The 2022-23 NHL regular season has officially concluded and the playoff match-ups have been determined. Although the Sharks won't be in it this time around, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are always a great time of the year and remain one of the greatest spectacles in sports. It's time to continue an annual tradition and give my Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions. I will present them bracket-style and in two different sets: one based on who I think will win and advance, and another based on who I want to see win and advance. Due to the wildly unpredictable nature of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I anticipate that many of my picks will be wrong, but this is supposed to be fun. Let's dive into my NHL playoff predictions for this year:
Who I Think will Win and Advance:
First Round:
Islanders vs. Hurricanes: Hurricanes in 6
Rangers vs. Devils: Rangers in 7
Panthers vs. Bruins: Bruins in 5
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs: Lightning in 7
Avalanche vs. Kraken: Avalanche in 5
Stars vs. Wild: Stars in 7
Golden Knights vs. Jets: Golden Knights in 6
Oilers vs. Kings: Oilers in 7
Second Round:
Hurricanes vs. Rangers: Rangers in 7
Bruins vs. Lightning: Bruins in 5
Avalanche vs. Stars: Avalanche in 6
Golden Knights vs. Oilers: Oilers in 7
Conference Finals:
Rangers vs. Bruins: Bruins in 6
Avalanche vs. Oilers: Oilers in 6
Cup Final:
Bruins vs. Oilers: Bruins in 6
Who I Want to See Win and Advance:
First Round:
Islanders vs. Hurricanes: Islanders, but would be fine with the Hurricanes
Rangers vs. Devils: Rangers
Panthers vs. Bruins: Bruins, but would be okay with the Panthers
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs: Lightning, but would be okay with the Leafs
Avalanche vs. Kraken: Avalanche
Stars vs. Wild: Wild, but would be fine with the Stars
Golden Knights vs. Jets: Jets
Oilers vs. Kings: Oilers
Second Round:
Islanders vs. Rangers: Rangers
Bruins vs. Lightning: Lightning
Avalanche vs. Wild: Avalanche
Jets vs. Oilers: Jets
Conference Finals:
Rangers vs. Lightning: Rangers
Avalanche vs. Jets: Avalanche
Cup Final:
Rangers vs. Avalanche: Rangers
In other news, the Sharks signed prospects Ethan Cardwell and Artem Guryev each to three-year entry-level deals, with the former being named this year's Prospect of the Year by the team. In addition, after the Columbus Blue Jackets lost 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on the final day of the NHL regular season on Friday, the Sharks have officially finished their 2022-23 season 29th in the league with the fourth-best odds at winning the draft lottery and the Connor Bedard sweepstakes at 9.8 percent.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Monday, and I can't wait to see and find out what goes down and what history is made this year. I encourage everyone reading this to tune in to playoff action at some point between Monday and the day the Cup is awarded, you'll thank me later.
Sources: NHL App, San Jose Sharks via Instagram
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