With the exception of the Lightning, there wasn't much that separated these teams. People may look at the final seedings, but maybe not consider the context of recent play (except for the Blues that everyone knew what a great second half they were having). The 2 sweeps were the most shocking part, not the series results.
Done:
Calgary looked pretty mediocre those last couple of months. Lindholm hadn't scored in 20 games. Colorado came on late and played really well down the stretch to make the playoffs. It wasn't as big of an upset as it seemed.
The Penguins looked pretty suspect all season long. I thought they would win in 7 with playoff experience on their side, but I expected them to be out in the second round. It's not surprising that the Islanders beat them. Swept them? That was surprising.
The Blues were on a roll and Winnipeg looked unimpressive for most of the year. Hell wasn't playing great and Laine went MIA for a long stretch. Something wasn't right with that team.
Nashville was another team that looked off this season. How could their special teams look so bad? Dallas played well down the stretch. This series looked like a toss-up.
TB looked much the best. CBJ added a bunch of pieces and were playing playoff hockey just to make the playoffs. I guess this was a shocker, but there was always some doubt if this team was built for the playoffs. No one saw a sweep coming.
Still going:
Vegas and SJ looked like a toss-up. Neither played well down the stretch. SJ was missing EK and Vegas was missing Fleury. Vegas didn't look good for those last 2 games with Fleury back, but they had nothing to play for. To me, Vegas had the higher upside after the Stone trade.
Washington with the exception of the game against TB near the end of the season had played pretty passionless. Cup hangover? Carolina played pretty well down the stretch. I thought Carolina could win 1-2 games. I expect Washington to win with everything on the line.
Vegas and SJ were not playing well recently. Vegas was on a roll until it lost Fleury those last 3 weeks. Then they still looked bad when they got him back for those last 2 games. SJ didn't have EK for a long time. You can argue that they were missing key players, but they still didn't look good.
Vegas and SJ were not playing well recently. Vegas was on a roll until it lost Fleury those last 3 weeks. Then they still looked bad when they got him back for those last 2 games. SJ didn't have EK for a long time. You can argue that they were missing key players, but they still didn't look good.
My biggest surprise would be Toronto. They looked dreadful defensively. Even we beat them. I thought Boston was going to steamroll them. I still expect Boston to win.
My bracket had TB, PIT, WAS, BOS, COL, DAL, VEG, and STL. 3-2 isn't great so far, but not really surprising.
