By Bob the Aardvark

My how a year can bring so many changes.

Last year at this time most Canadian hockey fans were whimpering and blowing their noses over the fact not a single one of the country’s seven NHL teams made the playoffs.

This year five of the 16 playoff-bound teams are from Canada and sports bar owners all o’er the land are whimpering and blowing their noses from all the joyful sobbing. Make the most of this year’s feast dear pub proprietors for the piggies in charge of broadcasting the NHL may swoop in and go all vampire on sports bars in the near future. But I digress.

It is time once again for my fear-filled, quivering-in-full wincing splendour predictions and mild suggestions (that you cannot hold against me legally – or illegally) as to what the hockey gods have in store for Canada’s teams entering the great springtime march to glory.

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins vs Ottawa Senators

The Big Bad Bruins are more like one really big formerly bad guy and a few rascally rats playing in front of a resurrected Tuuka Rask. However, the Bruins have become an effective team since giving coach Claude Julien to Montreal. Brad Marchand will be well rested after serving a two game suspension for attempting to neuter Tampa Bay’s Jake Dotchin in game 80. The only significant injury to report is the B’s top scoring blueline Torey Krug day-to-day with a lower body injury (LBI).

The Senators are led by super Swede and apparent pizza lover Erik Karlsson, with a serviceable pack of puck chasers and luggers up front, and a pair of goalies in Craig Anderson and Mike Condon who find ways to dig deep. Karlsson enters the playoffs nursing a sore foot.

This should be a whopper of a series between two evenly matched teams. Might Bobby Ryan emerge from his season-long fog and be a playoff hero for Ottawa? Doubt it; it’s more likely that David Krejci remembers he’s a wicked scorer in the playoffs and Patrice Bergeron smothers spindly Kyle Turris.

Boston in seven games.

New York Rangers vs Montreal Canadiens

Speaking of two evenly matched teams – the Habs and Rangers series will feature two of the game’s top netminders, balanced scoring up front and seasoned blueliners.

The Rangers enter the playoffs relatively healthy, riding a wheezing and uninspiring 3-4-3 record in their final 10 games. It could be that Henrik Lundqvuist is playing hurt; or has lost his mojo. If that is the case, the Rangers are in trouble.

The Canadiens enter the playoffs completely healthy up front and riding momentum

The Habs have a battered D, with Shea Weber, Alexei Emelin and Jordie Benn all day-to-day with undisclosed injuries and if they cannot get into the line up to start the series, the Rangers deep forward lines will expose the depleted defence.

Montreal’s improved team toughness should come in handy against a thick Rangers team that hasn’t enjoyed great seasons from its forward leaders.

This will be an entertaining original six series, with the best goalie winning.

Montreal in six games.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Washington Capitals

Based on the extreme volumes of coverage and navel gazing that will take place, this will be the greatest series in NHL history. Rookie of the year slam-dunk Auston Matthews versus super sniper Alex Ovechkin! Charge!

Based on pure numbers this series should be a cake walk. The Washington Capitals are again the President’s Trophy winner and yet no one is impressed. Not even the Leafs.

The Caps have been playoff duds in the Ovechkin era but steady fine-tuning may just have this team parked on the edge of glory. The Caps have one of the finest bluelines in the league, a top three netminder and arguably still the best sniper in Ovie and one of the finest set-up men in Nik Backstrom. The club also has solid secondary scoring.

The only significant injury for the Caps is top three D-man John Carlson who is day-to-day with a LBI.

The young and exciting Leafs deserve to be in the playoffs this year. However, deserving to be there and being successful once there are two vastly different kettles of fish. The team enters the second season with some injury questions, starting in goal with Fredrik Andersen and extending to the blueline with standout rookie Nikita Zaitsev and thumper Roman Polak out day-to-day.

Coach Mike Babcock has his young team playing with tons of vim and vigor and there has been a sweet blending of the team’s established forwards and the rookies. There is lots of winning ahead for the Leafs but not too much more this year.

Washington in five games.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins

The reigning champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be popular picks for poolies this year, and for good reason. This is a good team; a 50-win season and it has the game’s best all-around player in Sidney Crosby, who would have won his first scoring title if he hadn’t missed seven games.

The Pens have proven D, though number one Kris Letang is out for the season. And goaltending remains strong with Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury.

There are three other Penguins injuries that bear watching, especially Evgeni Malkin, out since March 16 with a shoulder injury. Wingers Carl Hagelin and Chris Kunitz are also day-to-day.

The Penguins ambled into the playoffs with a 4-4-2 record in their last 10 games.

That is still better than the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets who enter the first round with a 3-5-2 record in its final 10.

That said, the surprise team of the year also posted 50 wins on the back of perhaps the most dominant goalie entering the playoffs – Sergei Bobrovsky – the likely Vezina winner this season.

Columbus has a balanced attack under coach John Tortorella, led by the tiny Cam Atkinson in scoring with 62 points. In total the Jackets had 15 players with 20 or more points, compared to 16 with the Penguins.

The lone injury concern is stud rookie Zach Werenski who is day-to-day, out since April 2 with a shoulder injury.

This will be an interesting series and it will take everything the Penguins have to win it, likely sapping them for the second round.

Pittsburgh in seven games.

Western Conference

San Jose Sharks vs Edmonton Oilers

Oh long suffering Edmonton Oilers fans. Welcome back to the playoffs!

Thanks to the galloping scoring frenzy that is Connor McDavid, the Oilers are steaming into the playoffs on an eight win, two loss tear and seem to be a team no one would want to play. They are also relatively healthy.

