Phil

(D1) Dallas Stars vs. (WC2) Vegas Golden Knights REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS: Stars: 52-21-9 113 points Golden Knights: 45-29-8, 98 points SEASON SERIES: DAL: 0-1-2; VGK: 3-0-0 GAME BREAKERS: Stars: It starts with Jason Robertson, who led them in scoring for the second straight season. Robertson's numbers are down from his career-high 109-point season (46 goals, 63 assists) in 2022-23, but you could probably credit the Stars' balanced scoring to that more than any drop-off issues. Robertson had 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists) in 82 games. He also led the Stars with 28 power-play points. At 24, Robertson, born one month after the Stars last won the Stanley Cup in 1999, continues to be one of the most dynamic young players in the NHL. Golden Knights: This is a close argument between leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel, who's next, but let's go with Eichel. Despite missing 19 games this season, Eichel has 68 points (31 goals, 37 assists), second to Marchessault with 69 points (42 goals, 27 assists) in 82 games. Eichel leads Vegas with seven game-winning goals and 11 power-play goals. He also led the 2023 playoffs in scoring with 26 points (six goal, 20 assists) in 22 games. GOALTENDING: Stars: Jake Oettinger had some rough spots earlier in the season, but found his game late in the season. He was 35-14-4 with a 2.72 goals-against average, .905 save percentage and three shutouts in 54 games (53 starts). Oettinger was spectacular in the 2022 playoffs, with a 1.81 GAA and .954 save percentage in seven games but had a 3.06 GAA and .895 save percentage in 19 playoff games last season. Backup Scott Wedgewood went 16-7-5 with a 2.85 GAA and .899 save percentage in 32 games (28 starts) during the regular season. Golden Knights: Vegas has gotten similar strong work from each of its goalies. Logan Thompson is 25-14-5 with a 2.70 GAA, .908 save percentage and one shutout in 46 games (42 starts). Adin Hill, who led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup last season, is 19-12-2 with a 2.71 GAA, .909 save percentage and two shutouts in 35 starts. Who gets the nod in the playoffs? The Golden Knights alternated between the two over the final six games of the regular season. X FACTORS: Stars: Jamie Benn had 60 points, including 21 goals, in 82 games this season and has sneaky upside heading into the playoffs on a strong third line with Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven. The Stars captain is one of six Dallas players to hit the 60-point mark this season. He additionally has significant lineup placement on their top power-play unit with Pavelski, Robertson, Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen. Benn ranked second on the team in power-play points (22). Dallas ranked third in the NHL in goals per game during the regular season (3.59) and had the sixth-best power-play percentage (24.2). Last postseason, Benn had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 17 playoff games. -- Anna Dua Golden Knights: Tomas Hertl has played only six games with his new team after being acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a trade on Mar. 8, but has four points (two goals, two assists). The forward had 34 points, including 15 goals, in 48 games with San Jose this season prior to the trade. He has proven production ability that increases the depth of the Golden Knights, having had back-to-back 60 points seasons between 2021-22 (64 points, 30 goals) and 2022-23 (63 points, 22 goals). Hertl also had 15 points, including 10 goals in 19 postseason games with the Sharks in 2018-19 when they reached the Western Conference Final. He is seeing top unit power-play time with Eichel, Marchessault, William Karlsson and Shea Theodore. -- Anna Dua WILL WIN IF: Stars: They keep doing what they did at the end of the regular season. The Stars were playing complete games through the final weeks, getting great contributions from goaltending on out. They're going to need that against the Golden Knights. If this series is anything like last year, the Stars need to be able to win overtime games. They were 1-4 in overtime last postseason, including losing each of the first two games against Vegas. Golden Knights: Health is on their side. Stone had 53 points (16 goals, 37 assists) in 56 games in the regular season and was a big part of the Cup-winning team last season with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 22 games. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has missed seven straight games and 13 of the past 15 with an illness. Forward William Carrier, who was out the final 11 games of the regular season with an undisclosed injury, has been skating. If the Golden Knights get them back, it would certainly give them a boost against the Stars. MORE:

This is going to be the series of the first round IMO. These two teams hate each other and its gonna spill out over a nasty, bloody, violent seven-game series. At the end of the day, though, never count out healthy Tkachuk. Panthers in seven.

