Always a classic matchup of Barry Trotz vs his old Cup winning buddies..The Islanders LOVE to play low scoring games. They don't give up many goals and Trotz always has them among the top defensive teams in the NHL...UNLESS they are playing the Capitals. Since Trotz was oddly removed from his Cup Winning Caps he has coached the Islanders in 8 games against the Capitals with each team winning 4. This year both teams won twice, BUT ...in those 4 games 28 goals were scored! Far from the low scoring contests you'd expect from the Isles. The Isles have the edge in goal, on defense, and coaching....Trotz knows how to coach against the Caps better than ever. His players love him and will win this for him.
Ek's Pick: Islanders in 7
Avalanche vs Coyotes...
The Avalanche look like a team on a total mission and to me the Coyotes are heading in the right direction but have a ways to go to really compete with Colorado. The Avs are WAY more complete than the Predators were...in every way. I love how the Avalanche is playing right now. Many out there feel Taylor Hall could be auditioning for his future team....I am not hearing that yet, but if he shows a lot this round...anything could happen...This season the Yotes won 1 and lost 1 in OT to Colorado... The win was a 3-0 shutout by Kuemper back in November of 2019....9 months ago. Arizona was off to a hot start way back then and Colorado was still getting into gear...
Ek's Pick: Colorado in 5
Philadelphia vs Montreal
The Flyers are white hot right now, but the Habs just knocked off the mighty Penguins. At first glance you would think this is leaning to Philly, and if the Flyers keep going strong they could overwhelm the Habs..This series features the Flyers young star Carter Hart versus his childhood idol, Carey Price. The first time Hart played against Price he looked very nervous and was chased from the game in the first period...The Flyers won the first two contests this year in OT and then the Habs won 4-1 in Philly in January...So they played Philly tough, but that was before the Flyers got their groove going. I could see Montreal winning game 1, but the Flyers will take this in 6 games.
Canucks vs Blues
The Blues have had a very tough time over the past few years scoring on the Canucks. In the last 6 meetings they have NEVER scored more than 2 goals in regulation. The Canucks have won 4 of the 6, with both of the Blues wins coming in OT. The Canucks have outscored St Louis 21-11 in those 6 games. The Blues are also playing as defending Champs in the bubble and I get the feeling that the one motivation that drives these players to compete so hard in front of empty stadiums is what the Blues have already achieved......a Stanley Cup.
I thought Vancouver was in trouble last series, especially in the physical aspects of the game...But they played a Wild team that was physical and figured out how to beat them after one game where they looked lost. They are a serious team. They are a confident team...
Ek's Pick: Vancouver in 6
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