After 82 bone-crunching games, a fresh slate of ice is about to drop over the National Hockey League as 16 teams vie for glory in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2015 Round 1 Predictions: Pacific Division Bracket
Following a memorable finish to the season on Saturday, the puck is set to drop on the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday as eight teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences begin their journey to the Stanley Cup.
Things are heating up in the Central Division, which sent an NHL-best five teams to the tournament, with the Winnipeg Jets falling into the Pacific Division bracket due to being the second and final wild-card, and matching up with the West's top seed in the Anaheim Ducks.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2015 Round 1 Predictions: Atlantic Division Bracket
In the Central Division bracket, two big matches are set up as the division champion St. Louis Blues look to exorcise past playoff demons when they host the surging Minnesota Wild while the surprising Nashville Predators own home-ice against the 2013 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
Here are our predictions for the Central Division Bracket in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
[Central Division 1] St. Louis Blues (51-24-7, 109 points) vs. [Wild-Card 1, No. 4 seed] Minnesota Wild (46-28-8, 100 points):
Season Series: These teams split their head-to-head meetings this season, with each club notching a victory on the road and at home. The Wild won two meetings in March while the Blues won the last meeting between these squads on Saturday, the final day of the regular season.
Cup Dreams: St. Louis looks to eventually get to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since losing in it in three straight years from 1967-70 and is still in search of the first Cup in franchise history. Minnesota has never won a championship or appeared in the Stanley Cup Final since its inception in the 2000-01 season.
Series Overview: The Blues enter the playoffs for the fourth straight season, but will be looking to bounce back from three disappointing early exits while The Wild are in the postseason for third straight campaign.
After losing in the second round to the Los Angeles Kings in 2011-12, the Blues have gone up 2-0 in the first round against their opponents in the past two years only to lose four straight and get eliminated in six games.
Minnesota has been thwarted by the Blackhawks in recent years, losing to them in five games in the opening round in 2013-14 and then in six games in Round 2 last spring.
The Blues have been very mum on a starting goalie for this series while the Wild will of course turn to Devan Dubnyk in the crease.
St. Louis won five of six to close out the season while Minnesota was the hottest team in the second half after acquiring Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes, as they went 28-9-3 after his team debut on Jan. 15, notching 59 points in that span and thrusting themselves into the playoffs.
Dubnyk, who will make his postseason debut, was astounding between the pipes, going 27-9-2 for Minnesota after the trade while ranking second in the NHL in goals-against average (2.07) and save percentage (.929) and adding five shutouts. Dubnyk started 39 straight games in net for the Wild, showcasing his durability.
St. Louis will likely turn to Brian Elliott in the crease due to his experience, but rookie Jake Allen has also made a name for himself and the Blues could play him. Elliott went 26-14-3 this season with a 2.26 GAA and a .917 save percentage while racking up five shutouts. Elliott stopped 23 of 25 shots against the Wild on Saturday.
On offense, St. Louis has a very balanced attack and a plethora of weapons, which is the main reason why the team ended up tied with the Ducks for the most points in the Western Conference.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a tremendous year, leading the Blues with 73 points and ranking tied for fifth in the NHL with 37 goals. His linemate Alex Steen paced the club with 40 assists while ranking second with 64 points.
The duo joined Jaden Schwartz (28-35--63) and David Backes (26-32--58) as members of the team that eclipsed 20 goals and 50 points this season.
Offseason import center Paul Stastny provided St. Louis with some much needed depth down the middle while he was one of several Blues to garner over 40 points this season as his 46 points join him with T.J. Oshie (55), Jori Lehtera (44), Tarasenko, Steen, Schwartz and Backes.
For Minnesota, Zach Parise paced the offense as he eclipsed 30 goals for the first time in three campaigns with the Wild by lighting the lamp 33 times and he carried the team in points with 62.
Parise is on a tremendous top line for the Wild that includes center Mikael Granlund (18-36--54) and Jason Pominville, who notched 36 assists and 54 points this season.
Thomas Vanek and Jason Zucker each scored 19 goals for the Wild while Nino Niederreiter found the back of the net a career-high 24 times.
Captain Mikko Koivu also had a productive year, becoming the first ever Wild player to reach the 500-point milestone by going 14-34--48.
Ken Hitchcock's group is also well balanced on defense as stalwarts Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo anchor the top two pairings. Shattenkirk (abdominal) missed 25 games due to injury, but came back for the homestretch while Pietrangelo led all St. Louis defenseman with 46 points and averaged over 25 minutes a game on the ice. Veteran Jay Bouwmeester has also been a big presence on the blue line this season.
Mike Yeo's blue line has been captained by Ryan Suter, who was tied for the team lead with 36 assists and led all defenseman with 38 points. Suter is usually paired with Jonas Brodin while Marco Scandella and Jared Spurgeon round out the top-four.
Both defensive units have been solid this season as St. Louis ranks fifth (2.40) in goals allowed per game and Minnesota is right behind them in sixth (2.42).
