2006 Hurricanes:
112 points in the regular season, third most points in the league, top scorer was a 21 year old centre with two brothers that were (later) first round picks, replaced their veteran starter with a 22 year old rookie when down 0-2 in the first round, forcing a Devils-Canes second round series, wear red at home.

2023 Devils:
112 points in the regular season, third most points in the league, top scorer is a 21 year old centre who has two brothers that were first round picks, replaced their "veteran" starter with a 22 year old rookie when down 0-2 in the first round, forcing a Devils-Canes second round series, wear red at home.

Let’s go! I’m in 2nd!

Is there a way to sort by possible points? Because some of those brackets are not staying high for much longer

Stanley Cups (# in modern era)

EDM - 5 (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990)
NJD - 3 (1995, 2000, 2003)
CAR - 1 (2006)
DAL - 1 (1999)
FLA - 0
SEA - 0
TOR - 0
VGK - 0

Conference Championships (# in modern era)

EDM - 7 (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2006)
NJD - 5 (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2012)
DAL - 3 (1999, 2000, 2020)
CAR - 2 (2002, 2006)
FLA - 1 (1996)
VGK - 1 (2018)
SEA - 0
TOR - 0

Appearances in Conference Finals (# in modern era)

EDM - 10 (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2006, 2022)
NJD - 7 (1988, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2012)
DAL - 5 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2020)
TOR - 5 (1978, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2002)
CAR - 4 (2002, 2006, 2009, 2019)
VGK - 3 (2018, 2020, 2021)
FLA - 1 (1996)
SEA - 0

I like it. Could even say Justin Williams = Jesper Bratt, Doug Weight trade = Timo trade.

But that Carolina team was very much a veteran team (one of the oldest teams in league) that included Brind’Amour, Weight, Stillman, Whitney, Recchi, Wesley, Ward, Kaberle, Hedican….all guys in their 30s. Devils started the year as youngest team in NHL (and are now 2nd or 3rd youngest).

If there is a cup team to compare NJD to, it’s probably the 2010 Blackhawks.

On the cultural impact of Snoop as owner, I am picturing a Senators fanbase walking around in track suits talking like Snoop…

“Nuttin’ but a D thang, homey”
“Oh. Fa shizzle, Timmy Stizzle”
“Homey, all fo’ dubs with our Zubs”
“Y’all rollin’ Tkachucks on dez ‘nucks”
“Keep it on the low, Brännsta”

(Wouldn’t be the worst thing)

“4:20 left in the third”

I went 4-4 In the first round, both of my ECF teams lost ( NYR and Boston ), also had Winnipeg and Colorado winning.

Anyways, here's my 2nd round predictions:

Toronto over Florida, I like Samsonov more, I trust Toronto's defence more than Florida's, 6 or 7 games
Devils over Carolina, I think Schmid continues his amazing stretch, this series will probably be decided by goaltending, 7 games
Dallas over Seattle, I trust Oettinger a lot more, 6 games
Vegas over Edmonton, I like who Vegas has as depth more, this will very much be decided in the net, both teams have goalies who I don't trust to carry a team, 6 or 7 games

Imma dump mine here since there aren’t specific threads:

These follow my initial bracket picks.

Stars v Kracken

The Kracken have been the most fortunate in terms of puck luck and their goaltender is outperforming quite a bit of his recent history. There is no reason this will stop, and despite it if it did continue, I still think the Stars are better 5v5 and get big plays from all positions. But this is tough because I give a lot of weight to teams with dispersed scoring, which benefits the Kracken to me. And I’m not penalizing a team because they were lucky. In hockey you need to be in the position to be lucky, which the Kracken have proven they can do.

If you believe that the human body performs the best at a specific age range, then the Kracken are “prime”. Their oldest skater is their backup goalie, 33, and aside from 2 skaters the youngest forward is 24. While the stars aren’t obviously old, they do have 4 guys over 33, and a bit more density on the low side as well.

The Kracken were impressive in handling the high end pressure provided by Colorado, and their style of rushing defenseman should benefit them more against the Stars who do not have a top end as high as Colorados.

I think the Stars are “the better team” but the Kracken “have the best formula”.

Kracken in 7.

Oilers Vegas

My thesis is simple. Right now McDavid and Draisaitl are so good that they will hard carry against any team over 7 games. It’s a risky theory because injuries, and it’s unproven. I’m sticking with it until I’m proven wrong.

Oilers in 5.

Toronto v Florida

I’m excited. I think Toronto will figure out how to make a team play to their strengths. If they don’t, they lose prob. I’m worried about them because they seem so damn serious. Like immediately after winning game 6 in OT Matthews goes full “act like you’ve been there before” for the on ice interview. Celebrate and smile. They need to just play their game because when they do they’re extremely potent.

Toronto in 7 but need to be shown something, and I’m feeling I’m wrong on this one already.

New Jersey v Carolina

This is hard because each team played a team much different the round previous. New Jersey is going from one of the weakest defensive structures in the playoffs to one of the strongest, and likewise for the scoring faced by the Hurricanes. I wonder if Timo Meier is going to miss time. I like both teams middle rosters and the games should be extremely fun to watch.

Gonna go with Devils in 6 because I think the Hurricanes are built to handle a team like the Islanders much more than a team like the Devils, and the Devils are built to score on a team like the Hurricanes and a team like the Rangers.

Stars in 6
Oilers in 6
Devils in 5
Panthers in 6

How was it unavoidable, though? He could have just not made the hit. I'm not saying he tried to injure Meier, but it should still be a suspension.

No I don't think so. sry

Stars in 7
Vegas in 6
Devils in 5
Toronto in 5

My predictions for round 2:
Panthers in 5
Devils in 7
Stars in 6
Golden Knights in 6

Round 2 predictions:
Panthers in 7
Devils in 5
Kraken in 6
Oilers in 6

Oh, no. We're doomed.

dallas eakins on the sportsnet playoff panel

2 goals for Knies in under a minute. Wow

Round 2 predictions:
Leafs in 6
Canes in 7
Stars in 7
Oilers in 6

Can we call 911 on some broken ankles

Nylander didnt even know what he did lul

Round 2 Predictions:
Panthers in 7: House Money, Toronto has all the pressure similarly to Boston
Kraken in 6: I can't watch very many Western Conference games, but Colorado looked really, really good in the first round, and got legitimately outplayed by the Kraken (as far as I could tell)
Devils in 5: I have no confidence in Carolina scoring goals against Akira Schmid right now. They'll get 38 shots a game though
Oilers in 6

What pressure do we got lul we won a round if anything almost all the pressures gone. Not every day u can say u knocked out a team who went to 3 SCF in the row in the first round

That seems to be a more pressure situation than this.

Yes can go get more but rn u can argue the weight be off their shoulders as they broke the 19 year curse

Still go get MR.CUP lul

#Tkachuk&Montour4ConnSmythe

Tkachuk is the 2nd best forward in the world right now