It’s that time of year again. It’s time to watch hockey in the hot DC summer sun. Here is how Voice Sports thinks the 2024 playoffs will go.
Ben Jakabcsin
WCR1:
DAL over VGK, COL over WPG, NSH over VAN, EDM over LAK
ECR1:
FLA over TBL, TOR over BOS, NYR over WAS, CAR over NYI
WCR2:
DAL over COL, EDM over NSH
ECR2:
TOR over FLA, CAR over NYR
WCF:
EDM over DAL
ECF:
CAR over TOR
Finals:
CAR over EDM in 6
First, we can all agree that it’s a travesty that your Detroit Red Wings will not be participating in this year’s NHL playoffs.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get into predictions.
The most intriguing round-one matchup has the chance to wreck all of my predictions. While I like the Hurricanes and like them enough to predict they will take home the Stanley Cup, it cannot be denied that the Islanders are one of the hottest teams in hockey right now. The NHL playoffs are chaotic; just ask last year’s Boston Bruins team, but I still like the Hurricanes to come out of the East on the strength of their experienced roster and their ability to convert their power play chances and stymie their opponents on theirs—when they get them that is, as Carolina generally does a good job of staying out of the box as well.
In the West, I’ve got the Edmonton Oilers and their star-laden first-line. Why? Mostly for fun. The Oilers are one of the most exciting teams to watch in hockey, they enter the playoffs fourth in goals scoring, and similar to the Hurricanes they have a lethal powerplay. Not to gloss over that a Stars-Oilers conference finals would be the epitome of must-see hockey.
In the finals, I have the Hurricanes over the Oilers in six. I think the Hurricanes are the better, more reliable team, simple as that.
Andrew Arnold
WCR1:
VGK over DAL, WPG over COL, VAN over NSH, EDM over LAK
ECR1:
TBL over FLA, BOS over TOR, NYR over WSH, CAR over NYI
WRC2:
WPG over VGK, VAN over EDM
ECR2:
TBL over BOS, NYR over CAR
WCF:
VAN over WPG
ECF:
TBL over NYR
Finals:
TBL over VAN
Call me biased, call me a homer, call me delusional, I don’t care; in roughly six weeks, your Tampa Bay Lightning will once again be Stanley Cup Champions. The NHL’s greatest dynasty in the salary cap era is anchored by soon-to-be two-time Hart winner Nikita Kucherov, an absolute maestro with the puck, becoming the only winger in history to record 100+ assists in a season (one of five players ever to do so, and joins only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux to have 100+ apples and 40+ goals). Kuch is joined by captain Steven Stamkos, who turned back the clock this year with his seventh 40+ goal season; speedy center Brayden Point, who also tacked 46 goals; and the big Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman, but the Lightning have quietly accumulated some good depth pieces this season such as Anthony Duclair and Matt Dumba. And with the Bolts playing their best hockey coming into the Stanley Cup Playoffs—they’re 12-4-2 since the trade deadline—and Andrei Vasilevskiy standing on his head in net, why not Tampa Bay?
Bradshaw Cate
WCR1:
DAL over VGK, COL over WPG, NSH over VAN, EDM over LAK
ECR1:
FLA over TBL, TOR over BOS, NYR over WAS, CAR over NYI
WCR2:
DAL over COL, NSH over EDM
ECR2:
FLA over TOR, CAR over NYR
WCF:
DAL over NSH
ECF:
FLA over CAR
Finals:
FLA over DAL in 6
I do not claim to be a hockey expert. I watched the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time last year. I have only occasionally tuned into the regular season this year. But there is one team, one team that made me fall in love with the sport. THE FLORIDA PANTHERS ARE GOING TO WIN IT ALL. They have continued to build after making a surprisingly deep run in last year’s playoffs, and I think the energy that Sam Reinhart, Sergei Bobrovsky, Aleksander Barkov, and Matthew Tkachuk bring to the team will set the Panthers on a warpath this year. I hope to see a rematch with the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
In terms of the West, you would think Texas would be too hot to play hockey in (which is generally true in my home state of Arkansas, too). Despite this, Dallas seems dominant from all the TikTok highlights I see. If these predictions go anything like my March Madness bracket, put a parlay on every team I picked against. But again, THE FLORIDA PANTHERS ARE GOING TO WIN IT ALL.
