats, you can tell who is going to be bigger problems. Edmonton can take this series in Game 6.

Here is a link to ESPN’s playoff picture and matchups.                                        

 

Bye!

 

Hey guys how’s it going. Today I am going to choose my top 5 NHL players of the future. This is any hockey player 21 and under.

5. Lucas Raymond

Guys, you can’t blame me for this. I might have a bit of the Red Wings bias but Raymond is leading all rookies in points. He has hockey iq off the charts. He is an amazing two way player. He can be snapping quick shots at one end, or setting up brilliant plays, or at the other end he could be stopping a chance for the opposition. Trevor Zegras is very offensive minded and likes playing around with the puck, like Patrick Kane. I view Raymond as his own player. He can be like Zegras if he wants to but he can also play good defense. Lucas Raymond could be a 100 point scorer one day, and also have a defensive side to him as well. The closest comparison in my opinion is Barkov, but I think Raymond is a bit more of an offensive threat.

4. Moritz Seider

I promise this is not the Red Wings bias. Moritz Seider and his 6’4″ frame is already possibly the best draft pick in his draft. He was projected from 20th to the 2nd round, but Yzerman saw something special in him and thank goodness he did. Seider is honestly just insane. Plus he has wicked flow, but that’s beside the point. The players who have more points than him in his draft class also have over double the games. And he is a defenseman. He would come in behind Jack Hughes (By 0.02%) and Trevor Zegras (By 0.08%) in points percentage. AND HE”S A DEFENSE. I think it is a fair argument that he is the best player from his draft class. Him, along with Adam Fox and Cale Makar, are the next generation of Franchise defenseman.

3. Shane Wright

You might be surprised that Wright is coming in at third, but I think his NHL comparison is Nathan MacKinnon and Matvei Michkov (Ranked number 2) is just another level. He isn’t quite Connor McDavid, but I would say he is closer than Nathan MacKinnon, potential wise. But nonetheless, Shane Wright is a really good player. Last year in the Canada U-18’s, he had 14 points in 5 games, which is almost 3 points per game! He has excellent leadership ability. Watching his highlights, he looks identical to Nate Mac. Both of them have great ability to take quick wristers with no windup that are hard and accurate. Nathan Mackinnon is a really good player, and Shane Wright looks like he will be too. His stats in the OHL are pretty good too. This player with exceptional player status has put up 84 points in 58 games and is projected for 93 in 64. That is very good.

2. Matvei Michkov

Matvei Michkov is pretty crazy. He has a lot of confidence and loves making fancy plays. He looks like a Connor McDavid but not as fast. Like Patrick Kane but I think he has better hockey iq. Michkov compared to Zegras is also interesting. I think Zegras is like Michkov but Michkov has better skills at making plays with no time. Zegras needs more time to make a nice play. Michkov has been seen making plays out of nothing. I think Connor McDavid is the closest comparison to Michkov, but not quite at the same level. He is very close to Connor, though. His MHL stats (Which is the second best Russian league) is better than basically any other player. He has 38 points in 22 games, and 22 goals in that time. Almost 2 points per game! That is insane. For sure, Matvei Michkov deserves the hype.

 

1.Connor Bedard

He might be the next Wayne Gretzky. He could honestly score 2000 points if he stays healthy. He probably won’t score as much points as Wayne because the game has changed, but I do believe Bedard will be able to score 2000 points and have a 150 point season. He looks better than Connor McDavid right now. Bedard’s comparison would be McDavid. He has good hockey iq, but his specialness is his speed that he does everything at, and his way of firing a wicked wrister from any angle through any body and still scoring. His most special move is his toe-drag shot that is almost guaranteed to score every time. Bedard also has lots of confidence with the puck and will pull of any special type of move if the opportunity presents itself. Last year, Bedard, as a 15 year old, played 15 games in the WHL and scored 28 points. Almost 2 points per game as a 15 year old! His point-per-game average was better than McDavid. This year he got off to a slow start, but since coming back from the juniors (Where he made a record as the youngest player to score 4 goals from Canada) he has been on fire with a 20 game point streak. He has 87 points in 57 games and is projected for 95 in 62. That is pretty insane. I think Connor Bedard will be the next great one.

Thanks for reading. Here is a link to elite prospects, and here is a link to Jayden and Ernest’s blog.