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North Playoff Predictions

Created by: TheFlamingC
Team: 2020-21 Custom Team
Initial Creation Date: May 13, 2021
Published: May 15, 2021
Salary Cap Mode: Basic
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Toronto vs Montreal - On the Toronto injury front, I assume Hyman will be back. On the Montreal front... yikes. Gallagher and Price have been ruled out, Drouin remains indefinite and Weber can’t shoot in practice. At least Danault will be back. Let’s assume Price, Gallagher and Drouin are out, Weber is way less than 100% and Danault is in. 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. Montreal has Toffoli and maybe Suzuki for stars. Both have them are very fringe stars at that. They just aren’t going to cut it. At least both have had some good playoff performances. Secondary scoring consists of Tatar, Danault, Anderson, Caufield and Kotkaniemi. I would include Perry statistically but I just don’t think he’s a good hockey player. He sucks. In regards of playoff performances Tatar has never pieced together a good one, Anderson is built for playoffs, Danault will be fine and Kotkaniemi as well as Caufield will likely struggle. I just don’t think they will work in the playoffs. With all the injuries, the playoffs, the underperformance of Staal and other depth players the once mighty Canadiens filled with players top to bottom have been reduced to a team with only a dependable top 6 and a whole lot of question marks. The Leafs on the other hand are a for sure. You know your getting one of the best, most complete teams that can play defence, score and is filled out top to bottom. The Leafs have by far the better forward group. 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. I don’t anticipate any of these dmen performing a disappearing act in the playoffs. On the Montreal front, Jeff Petry is a superstar #1, but has taken a little bit of a step back as of the second half. Weber has taken a step back this year, and on top of that, as of today cannot shoot a hockey puck which is his biggest strength. He’ll be nothing more than a defensive 4 playing as a 2 for the majority of this series. Chiarot is a good defensive, solid #3 who you can depend on and Edmundsson is a good 4 who had a great season this year. Kulak is a solid bottom pair defender and Romanov is as well. Romanov is probably a middle pair at this point playing on the bottom pair. They’re not very hard to play against like you want from a third pair but they have actual hockey skill. Overall they have a solid d-core. They are a little more filled out top to bottom than the Leafs but I’m going to take the Leafs defensive core simply because of Weber’s injury. In net, I assume Campbell and Allen will start. If so, Campbell is the better goalie. The Leafs dominate top to bottom through the lineup. On special teams, the Leafs have the 16th ranked PP, which would be lower if not for the seasons start. They have the 23rd PK. Not very good on special teams. Montreal has the 18th best PP and 22nd PK. Pretty even special teams wise but neither are good on special teams. Overall the Leafs have a huge advantage everywhere besides special teams. Not to mention the 7-3 record heading into playoffs compared to the 4-6 Habs record. Leafs in 4


Edmonton vs Winnipeg - Copp and Ehlers are expected back but I doubt Kassian will return. For stars, Edmonton has McDavid and Draisaitl. The best player in the league and a guy who could be when McDavid is injured. Both were crazy good in the regular season and now that it’s playoffs, they’ll turn it up and be more dominant if that’s even possible. Supporting players are Nuge, Puljujarvi and Yamamoto. The Oilers aren’t very deep. Nuge, Puljujarvi and Yamamoto when on their game are all very good. I don’t think Yamamoto will be very effective in the playoffs though. I just don’t see him as a winner. The Oilers are 4 deep. 4. That is the worst of any team in the playoffs. Chiasson, Archibald and Khaira are effective depth, but they play too high in the lineup in Edmonton. Edmonton has 4th liners on the 3rd line. Past McDavid, Draisaitl, Nuge and Pulju its a disaster up front for Edmonton. On the Winnipeg front, they have Scheifele, Connor, Ehlers and Wheeler for stars. All are great offensive players but none of them besides sort of Ehlers have never even attempted to play defence. That won’t go ever well against McDavid and Draisaitl. All are tough and will do well offensively in the playoffs but they need to be better at defense. Copp, Stastny, Appleton, Lowry and Dubois are the Jets secondary options. They have really good depth and unlike the stars, they can actually play defense. All are effective playoff performers as well. This makes the Jets 9 deep with playoff performers yet spotty defense throughout the lineup. If you wrap Perreault into the group they are 10 deep. Depth guys on the Jets are Lewis and Thompson. They make up an effective and difficult 4th line. Overall the Jets have a complete forward group top to bottom. Stars, secondary scoring 10 deep, good 4th line, good depth defense. Only issue is that the stars are literally incapable of even pretending to play defence. On D, the Oilers have a superstar in Nurse. He’s tough, good defensively, good offensively and will have no troubles in the playoffs. Barrie on the other hand has had the most BS season in NHL history and I expect complete uselessness in the playoffs despite the fact he’ll continue to rack up points. Larson and Russell are good shutdown guys but Russell is a 5 and Larsson is a 4. Both play higher than they should. Past these 4 regulars, Bear and Jones are too weak to succeed in the playoffs, Lagesson is a good defensive guy if he gets minutes and Bouchard is better than Barrie and Larsson but never gets minutes. I honestly don’t know what to expect from this defensive core past Nurse. It’s below average is all I know despite good organizational depth. On Winnipeg, Pionk is the best d-man in this series. True star #1. Morrissey is a very high end #2. I find him supremely overrated. Some people thinks he’s better than Pionk. No. At best, Morrissey is a fringe #1. That said, if Josh Morrissey is your second best defense man your doing good. DeMelo is a good 3 past Pionk and Morrissey. Forbort plays over his head at 4. He’s a third pairing guy. Stanley and Benn are great third pair shutdown guys who are tough. Exactly what you want from a third pair. Overall, Winnipeg has a better group. Two dependable top pair guys and a good 3 with effective depth compared to Darnell Nurse and a whole lot of ?. In net, Hellebuyck over Smith. Smith is hot right now though so it’s not a huge advantage but Hellebuyck is the better goalie. On special teams, Edmonton has the best PP and the 10th PK. Winnipeg has the 6th PP and 15th PK. Not a huge Edmonton advantage but is there. Overall Winnipeg is better in every facet besides star forwards and special teams. That said, I’m taking Edmonton for two reasons. They have Connor McDavid and are 8-2 in the last 10 as opposed to 2-8 Winnipeg. Winnipeg is limping into the playoffs and you can’t do that, no matter how much better your team is. Edmonton in 6.