Special Teams: The Blues boast a very good power play as it ranks fourth in the NHL (22.3%) while its penalty kill is a solid eighth (83.7%). Minnesota ranks a lousy 27th (15.8%) on the man-advantage, but has the top penalty kill (86.3%) in the league.
Last Thoughts: This will be a tremendous series as the league's best penalty kill goes up against one of the best power plays in the NHL. The Blues have had a great season and come into the playoffs hot, but they'll need to keep their feet on the gas pedal if they take a lead in this series and can't allow the Wild back into it. Minnesota has been riding the hot goalie and since goaltending is an absolute must this time of year, they have the slight edge with Dubnyk entering the series on fire.
The Pick: Wild in 6.
[Central Division 2] Nashville Predators (47-25-10, 104 points) vs. [Central Division 3] Chicago Blackhawks (48-28-6, 102 points):
Season Series: The Blackhawks took three of four meetings from the Predators this season, with two of the wins coming from overtime and a shootout. Three of the four matches were won by one goal.
Cup Dreams: Nashville is looking to get past the conference semifinals for the first time in franchise history while Chicago is hoping to hoist the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years.
Series Overview: The Predators began to slump a bit down the stretch, but after being one of the best teams in the NHL for most of the season, they were able to keep a hold of second place in the division to secure home-ice in Round 1 and make the playoffs for the first time in three years.
The Blackhawks dealt with a major injury blow, but were able to notch their seventh straight trip to the postseason after making it to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive campaign in 2013-14 and losing to the eventual champion L.A. Kings.
Nashville makes the postseason in their first year under Peter Laviolette, who replaced long-time coach Barry Trotz. Laviolette and Chicago coach Joel Quenneville go head-to-head in a 2010 Stanley Cup Final rematch from when Laviolette was behind the bench for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Blackhawks were dealt a major blow up front when Patrick Kane (clavicle) had his MVP-caliber season cut short, but he has been cleared to return and will suit up for Game 1 after it was initially suggested he'd miss until at least late-May.
Kane had 27 goals and 66 points before his injury, but captain Jonathan Toews picked up the slack in his absence, leading the Blackhawks with 28 markers and 68 points. Marian Hossa contributed 61 points of his own while pacing the team with 39 helpers.
Chicago traded for veteran center Antoine Vermette at the trade deadline and will hope he can propel them moving forward while center Brad Richards had an up-and-down campaign, but brings a lot of playoff experience to the table. Brandon Saad (23-29--52) also had a big year for Chicago.
The Predators offense ran on the back of a rookie and a resurgent veteran.
Calder Trophy candidate Filip Forsberg guided Nashville with a team-best 26 goals and 63 points and was great defensively while Mike Ribeiro bounced-back from getting bought out by the Coyotes to finish first on the team with 47 assists and second with 62 points.
Nashville also got solid production out of its second line as Craig Smith (23) and Colin Wilson (20) both reached the 20-goal plateau and Mike Fisher just missed it with 19 markers.
The line, however, was inconsistent down the stretch. A big addition for the Predators was Mike Santorelli from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline as the intrepid forward can be plugged into any line.
On defense, Nashville boasts one of the best pairing in the league as Shea Weber and Roman Josi are both dangerous in their own end and on the offensive side of things. Both blue liners found the back of the cage 15 times while Josi was third on the team with 55 points and Weber finished fourth with 45. Seth Jones and Mattias Ekholm also had big seasons.
Chicago's defensive corps may be taxed heavily due to a lack of depth and some injuries, but it does boast a great top-four in Duncan Keith (45 points), Brent Seabrook, Nicholas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya.
The most important position for Nashville is in between the pipes as All-Star Pekka Rinne put together one of his best seasons, despite missing some time with a knee injury in January. Rinne, a Vezina Trophy candidate, finished tied for second in the NHL in wins (41), third in GAA (2.18) and tied for seventh in save percentage (.923).
Chicago counters with Corey Crawford, who also missed some time with injury, and he is coming off of a campaign where he won 32 games, reaching the 30-win plateau for the fourth time in his career, and added a 2.27 GAA while ranking sixth in the NHL with a .924 save percentage.
Special Teams: The Predators' special teams were toward the bottom of the NHL as the team ranked 25th on the power play (16.2%) and 18th on the penalty kill (80.8%). The Blackhawks finished 20th in the NHL on the man-advantage (17.6%) and 10th on the kill (83.4%).
Last Thoughts: This series should be fun to watch, especially with one of the youngest stars in the game in Forsberg getting his first taste of the playoffs and Kane making a triumphant comeback. Kane's return could be the spiritual lift that Chicago needs to overcome Nashville, who will hope that home-ice advantage brings them good fortune. Rinne has been hard to beat this season, but if any team can do it it's the deep Blackhawks who seem poised for another long spring and have plenty experience grinding it out in tough series.
The Pick: Blackhawks in 6.
In this scenario, the Blackhawks would hold home-ice over the Wild in Round 2.
A new champion is guaranteed when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday.
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