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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our favorite upset predictions for the 1st round of the playoffs.
Todd Cordell
I like the Carolina Hurricanes to prevail against the Washington Capitals.
Most of every game is spent at 5v5, especially in the playoffs when referees tend to let more go, and the Hurricanes look to have a fairly noticeable edge in that area.
Over the last 25 games, the Hurricanes have controlled 53.43% of the shot attempts and 52.65% of the scoring chances at 5v5.
The Capitals controlled 51.29% of the attempts and 48.86% of the chances during that same span. They generally out-perform their underlying numbers – elite talent helps do that – but that's still a fairly sizeable difference.
I don't think the Hurricanes are going to breeze past the Capitals by any means – I expect it to go six or seven games regardless of the winner – but I do like them to pull off the upset. In a somewhat underwhelming Metro bracket, I could see the Hurricanes doing real damage.
Peter Tessier
In some regards this might be one of the most intriguing years for upsets because there are not a lot of teams who came into the playoffs strong. The Blues could torch the Jets, the Hurricanes could blow by the Capitals and is San Jose or Vegas really an underdog?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Avalanche beat the Flames. I'm a big believer in the Flames and that roster but it gets real weird between the pipes. Since the start of March the Flames have played 18 games and are 10-8 with only 3 of those 10 wins coming against teams in the playoffs.
Coincidentally the Avalanche have the exact same record in the small time with the same number of wins against playoff teams. They had to fight and the Flames coasted, hopefully the rest served them well but I think the Flames are ready to be upset.
James Tanner
There is probably a pretty low chance of it actually happening, but I like Columbus as a decent upset choice. They've got Bobrovsky, who, if he's on, is the best goalie in the world.
If the right version of Bobrovsky shows up, it could be much more of a series than anyone currently believes.
I also like the Hurricanes to beat the Capitals. This is a situation where if the Hurricanes had had any luck in October and November, they'd probably have won the division. I think they're the better team and will easily beat the Capitals.
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