Toronto vs Edmonton - Not going in depth as I did in the previous paragraphs. Edmonton has the best stars in the league but Toronto might be the 2nd best. Toronto has better secondary options, better depth, better defensive forwards and just a better forward core. Toronto has a better top 4, more complete defense, slightly worse #1 though. Toronto had a better goalie though. Edmonton has better special teams and just like the previous series, their only advantages are McDavid and the power play. Unlike the previous series, Toronto isn’t actively trying to lose every game leading into playoffs. Toronto in 5.
ROSTER SIZESALARY CAPCAP HITOVERAGES TooltipBONUSESCAP SPACE
7$1$68,293,250$0$0-$68,293,249
Left WingCentreRight Wing
Logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs
$11,640,250$11,640,250
C
UFA - 4
Logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs
$10,903,000$10,903,000
RW
UFA - 5
Logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs
$11,000,000$11,000,000
C, LW
NMC
UFA - 5
Logo of the Montreal Canadiens
$5,500,000$5,500,000
RD
M-NTC, NMC
UFA - 1
Logo of the Edmonton Oilers
$8,500,000$8,500,000
C, LW
UFA - 5
Logo of the Edmonton Oilers
$12,500,000$12,500,000
C
UFA - 6
Logo of the Winnipeg Jets
$8,250,000$8,250,000
RW
NMC
UFA - 4
Left DefenseRight DefenseGoaltender
ScratchesInjured Reserve (IR)Long Term IR (LTIR)
Logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs
$6,962,366$6,962,366
RW
UFA - 4
Logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs
$5,625,000$5,625,000
LD
NMC
UFA - 4
Logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs
$5,000,000$5,000,000
LD
M-NTC
UFA - 2

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May 15, 2021 at 3:44 p.m.
#1
Once a Kings Fan Too
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Never mind the important stuff -- my question is how will Vancouver do in their last 4 games? Specifically, will they get at least 5 out of the 8 points available?
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May 15, 2021 at 3:49 p.m.
#2
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Quoting: OldNYIfan
Never mind the important stuff -- my question is how will Vancouver do in their last 4 games? Specifically, will they get at least 5 out of the 8 points available?


Lmao. I hope so, better lottery chances for Calgary
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May 15, 2021 at 3:53 p.m.
#3
Hakuna Matata
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Quoting: OldNYIfan
Never mind the important stuff -- my question is how will Vancouver do in their last 4 games? Specifically, will they get at least 5 out of the 8 points available?


I mean its a question of how high or low of a pick does management want.
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May 15, 2021 at 3:55 p.m.
#4
Le patriote
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«On the Montreal front... yikes. Gallagher and Price have been ruled out, » mmm : https://www.rds.ca/videos/hockey/ils-sont-de-retour-price-gallagher-et-danault-a-l-entrainement-3.1388993 .... Danault Gallagher et Price ce matin à la pratique.
May 15, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.
#5
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Quoting: habitantlecolon
«On the Montreal front... yikes. Gallagher and Price have been ruled out, » mmm : https://www.rds.ca/videos/hockey/ils-sont-de-retour-price-gallagher-et-danault-a-l-entrainement-3.1388993 .... Danault Gallagher et Price ce matin à la pratique.


Are they back? Last I heard they were out. This post has been in the works for a couple days so things change. That’s good for Montreal but I don’t think it will change the tide of the series.
May 15, 2021 at 4:38 p.m.
#6
Le patriote
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Quoting: TheFlamingC
Are they back? Last I heard they were out. This post has been in the works for a couple days so things change. That’s good for Montreal but I don’t think it will change the tide of the series.


Yes, only Drouin is done with Habs (personal leave)

combination:

Tatar - Danault - Gallagher
Toffoli - Suzuki - Armia
Perry - Staal - Anderson
Byron - Evans - Lehkonen

Edmundson - Petry
Chiarot - Weber
Romanov - Merrill

Price
Alen

extra: Lindgren Caufield Frolik Kotkaniemi Ouellet Gustafsson
May 15, 2021 at 4:59 p.m.
#7
Hakuna Matata
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Quoting: habitantlecolon
Yes, only Drouin is done with Habs (personal leave)

combination:

Tatar - Danault - Gallagher
Toffoli - Suzuki - Armia
Perry - Staal - Anderson
Byron - Evans - Lehkonen

Edmundson - Petry
Chiarot - Weber
Romanov - Merrill

Price
Alen

extra: Lindgren Caufield Frolik Kotkaniemi Ouellet Gustafsson


wasnt gustafsson in over merill

https://www.tsn.ca/ice-chips-brendan-gallagher-phillip-danault-full-participants-at-montreal-canadiens-practice-1.1640226
 
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