Final 4 Playoff Predictions

Team: 2020-21 Custom Team

Initial Creation Date: May 15, 2021

Published: May 15, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

If you read through any of my previous playoff posts, the following were my final 4. Boston, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Colorado. These are my predictions using these 4 teams
Colorado vs Boston - I think all regular season injuries will have recovered by now on both sides so let’s pretend both teams are top to bottom, healthy. For stars, Colorado has Landeskog, MacKinnon and Rantanen. And Rantanen and MacKinnon are all world. Rantanen is one of the best playmakers in the entire NHL and MacKinnon is just completely dominant in every facet. Might be the best star group in the NHL besides Edmonton and all of these guys elevate in the playoffs. Secondary scoring is Burakovsky, Kadri, Donskoi, Nichushkin, Saad you could even wrap Jost or Compher in because both can easily play top 9. Colorado is 10 deep with playoff performers. On the fourth line, you’ll likely see some combination of Compher, Bellemare, Jost, O’Connor maybe even Newhook. I’d personally slide Newhook into the top 9. Then run Bellemare, Compher, Jost. This gives Colorado 12 skilled players in the lineup and a fourth line that is hard to play against, can defend and can score. Overall, it’s a perfect group. 3 ultra stars, endless amounts of top 9 talent, a great 4th line, good defensive ability. Boston has Bergeron, Marchand, Hall and Pastrnak in the way of star players. Bergeron, Marchand and Pasta have shown playoff performance but I have some concerns with Hall. I think he’ll be more of a secondary option as opposed to a star forward. Secondary scoring consists of DeBrusk, Coyle, Ritchie, Smith and Krejci. I have no worries about any of these players ability to perform in the playoffs. This makes the Bruins 9 deep. The 4th line is defensively competent and tough and will get the job done as well. Overall, Boston has better stars IMO. MacKinnon is obviously the best player but Pastrnak and Marchand compare to Rantanen and might be better. I just think that the Hall addition gives Boston a better star group, ever so slightly. Colorado has better secondary scoring and better depth though. Again minorly but more clear than Boston's advantage in the star department. Both teams have tough, defensively competent forward groups. Boston is probably defensively better but I think Colorado is tougher. Very even forward groups. On D, Colorado has 3 Norris contenders. 3. Some teams don’t even have 3 capable defense men. Girard, Toews, Makar and Graves make up what I think is undebatebly the best top 4 in the league. And Graves is no slouch either. One if the best shutdown d-men in the NHL IMO. On the third pair, Timmins and Nemeth are both capable top 4 guys and Timmins could be a #1 one day. This d-core rivals any in the league and I think is the best. Boston also has a Norris contender but not 3. Grezlcyk is a good #2 but he isn't Sam Girard. Carlo is a solid #3 and they have multiple other competent defence men who can fill out a third pair. They don’t have a defined #4 though. Obviously Colorado's group is superior in every way. Better #1, better high end, better top 4, better third pair, better defensively. Not as tough though but they dominate in every other factor. In net, Grubauer>Rask this season but Rask is a better goalie overall. No advantage for either team in net. On special teams, Colorado is ranked 8th in both. Boston has the 10th PP and 2nd PK. Boston has the better special teams. Colorado will struggle on the PP and Boston's PP is pretty even with the Colorado PK. Both teams are white hot and are the two hottest teams in the NHL. That said, Colorado's defence separates them. I'm taking Colorado in 7.




Toronto vs Tampa Bay - Up front the Leafs have Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander. Endless amounts of star power. The concern remains the same with them though. Can they perform in the playoffs? I think the answer is yes this year. Tavares has pieced together promising playoff performances in the past, Matthews significantly upped his defensive performance and toughness this year as did Marner so I have no worries there. Nylander is concerning but if the other 3 step up, I think Nylander will follow. Secondary scorers are Hyman, Spezza, Kerfoot and Thornton and Foligno. This makes them 9 deep with guys that can perform in the playoffs. I even think their secondary scoring group is better equipped for playoffs than regular season. On the 4th line you have guys like Mikheyev, Galchenyuk, Engvall and Simmonds. Any of these guys can fill a top 9 role in the event of injuries and if the lineup is healthy they can make up a great 4th line. Simmonds brings toughness, Mikheyev can shutdown anyone and Galch brings actual skill. Overall is a nearly perfect forward group. Loaded with high end stars, 9 deep, good 4th line and depth in case of injuries. Tampa has Point, Kucherov and Stamkos for stars. Palat may even be a star with his performance this season. All 4 can perform in the playoffs and know how to win. For secondary scoring they have Gourde, Coleman, Cirelli, Killorn and Johnson. This makes them 9 deep and 10 deep if Goodrow comes back. Joseph and Maroon aren’t too bad either. This team has nearly endless amounts of terrific NHL players. The 4th line is a 3rd line on most teams. Maroon is the perfect 4th liner. Experience, toughness, skill. This forward group has it all. They have elite stars, elite depth, know how to win, are good defensively. Overall, Toronto has a slightly better star group, Tampa has better secondary scoring but Toronto has better depth guys. Tampa is tougher and better defensively though. On D, the Leafs have Morgan Rielly as an elite #1. Muzzin is a very high end #2 and Brodie is a high end #3. Holl is a solid defensive 4 to round it all out. On the third pair, you hope Bogosian comes back. Dermott is a good skilled third pair guy but you’d like a guy whos harder to play against on the third pair, like Bogosian. If he’s back great, if he’s not, Zach Bogosian won’t win you a Stanley Cup so it’ll still be fine. Overall they have a high end, complete defensive core that can shutdown and score. On the Tampa side, Hedman is the best d-man in the NHL and Sergachev is a future #1 if he isn’t already. Hedman may not be 100% though. He’ll probably be a middle of the road #1. I think Rielly will be the better d-man but Hedman will still be effective. McDonagh is a rock solid top pair guy and Cernak is a perfect #4. The Rutta-Schenn third pair is pretty solid as well. Overall, they have one elite defense men even though he may not be playing elite, they have 2 other top pair d-men, a great 4 and a solid 3rd pair. I think Toronto has a better #1 because of the Hedman injury, Tampa has the better high end talent and the better top 4. I think both are pretty even defensively and in toughness. In net, Vasilevskiy is the far superior goalie. I don't feel like I have to explain myself. On special teams, Toronto ranks 16th on PP and 24th on PK whereas Tampa ranks 9th on PP without Kucherov all season and a portion with no Stamkos. They also rank 4th on PK. Tampa will dominate on special teams. To this point Toronto is the hotter team after getting through the North in 9 games by my prediction. I have to pick Tampa though because of Vasilevskiy and special teams. Pretty even teams throughout the rest of the roster but Tampa Bay separates there. Tampa in 7





Colorado vs Tampa Bay - Same prediction as I had back in January. Not going over a full roster recap again. I think Colorado has better star forwards, better secondary scoring, better depth and better toughness. I think Tampa has better defensive forwards though. On D, Colorado has a better #1 because of the Hedman injury, the better high end d-men, the better top 4 and the better 6. I think Vasilevskiy is the better goalie though. On special teams, Tampa is better. Colorado is 8th and 8th but Tampa was 9th and 4th with a now significantly boosted PP. Tampa will have their way on special teams. Both are coming off gruelling 7 game series as well. I just think Colorado separates defensively. Up front, although better, Colorado isn't obviously better in any area. Its all minor advantages. On defence though, Makar, Girard and Toews separate Colorado along with Hedman being injured as a major factor. Its 7 games just like I predicted at the beginning of the year but a different winner now. Colorado in 7. Nathan MacKinnon, Conn Smythe