Predicting the Metropolitan Division’s First Round Matchups
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The 2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are here, and this year it features four Metropolitan Division teams; the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, and Washington Capitals. The first-round doesn’t start until Saturday, Apr. 20, but there is a lot to talk about in regard to the upcoming matchups. While many don’t know which teams are going to come out victorious, others are almost dead-set on who they think will win. Here are predictions for who will win both first-round Metropolitan Division playoff series.
M1 New York Rangers vs WC2 Washington Capitals
Prediction: Rangers win 4-2
This was a pretty easy decision. The New York Rangers were the best regular season team this year, winning the President’s Trophy in their final game. Standing at 114 points, New York has been a force to be reckoned with. They are a complete team on every front, with a star-studded offense, and a newly improved defense. Add in the fact that the Rangers have maybe the best goaltender in the league with Igor Shesterkin, and it is hard to see them losing this series.
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The Washington Capitals on the other hand, have simply not been a great team this year. They barely snuck into the postseason with 91 points. They just edged out the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, which makes them maybe the weakest team in this playoff picture. They have some very good players in Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson, but the team’s fire power ends there.
There is some good news for Capitals fans however. During the regular season, Washington was able to split their series, 2-2, with New York. One of their wins even highlighted goaltender Charlie Lindgren, shutting out the Rangers.
Despite what their regular season matchups looked like, it seems as though the Rangers are going to be the ones who are moving on to the second round. Artemi Panarin has been too dominant to stop all season long, and that will most likely carry over into the playoffs as well. Igor Shesterkin, who many doubted all season long, has returned to his regular form. The team expects Filip Chytil to return during this series, and the forward lines will be complete. Everything seems to be in favor of the Rangers at the moment, but it all depends on if New York can execute properly.
With some pushback from Washington, this game should be done in six. If NHL fans are lucky, everyone might be in for another Wilson vs Rangers fight. The only difference this time; Matt Rempe. It should be an extremely hard-fought series.
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs M3 New York Islanders
Prediction: Hurricanes win 4-3
This same exact matchup happened last season, with Carolina winning the series in six games. Unfortunately, that outcome will most likely repeat itself again this year. The Hurricanes have been just as good as the New York Rangers, but ultimately fell short of the President’s Trophy by three points. With a new addition in Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, Carolina’s Stanley Cup hopes are very real.
Carolina has stayed at the top of the league for what seems like the entire regular season. The team has always had a strong defensive core, but have now added more offense into their game; making them even more dangerous than the team that the Islanders faced in 2023. The Hurricanes are clicking on all cylinders, and not many teams can stop that.
The New York Islanders, who got off to a very rough start, battled their way back into the playoffs; winning eight of their final 10 games. The biggest factor in that would be New York’s decision to fire Lane Lambert in January, and hire Patrick Roy to be their new head coach. Since that time, the Islanders secured their spot as the third best team in the Metropolitan Division.
While the Hurricanes are the favorite to win this matchup, the Islanders aren’t going to go down without a fight. Ending the series in game seven seems fitting because of how much momentum New York has going into this series.
Assuming that the team plays the same style of hockey they did at the end of the regular season, New York should be able to win at least three games against Carolina. While it might be too far fetched to think that the Islanders have a shot at winning this series, they most definitely have a shot at scaring the Hurricanes before they move on to the next round.
These are just predictions, while every team has a chance to upset another one, or lose in embarrassing fashion. Only time will tell as the playoff series are ready to kick off in the coming days.