NHL 2022-23 predictions: Playoff picks and Stanley Cup winner originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The 2022-23 NHL season is officially here! So let’s waste no time and dive right into playoff predictions:
Atlantic Division:
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Florida Panthers
Metropolitan Division:
1. New York Rangers
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
4. New York Islanders*
5. Columbus Blue Jackets*
Central Division:
1. Colorado Avalanche
2. Minnesota Wild
3. Winnipeg Jets
4. St. Louis Blues*
Pacific Division:
1. Edmonton Oilers
2. Calgary Flames
3. Vegas Golden Knights
4. Los Angeles Kings*
Eastern Conference Final: Maple Leafs over Penguins
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Everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong for the Penguins in the first round against the Rangers last season. They were absolutely decimated with injuries and still found themselves up 3-1 in the series, but when Sidney Crosby got hurt, the wheels fell off. With a healthy group, the Penguins are good enough to make a sneaky deep run, but Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs will ultimately prove to be too much to handle.
Western Conference Finals: Oilers over Avalanche
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Connor McDavid and a one-legged Leon Draisaitl were all-time greats in the playoffs last season, and Darnell Nurse played the entire postseason with a torn hip flexor. I think Evan Bouchard will have a breakout season, and Dylan Holloway emerging as a potential Calder Trophy candidate would give them a boost in the middle-six. Can Jack Campbell be the answer in goal? That’s the biggest question. He’ll have to be if Edmonton wants to dethrone Colorado in a Western Conference Final rematch.
Stanley Cup Final: Maple Leafs over Oilers
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The Maple Leafs were my preseason pick last season and I’m running it back. I strongly believe they would have gotten to the Stanley Cup Final if they got past Tampa Bay. They were the fourth-best team in the standings and essentially did it with bottom-five goaltending. If — and it’s a big if — the Leafs can just get average goaltending this season from Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, that will probably be enough for Toronto.
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