Grittys' Western Conference First Round Predictions

[Gritty]

Hey everyone, the Ducks GM gave me a brilliant idea to do a write up on my series predictions for the 2022 EHEC Western Conference Playoffs! (East soon to come)

I am going to be giving my personal predictions on the first round, and hopefully all of the others as well for who I think will make it out, how many games will it take, and a series mvp for every winning team.

Western Conference
1v8 (Kings vs Blackhawks)
The LA Kings have been the team that are the most fun to keep up with in my eyes. So much young talent on this team including Martin Necas, Aidan Muir, Payton Krebs, and much much more. All of their players have a complete two way game which is key come this point in the year. LA doesn't score as much as youd expect, but they have a lockdown defense, and know how to win games. LAs PK has struggled just a little bit, will they be able to keep up with the high-powered Chicago Powerplay?

On the other side of the Ice, we have the Chicago Blackhawks. To simply put it, they know how to win. They haven't missed playoffs since the league began in the 09/10 season. But none of that matters this year, every year is a new year. On the front end, Paul Stastny leads the way for Chicago putting up over 1ppg this season on the top line. The centre depth in this lineup is insane, with Steven Stamkos, and deadline acquisition Phillip Danualt. This squad will put up some serious fight no doubt about it.

Gritty's Prediction - Kings in 7
I think Chicago wont go down without a fight, but LAs core is so solid on both ends of the ice it'll be hard to beat.
Series MVP - Steven Stamkos
It goes without saying, Stamkos can score. He will need to need to use his elite shot to break the LA Kings defensive system.

2v7 (Ducks vs Nashville)
The Ducks have been red hot after what would say was a catastrophic season last year. The GM has worked wonders bringing in countless new faces, such as David Krejci, and Mike Forney. The amount of firepower this offense has is ridiculous, which allowed them to put up 276 goals which was good enough for 6th best in the league. The Ducks defense was also stifling, led by Brent Seabrook they allowed only 216 goals good enough for 4th best in the league. Will Mikko Koivus leadership and experience be able to help this ducks team raise the Stanley Cup?

Back to the other side, the Nashville Predators are not a team I would want to be facing in the first round. Led by Tyler Seguin, the Predators put up 98 points this season, while holding a +39 Goal Differential. What worries me about the predators, is their penalty kill coming it at 77.9%, while the ducks powerplay has been quite impressive at 23%. Nashville will have to iron out the special teams, put their heads down and grind this series out for shot to make it out of the first round.

Grittys' Prediction - Ducks in 5
I think Nashville has a good chance to put up a fight, with Seguin leading the way on offense. I think the Ducks defense might bend a little bit under pressure, but not break.
Series MVP - Steve Mason
I think Steve Mason has been a huge backbone of this Ducks team, and to keep them in this series I think he will have to play some of his best hockey.

3v6 (Jets vs Stars)
The Jets have been one of the leagues biggest turn arounds this season, thanks to the returning GM. They have absolutely turned this team around, and have a serious shot as holding the Stanley Cup. They are amongst the best at everything, this team has NO weakness on paper. Rick Nash has been one of the leagues best superstars for plenty of time, and Veteran star Ilya Kovalchuk looks to take down Dallas in round one.

Dallas though, is another team I would not want to see in this first round. I know the GM spends a lot of time behind the scenes making sure his players are ready for this opportunity. They have no weakness to any part of their game. I think Evgeni Malkin, and his leadership will really take over this series, as I think this is the first series we will see an upset.

Grittys' Prediction - Dallas in 7.
I think Dallas has the better management here, they will make the adjustments they need to early on to take down this high-powered offensive juggernaut called the Winnipeg Jets.

Series MVP - Evgeni Malkin
I think he was built for this type of hockey, and really knows what it takes to win games being played at this level. I dont expect him to put up crazy numbers, but defense doesn't show up on the stat sheet. I expect him to be playing against the other top lines, and being a shutdown center for Dallas.

4v5 (Oilers vs Sharks)
Led by Jordan Eberle, and Drew Staffords' elite ability, and leadership off the ice, this Edmonton team has a lot of experience come playoffs. Edmonton is one of the older teams, with an average age of 30.7. This team has experience come this time of the year, and they know what it takes. Edmontons offense has put up the 4th most goals in the league, with an astounding 289. While doing that, they have still held their opponents to only 232 goals, which is largely in part to elite numbers on both special teams units. I think they will keep the ball rolling, and have alot of high scoring games this series.

Sharks never go down without a fight, and I don't expect them to now. The top line of Vlad Tarasenko, Kappo Kakko, and Mikkel Boedker is something special to watch. Kakko is already leading that top line at only 21 years old, and he will be eager to get a taste of some playoff hockey. Mikkel Boedker is a veteran sniper on the wing, and started to turn his season around once he got to SJS. The Sharks weakness on paper in my eyes is special teams. I think special teams is a necessity to help teams pull off a close game, but the Sharks lack that on both sides. The PP, and PK could use some major tweaks before this series.

Grittys' Prediction - Oilers in 6.
The oilers have so much offense from top to bottom, and leadership in that locker room I find it hard to see them losing. If the Sharks turn the special teams game around on the Oilers, this series could go a much different direction.
Series MVP - Matthew Tkachuk
Tkachuk really plays that playoff style hockey, will come at you on the forecheck, has grit, and will put pucks in the net. I think he will work this Sharks team down, and ultimately help the Oilers advance.

Thank you all for reading, hopefully you enjoyed as I stayed up just a little later than normal writing this. I should have an eastern conference prediction coming out soon, just depends how long as I have some school work and sports to take care of. Farewell!

[AvalancheGM]

Great read! I think all four series should be competitive. If I had to pick an upset it might be Nashville over Anaheim.

[Duckduckdeke]

Awesome job this was great

[SharksGM]

Kakko has a much better playoff PPG than Matthew Tkachuk and also Brady will beat his ass. Nothing beats younger brother rage.

My bold prediction is that Jeff Carter will outscore Jordan Eberle.

[Bernyhawks]

Nice read!

LA has too much talent on every line for me to go through

I wish I pulled a move on Kostitsyn at the deadline