My 2021 Stanley Cup Playoff Second Round Predictions

 That was one hell of a first round. There was more games in this year's playoffs that required overtime than in any other year that I can remember thus far. The Battle of Florida between the Lightning and Panthers had a ton of potential to be great, but the return of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov from injury were too much for the Panthers to handle, resulting in the right team prevailing in that series. I wasn't anticipating any sweeps, but we had two of them in the first round: an eventful sweep of the Oilers by the Jets and the Avalanche sweep of the Blues. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisatl weren't able to get things going in their first round match-up with the Jets, and the Oilers' lack of depth really showed in the first round. The Blues didn't really stand a chance against the Avalanche as St. Louis was swept in the first round. 

I give the Predators props for a hard-fought series in the first round against the Hurricanes, but the better team came out of that series. The Islanders took advantage of poor play from the Penguins' goaltending to advance to the second round. The Capitals should be extra grateful for their Cup win in 2018, as they unfortunately haven't been able to win a playoff series since. Although the Wild couldn't pull off the upset against the Golden Knights, this was still a great series that went the distance.  Regardless of the outcome of the Leafs-Canadiens match-up, this was another hell of a series in the first round.

We have some very interesting and exciting match-ups in the second round of the playoffs this year. We will see some great teams that have the potential to go on a deep run and possibly win the Cup get knocked out in the second round, which will be a shame but completely fine at the same time depending on the team. With that being said, here are my predictions for the second round match-ups of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs: 

Lightning vs. Hurricanes: Lightning in 7 

Bruins vs. Islanders: Bruins in 7 

Avalanche vs. Golden Knights: Avalanche in 7 

*Jets vs. Maple Leafs/Canadiens: If the Maple Leafs advance, Maple Leafs in 6; if the Canadiens advance, Jets in 6 

*At the time I wrote this post, the Maple Leafs-Canadiens series has yet to be completed. This series is tied 3-3 with a decisive Game 7 on Monday and a 50-50 chance of it going either way.

Check back in a few weeks as I continue to make predictions for every Stanley Cup Playoff series, with the next set coming when the Semifinal match-ups are determined. Hope you've been enjoying the Stanley Cup Playoffs as much as I have!