That said, the Oilers remain a young team with lots of learning ahead of them. Goaltender Cam Talbot has provided yeoman service and could be a difference maker in the first round series against the Sharks, a team lurching into the playoffs with a 4-6 record in its last 10.

More importantly, the Sharks are possibly without centres Logan Couture and Joe Thornton, both listed day-to-day.

The Sharks still have some key weapons, notably blueliner Brent Burns and forward Joe Pavelksi, but they will need a return to form from the likes of Mikkel Boedker, Tomas Hertl and Jonas Donskoi if they are going to be able to keep up with the Oilers.

The Sharks have solid D and goaltending but they’ve played a lot of hockey since last year’s Stanley Cup finals and are possibly heading into battle without two of their top four warriors.

Edmonton in six games.

Calgary Flames vs Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks enter the playoffs as the NHL’s hottest team (8-0-2 in their last 10 games). The big rumbling Ducks have bashed their way to the playoffs on the back of a rejuvenated Ryan Getzlaf and the always assholish Ryan Kesler, while Corey Perry has had an off year offset by the emergence of Rickard Rackell.

The Ducks have a mobile blueline to go with a competent goaltending tandem of John Gibson and Jonathan Bernier and play a solid possession game based around one of the NHL’s best faceoff percentages.

Of concern is an injury to top three defender Cam Fowler, day-to-day with a knee injury since April 4. Recently acquired winger Patrick Eaves, enjoying a career season, has an undisclosed injury and is day-to-day as of April 9.

The Calgary Flames flickered into the playoffs on a four and six wobble, though top scorer Johnny Guadreau has been heating up of late and earlier goaltending hiccups seem to be put aside by Brian Elliott.

The Flames have a balanced attack that includes an unheralded second line of Michael Frolik, Michael Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk, who plays like his old man, former power forward Keith.

The Flames also have a mobile blueline that can zip the puck around with the best of them and, luckily, the team is relatively injury free.

All that should make for a good series but there is the matter of the Flames not being able to win in Anaheim. If they want to advance they better figure that one out fast. They won’t.

Anaheim in five games.

Nashville Predators vs Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Black Hawks are rested again and are hungry for another cup.

The top team in the west was once again paced by the scoring prowess of Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin, with excellent secondary scoring and the finest leadership in the game in Captain Series, Jonathan Toews. A deep blueline led by Duncan Keith and proven goaltending mean the Hawks will be a tough out. That said, the team coasted into the playoffs with a 3-3-4 record in its last 10, losing the final four games. Coach Q playing games heading into the playoffs?

The only key injuries are centre Artem Anisimov, out with a LBI since March 14 and defenseman Nik Hjalmarsson, out day-to-day since April 3 for personal reasons.

The Nashville Predators picked up their game in the final week of the season, ending with 5-4-1 run.

Led by 31 game winning Pekke Rinne in goal, the Predators remain a committee team, with 10 players notching 30 or more points, led by centre Ryan Johansen’s and winger Victor Arvidsson’s 61 points apiece. Filip Forsberg had a down year offensively but has been coming on of late and the team has three defenders (Roman Josi, PK Subban and Ryan Ellis) with 38 or more points.

The one thing that will limit Nashville’s success is the injury bug. The team has six starters nursing day-to-day boo boos, including defenders Josi and Yanick Weber and key forward Mike Fisher, Calle Jarnkrok and Colin Wilson, while veteran mucker Vernon Fiddler is also out.

Rested stars (relatively speaking), experience and superior firepower should be enough to carry the Hawks to a series victory and eventually Western Conference finals appearance.

Chicago in six games.

St. Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild

This is the toughest series to predict as the teams are so evenly matched and both enter the playoffs on rolls.

The Wild, 5-3-2 in their final 10, were a powerhouse all season long. Stellar netminding from Devon Dubnyk, balanced scoring and defence all amounted to a 106-point season for Minnesota.

The team boasts 12 players with 40 or more points, led by Mikael Granlund’s 69 points and a re-born Eric Staal’s 65 points and was perhaps the NHL’s most structured team with some of the season’s highest plus figures, such as key defender Ryan Suter’s +34.

The only injury concern for the Wild is top-three defenseman Jared Spurgeon, day-to-day since April 4 with a LBI.

St. Louis Blues enter the playoffs on a 7-1-2 roll, peaking at just the right time.

Goaltender Jake Allen appeared headed for Siberia earlier in the year but he has re-captured his game and is smoking hot heading into the second season.

The Blues don’t have as balanced an attack as the Wild, but Vladimir Tarasenko remains one of the game’s elite snipers, tallying 39 markers this season.

St. Louis has a quality top four D and decent scoring depth that has been coming on in the last few weeks of the season, but a couple of injuries could prove key, with centres Paul Stastny and Robbie Fabbri out. Stastny is day-to-day since March 21 with a LBI while Fabbri (left knee) is on injured reserve.

Lucky bounces and superb goaltending will probably be the story of this series.

Minnesota in seven games.

Stanley Cup finals prediction: My pick for teams making it to the conference finals include Chicago and Minnesota in the west and Washington and Pittsburgh in the east.

In the finals: Washington Capitals vs Chicago Blackhawks. Hawks winners in seven games.

How to win your playoff pool: Pick top scoring players from teams you expect will go the deepest in the playoffs. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Good luck in your pools and go Flames, Leafs, Sens, Oilers and Habs!

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