(D1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC1) Tampa Bay Lightning REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS: Panthers: 52-24-6, 110 points Lightning: 45-29-8, 98 points SEASON SERIES: FLA: 2-1-0, TBL: 1-2-0 GAME BREAKERS: Panthers: Forward Sam Reinhart had a breakout season scoring 57 goals, which shattered his previous NHL career high of 33 in 2021-22. He scored 27 of Florida's 63 power-play goals and was tied with forward Matthew Tkachuk with 55 even-strength points. Among those to play at least 60 games, he led the NHL with a 24.5 percent shooting percentage. He's also defensive-minded, ranking second among Panthers forwards in plus-minus (plus-29) behind captain Aleksander Barkov (plus-33). Lightning: How could it be anyone but Nikita Kucherov? The forward has had a season for the ages, leading the NHL with a career-high 144 points (44 goals, 100 assists). He now has the three most productive seasons in Lightning history (128 points in 2018-19, 113 in 2022-23). He's the first Eastern Conference player with at least 144 points in a season since Mario Lemieux (161) and Jaromir Jagr (149) for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96. How dominant is Kucherov? He has 54 more points than Tampa Bay's second-leading scorer, Brayden Point (90). GOALTENDING: Panthers: It's almost hard to believe that Alex Lyon and not Sergei Bobrovsky began the 2023 playoffs as the starter. Once Bobrovsky was in goal, he dominated, going 12-6 with a 2.78 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and one shutout, including a 12-game run between Game 5 of the first round against the Bruins and Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Hurricanes, when he faced 465 shots and made 438 saves to go 11-1 with a 1.95 GAA and .942 save percentage. He followed that up this season by going 36-17-4 with a 2.37 GAA, .915 save percentage and six shutouts in 58 games. His backup was Anthony Stolarz, who was 16-7-2 with a 2.03 GAA .925 save percentage and two shutouts in 27 games (24 starts). Lightning: In a recent poll among NHL players, they were asked which goalie they would want on their team if they had to win one game. Almost half (46.92 percent) picked Vasilevskiy. And why not? In 110 postseason games, he's 65-42 with a 2.27 GAA, .921 save percentage and seven shutouts. Since the Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019 first round, Vasilevskiy is 50-27 with a 2.21 GAA and .924 save percentage in the postseason. When he's on his game, there may not be a better goalie in the League. He has two Stanley Cup titles and three straight trips to the Final to prove it. X FACTORS: Panthers: Florida started the season without injured defensemen Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad, but Gustav Forsling held down the fort, led the NHL in plus/minus (plus-56) and ranked ninth in shot-attempts differential (plus-444). The Panthers outscored the Lightning 15-9 and outshot them by an average of 37-25 during the regular season, when Forsling had three points (one goal, two assists). With Tampa Bay often outscoring its problems and lack of depth without injured defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, Florida needs Forsling to help dictate possession dominance early and often and lead the penalty-kill efforts against the best power play in the NHL. -- Pete Jensen Lightning: Forward Brandon Hagel thrived whether playing on the top line with Kucherov and Point or the second unit with Stamkos, ranking eighth in the NHL in even-strength points (66). Hagel also had NHL career highs in assists (49), points (75) and shots on goal (184). But with limited production over his first two postseasons (11 points in 29 games), Tampa Bay will count on Hagel to provide more depth scoring to offset Florida's offense, which was second in shots on goal per game (33.7) behind the Edmonton Oilers (33.9). Hagel had three points (one goal, two assists) in three games against the Panthers this season. -- Pete Jensen WILL WIN IF: Panthers: Tkachuk plays like Tkachuk. He proved to be the ultimate clutch performer in the run to the Final last season, and it's not a stretch to expect more of the same. Though Reinhart and Bobrovsky will no doubt be in the spotlight for Florida, Tkachuk is the one who makes this team go. And if he gets going, they will advance. Lightning: Their top players score. When the Lightning lost the first round in six games to the Maple Leafs last season, Kucherov (one), Stamkos and Point (two each) combined for five goals. Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn combined for six (three each). If those three can get going, it would spell bad news for Florida. MORE:

For all the Leafs faults, and they have an ass load of them, they have the superior offense. They'll win in six. If it goes seven, they lose, and they get nuked this summer. Bs in 4 is a fuckin' vibe tho @Morphinity 2.0

U2, me2. Perds in 6.

