Tampa vs Columbus
The Lightning finished a absolutely crazy 21 points ahead of the second place team. It obviously takes a lot of luck to finish that high, but the Lightning are still the NHL’s best team.
I thought for a long time the Toronto Maple Leafs could catch and overtake them, but it just never happened. That said, a lot of things have to go right to get that many points, and I think the Leafs are a lot closer to Tampa than the record would indicate.
As for Columbus, they went all-in at the deadline and acquired both Ryan Dzingle and Matt Duchene, to go along with what was already a very good roster.
Sergei Bobrvosky is just too good a goalie to never win a playoff series, and Artemi Panarin is one of the best players in the NHL.
As I mentioned earlier, I am predicting an upset here.
I will say Tampa loses in seven games, which will make the Toronto Maple Leafs path to the Stanley Cup Final much easier.