The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is underway and I gotta say my bracket for this year’s NHL bracket challenge is looking pretty good. I don’t think there’s been a single year where I predicted every single correct team to move on to the second round. Well, that all changed this year as I have gotten one hundred percent so far.
This is my honest take … 👀 pic.twitter.com/iWkiRsKbbt
— Liv ✨️🎷🐗 (@HuggyxHoggy) April 19, 2024
In the first round I said the New York Rangers were gonna sweep the Washington Capitals, and what did the Rangers do? Well, they did just what I predicted. They knocked off the 2018 Stanley Cup champs in just four games. Now, what about last year’s champions, the Vegas Golden Knights. Well I said the Stars were gonna get rid of them in an intense game seven. When I told a few of my good friends this, they said there was zero chance the Stars were eliminating the Golden Knights. Truth be told, they may have been Vegas fans.
Let’s not forget the team that denied the Tampa Bay Lightning achieving a three peat back in 2022, the Colorado Avalanche. I had the Avalanche in six but it actually only took five games for the Avalanche to knock off the Winnipeg Jets. For the Canucks and Predators series, I said the Canucks were gonna get it done in six, and they did exactly that after a crazy game six in Nashville. This is when I started to notice that my bracket was looking absolutely phenomenal.
For the Oilers and Kings series I had the Oilers in seven and surprisingly the Oilers got it done in five games which in my opinion was kind of surprising cause the Oilers have a history of game sevens with the Los Angeles Kings. The Toronto vs Boston series was probably the most predictable series out of them all considering, just like the Oilers and Kings, the Leafs and Bruins have a very long history with game sevens. The most infamous game seven coming from 2013 after the Leafs famously choked a 4-1 lead in the third period and lost in overtime. I predicted the Bruins were gonna leave Leafs fans heartbroken in game seven once again. And what do you know, David Pastrnak sealed the series with less than two minutes into the first overtime.
Finally let’s move on to my final correct prediction of the first round, the Florida Panthers versus the former back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, I had the Panthers moving onto the second round in six games but surprisingly they moved on in only five games. Hopefully the rest of my predictions are as good as my first round predictions.
I have the Stars and the Canucks meeting in the Western Conference Finals, and as of right now things aren’t looking too great for the Stars as they choked a lead in game and they almost choked again in game two but they were able to pull off the 5-3 victory. All in all I have the Stars coming out on top in the Western conference finals.
In the Eastern conference, I have the President Trophy winners, the New York Rangers, meeting with the Florida Panthers. Rangers have been absolutely dominant in these playoffs and as of right now they have yet to lose a game in this postseason. They currently have a 3-0 series lead against the Carolina Hurricanes so for the sake of my bracket, I hope the Rangers get it done.
In the finals, I have the Rangers and the Stars and for the first time since 1999, I have the Stars winning the hardest trophy in all of sports, the Stanley Cup. This year’s Stanley Cup playoffs have been full of surprises, making my bracket look better than ever before. Can the surprises continue in the upcoming rounds?