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There were upsets aplenty in an absolutely wild 1st round. In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on the team most likely to do it again in round two.
Todd Cordell
I like the Hurricanes over the Islanders.
The Hurricanes dominated at 5v5 in the regular season and showed they can translate that in the playoffs, controlling 59% of the attempts and 58% of the chances against last year's Stanley Cup winners in Washington.
Their power play issues, which are very real, could be mitigated by the fact the Islanders somehow scored 11 fewer PP goals in the regular season over almost an identical amount of minutes.
If the Hurricanes can get some bodies back (Ferland and Svechnikov are really good players), and Petr Mrazek holds up, I like their chances.
I don't have any other low-seed advancing in this round, although I think Colorado has the 2nd best chance because of their elite top line, team speed, and a big edge in goal (Philipp Grubauer >>> Martin Jones).
Adam French
Does Columbus count as an "upset" if they win? Regardless, I will go with them. They shutdown the leagues best scorers in a way nobody thought possible. Bobrovsky outside of the first period of Game 1 was spectacular and Seth Jones went to an entirely new level. The four line attack and ability to play team defense is something entirely different from the Leafs. Boston had the ability to destroy Toronto on the Power Play...which I don't think they will be able to do against Columbus.
Outside of the Perfection Line and Krejci, I don't really think the Bruins have the required depth to take out the Blue Jackets. Add to it that Ryan Murray might be returning to the lineup and you have a nasty team filled with depth.
Not saying it's a cakewalk, but I think the Jackets can win this one and "upset" the Bruins.
Trevor Shackles
I really like San Jose's roster, and they probably have the highest ceiling of any team. However, although Colorado's overall depth is not good at all, their top line is incredible and I think they can exploit Martin Jones. Philipp Grubauer has also been sensational for the Avalanche, and sometimes that's all you need to win a playoff series. Colorado isn't even necessarily a great team, but in a short series, they showed against Calgary that anything can happen.
Sean Maloughney
After witnessing the most exciting and wild First Round in recent memory, I don't even know what to classify as an upset going forward. For the first time in NHL History, the top seed of the East and West were eliminated in the first round; one of them were swept and the other managed only a single win. Can Columbus or Colorado be looked at as underdogs with how they both manhandled the top dogs?
Very few were expecting the Stars to beat the Predators, nor for the Islanders to beat the Penguins, at least in the fashion that they did. At the time of writing this, the Hurricanes and Capitals are about to square off for a game 7 in a series that has been much closer than most expected. The only series that really didn't shock anyone was Toronto losing to Boston.
My pick is going to be Colorado because of just how good MacKinnon is. The Sharks may be without Pavelski for the near future and goaltending I think is still a massive question mark for San Jose. Plus I think they've expended all their luck with that atrocious 5 minute major call.
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