Photo courtesy ofWikimedia Commons
After a humiliating 5–0 defeat on Apr. 20, the Minnesota Wild were eliminated from the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. As a native of “The State of Hockey,” the Wild’s loss has left me not only heart-broken but also without a clear rooting interest in the NHL postseason. To prepare fans who similarly may have lost their favorite team and are looking to adopt one of the remaining nine teams as their own, I have created a comprehensive rooting guide for the teams battling for Lord Stanley. A fan of underdog stories? Always preferred arctic or aquatic mascots? Impressed by super Swedes and fantastic Finns? The Spec Sports Official NHL Playoff Rooting Guide has everything you need to help you hop onto your new bandwagon.
Boston Bruins
— The late additions of Rick Nash and rookie/Olympic hero Ryan Donato to an already talented roster propelled the Bruins to a 50–20–12 record, good enough for second place in the Atlantic division. The Bruins are the perfect contrarian’s team: they are taking on the pride of Canada in the first round, their roster is populated with some of the most unlikable players in the league, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, and they won a cup in 2011. Support the Bruins if you are from “just outside Boston” or if you found yourselves rooting for Tom Brady to go back to back against Nick Foles and the city of Philadelphia.
Toronto Maple Leafs
— It’s hard not to love the Maple Leafs, particularly after the unity demonstrated during the Canadian National Anthem at the Air Canada Centre following the horrific attack that left 10 dead in Toronto on Apr. 23. As a former inhabitant of Oakville, Ontario, I certainly felt goosebumps as the city came together in the face of tragedy. On the ice, the Leafs are a similarly heart-warming squad. Young American star Auston Matthews scored 32 goals for the Leafs in a season plagued by nagging injuries, while Canadian second line center Mitch Marner proved he had the talent to compete at the highest level with a team high 69 regular season points. It will take a miracle (and a Game 7 win over Boston) for the Leafs to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967, but the hockey community is rallying its support behind head coach Mike Babcock’s boys and are open to recruiting new faces to the bandwagon. From the cellar of the Eastern Conference just a few short years ago, the Leafs look primed to be serious contenders for the next decade. This postseason provides a great opportunity for the probable bandwagon pick for years to come.
Nashville Predators
— The team with the best regular season record in the NHL this season suffered a few setbacks in the opening round against the feisty Colorado Avalanche. The Predators have one of the deepest rosters in the league, with both attacking and defensive talent present on the ice at all times. In the virality department, winger Filip Forsberg has already supplied the two best goals of the playoffs so far. Forsberg’s game one through-the-legs (both his own and the defender’s) goal will go down as one of the greatest goals of the season. The spectacular personality (and defensive strength) of P.K. Subban adds “must-watch” intrigue to the match-up with the Winnipeg Jets, as does the possibility of a fashionable catfish plopping on the ice after the opening goal of each home game. The city of Nashville officially caught hockey fever during last year’s playoff run, and the Preds look like a promising selection to return to the finals again in 2018. If you like watching stellar Scandinavians tear apart the NHL’s most talented rosters with excellent teamwork and hard-nosed defense, the Preds are a great pick for fandom this spring.
Winnipeg Jets
— Coming off a dominant performance over the Wild, the Jets proved they belong in the contender conversation in this year’s playoff hunt. The first forward line consisting of Mark Scheifele (team-leading four playoff goals), Kyle Connor, and Blake Wheeler has been operating on all cylinders, and Dustin Byfuglien’s physicality was the difference maker in round one. Twenty year old Finnish superstar Patrik Laine has disrupted defensive schemes all season, and will present a nearly insurmountable task for Nashville’s back-line. Connor Hellebuyck is the favorite to take home the Veznia Trophy honoring the NHL’s best goaltender, but his playoff experience only spans five starts. The Jets enjoy one of, if not the best home-ice advantages in the NHL, with the Bell MTS Place serving as Manitoba’s premier sports venue. This will be the Jets’ first time in the conference semi-finals since the team returned to Winnipeg from Atlanta during the 2013 season, and the energy will be electric against one of the league’s top teams. A fun, energetic, wildly inexperienced, and gritty team, the Jets will likely fall short of their cup ambitions, but the ride through the postseason will be immensely intriguing and festive for all the team’s supporters.
