The NHL playoffs are underway and the favored teams look, well, pretty favorable heading into Game 2 of their series.
The Pittsburgh Penguins blasted their in-state rival Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 to start their first round. The Nashville Predators pulled away from the Colorado Avalanche 5-2.
The Tampa Bay Lightning struck the New Jersey Devils 5-2 in their Game 1. The Boston Bruins swarmed the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1.
These four winners ranked among the NHL elite all season. All four are legitimate Stanley Cup threats. All four are playing their best hockey at the right time.
But there is plenty to watch in the other series as well. The surprising Vegas Golden Knights edged the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 while reminding us their stunning regular season success was no mirage.
The high-flying Winnipeg Jets edged the injury-depleted Minnesota Wild 3-2 in the most entertaining game in this young NHL postseason.
And in two series that appear quite even, the Columbus Blue Jackets went on the road to edge the Washington Capitals 4-3 in overtime and the San Jose Sharks traveled to Anaheim to handle the Ducks 3-0.
But only one point separated the Sharks and Ducks this season, so that series was a virtual pick ’em. And the Capitals went into the playoffs with goaltender problems — something Blue Jackets definitely did not have with Sergei Bobrovsky on top of his game.
PENGUINS TAKE FLIGHT
The Penguins won the last two Stanley Cups. And after struggling through stretches of the regular season with championship hangover, they appear prepared to win their third consecutive title and create the latest NHL dynasty.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin just tore up the Flyers in Game 1 — and the Penguins are 11-1 in postseason play when those two score goals in the same game.
“Sometimes we marvel at what those guys do out there and their instincts,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said during his postgame address. “As a coach, sometimes you take it for granted.”
The Penguins expect some pushback from the Flyers in Game 2 after getting embarrassed so badly in the series opener.
“The first game didn’t go their way,” defenseman Kris Letang told reporters. “But they’re going to answer the bell and come hard at us. So we expect that, and I think we have to raise our game even more.”
PREDATORS HAVE BITE
Last year Nashville barely made the NHL playoff bracket before catching fire, winning the Western Conference and challenging the Penguins for the Cup.
This season the Predators want to finish the job. After upgrading their talent, they rank among the favorites to win it all.
It took a while in Game 1, but they finally tilted the ice against the Avalanche.
“It’s always a little nervous going into the first game,” winger Filip Forsberg told reporters after the game. “You wouldn’t be in your right mind if you didn’t feel nervous going into the first big playoff game. We got going in the third.”
Predators coach Peter Laviolette acknowledged that his team had things to work on heading into Game 2.
“I don’t think any team is going to walk through the playoffs and say, ‘You know what? We played every minute just the way we wanted to,'” Laviolette said during his news conference after the series opener. “We know we can do better at some things and we’ll work on that.
“But again, I thought the guys hung in there for having to fight back a couple of times and push forward. I thought they did that.”
