Toronto Maple Leafs: NHL Playoff Round 2 Predictions

Jan 3, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) shoots the puck against the St. Louis Blues in the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) shoots the puck against the St. Louis Blues in the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, earning the right to play the Boston Bruins in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Except that the Boston Bruins didn’t make it, and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing the Florida Panthers instead,

No one could have predicted it.

Except for me.

I predicted it.  That is because I am the master of predictions.  Other than the fact that I am 41 straight years predicting the Leafs to win the cup and it’s yet to happen.

I also predicted that Chinese Democracy would be a smash hit and a masterpiece on par with Use Your Illusion 1 , and that the new Game of Thrones book would be out in 2015.  So maybe I’m not always right.

But lately I’ve done pretty good.

Considering the level of parity in the NHL, picking 75% of the playoff teams (especially when a team like Calgary misses) is on par with inventing the internet or the printing press.

And who could forget my impressive round 1 performance where I correctly predicted Florida in 7, as well as the Leafs, and Devils to advance.  In the West I was right about Vegas and Edmonton, but wrong about the Stars and the Avs.

Still, maybe five out of eight isn’t worth bragging, but it’s not too bad, and I’m taking double bonus points for calling the Panthers to win.

So let’s get on with it:

Round Two Predictions

The Toronto Maple Leafs will beat the Panthers in five games. The Leafs have the NHL’s best lineup, are the NHL’s best team, and the Panthers take a lot of penalties, which is not something you should do against the Leafs.

The Devils will decimate the Carolina Hurricanes, once again using the powers of the Dark Lord to overcome their opponent.  Lets say in six games.  The Devils are relentlessly fast, and the Hurricanes are without the services of their best player, Andre Svechnikov.

The Golden Knights will easily defeat the Kraken in five.  The Kraken are a nice story, and I couldn’t believe they beat the Avs, but then again, without Kadri and Landeskog, their forwards are pretty weak after the first line.   The Knights destroyed the Jets and should have no problem with Seattle.

The only problem? I’m an idiot who originally wrote this at 4:30 in the morning. It turns out the Seattles are playing the Stars.  I think the Stars will win this, but it’s a much closer series than it would have been if it was Vegas vs Seattle.  I’ll take Dallas in six.

The Edmonton Oilers will go the distance but ultimately prevail against the Golden Knights.  This is really a joke because both of these teams are much better than the other two teams and they shouldn’t have to clash until the conference finals.   Edmonton in seven is the call.

I ultimately expect the Oilers to play the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Stanley Cup, and for the Leafs to win it.