Hellebuyck. Jets in 6.

@Keirik, confirm for me where you want me to Venmo you.

(D2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (D3) Colorado Avalanche REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS: Jets: 52-24-6, 110 points Avalanche: 50-25-7, 107 points SEASON SERIES: WPG: 3-0-0, COL: 0-3-0 GAME BREAKERS: Jets: Mark Scheifele continues to be one of the steadiest contributors in the NHL and led Winnipeg with 72 points (25 goals, 47 assists) in 74 games this season. That includes 18 power-play points, third on the Jets behind forward Kyle Connor and defenseman Josh Morrissey, who each had 19. The 31-year-old is averaging 0.97 points per game this season, the eighth consecutive season he's averaged more than 0.85 points per game. Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon had another tremendous season. The center reached 50 goals for the first time in his career, and his 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) were second in the NHL behind Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (144 points), and set a single-season Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques record. GOALTENDING: Jets: Hellebuyck continues to be one of the best goalies in the NHL. The 30-year-old has once again gotten a bulk of the workload, going 37-19-4 with five shutouts in 60 games this season. Among goalies to play at least 30 games, he led the NHL with a .921 save percentage and was third with a 2.39 goals-against average. It won't be surprising if he's once again a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the goalie voted best in the NHL, which he won in 2019-20. He was a finalist in 2017-18, and again last season. Backup Laurent Brossoit was 15-5-2 with a 2.00 GAA, .927 save percentage and three shutouts in 23 games. Avalanche: Alexandar Georgiev has had his struggles this season; the 28-year-old was 38-18-5 with a 3.02 GAA, .897 save percentage and two shutouts in 63 games (62 starts). It's likely not a question of workload, because he had the same last season when he was 40-16-6 with a 2.53 GAA, .919 save percentage and five shutouts in 62 games. It's just that the consistency hasn't been there. Backup Justus Annunen was 8-4-1 with a 2.25 GAA, .928 save percentage and two shutouts in 14 games. X FACTORS: Jets: Nikolaj Ehlers was limited to one playoff game last season because of injury when Winnipeg lost to Vegas. This season, the forward tied Scheifele for the Winnipeg lead in even-strength points (54), and he led the Jets with 233 shots on goal. He could continue to be a crucial secondary scorer and beneficiary of Winnipeg's trades for forwards Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan. Ehlers had five points (one goal, four assists) in three games against the Avalanche this season. -- Pete Jensen Avalanche: Valeri Nichushkin was on a leave of absence for the final five games of Colorado's first-round series last season, when it lost in seven games to Seattle. Nichushkin nearly averaged a point per game (53 points in 54 games) this season but missed time while in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, and also because of an injury later in the season. With Nichushkin, the Avalanche are better positioned for another deep playoff run; he had 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 20 postseason games to help them win the Cup in 2022, including six points (four goals, two assists) in six games during the Stanley Cup Final. -- Pete Jensen WILL WIN IF: Jets: They can hold off the Avalanche's high-powered offense. They've done well in that capacity during the regular season, but the playoffs are different. Colorado is going to be hungry, especially after the lopsided loss to Winnipeg in the final week of the regular season. The Jets will need everyone playing great defense in front of Hellebuyck. Avalanche: If Georgiev rights the ship. Colorado checks off a ton of boxes. But its goaltending is the big question mark. If Georgiev gets his consistency back, the Avalanche will advance to the second round. MORE:

Agreed. I think the hope here is they get through this technical forced sale and Alex Meruelo fails to hit whatever checkpoints he needs to over the next five years to re-activate the franchise. Then, the league can look to other owners in the Phoenix area (Mat Ishbia) and the team can come back with a better owner.

Per Friedman, Caps want Ryan Leonard to play in the series. He hasn't made a decision whether or not to go back to school, but the team wants him going pro.

Yeah, Clorox and Google. Less so Kleenex, but Kleenex fits the category takeover like WWE did to wrestling. It exists everywhere outside of their world, but because they're the biggest giant in the industry, if you say "wrestling," people assume you watch them.

To be fair, Phil hasn't watched WWE in like 15 years. But to non-wrestling people, "WWE" is wrestling because it's both a noun and a verb, like Kleenex or Google.