San Jose Sharks
— The Sharks may not carry the clout of the Penguins, the excitement of the young Leafs, or the loyalty of the Capitals, but San Jose has a lot to prove against America’s adopted team (the Vegas Golden Knights). The Sharks have the oldest average roster remaining in the playoffs, with NHL legends Brent Burns, Joe Thorton, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture leading the experienced squad to a clean 4–0 sweep of the Anaheim Ducks in round one. Mid-season acquisition Evander Kane has provided much needed burst to the first line forwards, which has moved Czech prodigy Tomas Hertl to a more fitting scoring role on the second line. The Sharks are comparable to the San Antonio Spurs (before Tim Duncan’s retirement) or the Cleveland Indians, who rely on veterans who fly under the radar before executing lethal blows to opponents come the postseason. For those who love sunshine, beaches, slapshots, ridiculous facial hair, and oldies but goodies, the Sharks are your team.
Vegas Golden Knights
— The Golden Knights are officially the casual hockey fan’s favorite NHL story. This time last year, Vegas had a total of zero players on its roster. Almost no NHL pundits gave the Golden Knights any chance to make the playoffs at the beginning of the season, and those same “experts” said the team’s early season success was absolutely unsustainable. Vegas has proved everyone wrong, and now sit as the favorites to match-up with the Predators for a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line. William Karlsson had a breakout year in Vegas, putting up a team-leading 78 points. Future NHL Hall of Famers “The Real Deal” James Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury have brought years of Stanley Cup experience to the ice in Vegas, while former Wild prospects Alex Tuch and Erik Haula have added to the Golden Knights’ potent scoring attack. A first round sweep over the Los Angeles Kings solidified Vegas as a contender for Lord Stanley, and galvanized the population in support of the NHL’s newest team. The underdogs, the new kids on the block, the overperformers, the unprotected, the unwanted. Vegas may just be the team of destiny in 2018.
Tampa Bay Lightning
— The Eastern Conference’s best team cruised past the New Jersey Devils in round one, taking the first step to returning the Stanley Cup to the Southeastern tip of the United States for the first time since 2004. Nikita Kucherov’s 100-point season paced the Lightning in 2017/18 on offense, while Andrei Vasilevskiy anchored Tampa Bay from between the pipes. Centers Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point also had tremendous regular seasons that have carried over into the playoffs. In just five games against the Devils, Kucherov scored five goals and tallied five assists. Regardless of second round opponent, it is tough to argue that Kucherov will not be the single most dominant player in the series. The cohesion of the team must match Kucherov’s talent for the Lightning to prevail in the Stanley Cup Final. Think LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for a comparison to the Lightning, without the worldwide profile associated with basketball’s G.O.A.T.
Pittsburgh Penguins
— If the Lightning are the Cavaliers, then the Penguins are very much the Golden State Warriors. They have the undisputed most talented overall roster in the league with the two most potent offensive weapons in Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. The injury concerns of Malkin and Carl Hagelin present a serious problem for the Penguins, but if Jake Guentzel is able to carry the momentum from round one into the rest of the postseason, the consequences of these absences will be minimized. Three of the four victories over Philadelphia were absolute blowouts, but giving up five-plus goals will not be permissible against the surging Capitals. Just like the Warriors, the cracks are starting to appear in the armor following three years of remarkable success for Mike Sullivan’s roster. The bitter Caps-Pens rivalry has gone in favor of the Penguins for years. It may be time for a changing of the guard in the Eastern Conference. No NHL team has won three-consecutive Stanley Cups since 1983, but with a standard exceptional playoff performance from Sid the Kid, anything is possible for the team from the Rust Belt with a dream.
Washington Capitals
— Is it the Caps’ year? It could be. After what looked to be yet another disastrous postseason appearance following two overtime losses to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Capitals rallied in two overtimes in game three to regain momentum and win four straight games to advance to yet another postseason matchup with the Penguins. As usual, the Capitals topped the Penguins in the regular season, capturing the Metropolitan Division’s best record. However, this year feels different (to be fair, this sentence has been written hundreds of times about this team). On the offensive side, the Capitals are loaded from first to fourth line, led by Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, and Devante Smith-Pelly. Defenseman John Carlson has been superb in the playoffs, with a team-high nine points, while Holtby’s goalkeeping has saved the Caps from elimination. To further the NBA analogy, Washington is similar to the Toronto Raptors in that they always see immense regular season success but year after year fall to the same superior team (LeBron’s). If you’re a fan of reversing historical trends, or simply want the current kings dethroned, congratulations, the Capitals are your team. It’s your year. Probably not. But maybe.
