Predicting every matchup in the Stanley Cup semifinals

The Stanley Cup playoffs have moved into the next round and we have everything you need to know about the matchups, including series predictions.

After a thrilling first round of the NHL playoffs, it’s now down to eight teams remaining to win the greatest trophy in all of sports, the Stanley Cup. The road for every team is about to get harder than it was the previous round. We saw four game sweeps and the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins went to a deciding seventh game. There’s already front runners for the Conn Smyth award if the team winds up hoisting the Cup in another few weeks. Players that maybe didn’t bring their “A” game in the first round now have a chance to make amends in the second round.

The way the playoffs are laid out, each team is facing a division rival. There’s already some heavy dislike built in. The animosity should be running high from the drop of the puck in Game 1. Playoff hockey is already some of the most thrilling games in sports. It’s only going to get better as we get closer to the ultimate prize.

We’re here to break down each series and give a prediction for this round. In the first round, this prediction article got six of the eight series predictions correct. The only two series that were incorrect was the Vegas Golden Knights beating the Kings and the Boston Bruins surviving the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hey, you have to pick some upsets somewhere along the way, right? Here’s hoping we can keep the accuracy going into the second round and onwards.