WHL 2017 Playoffs & Predictions

[StormCloudsGathering]

West
Oilers-Jets ~ Oilers in 5
Flames - Yotes ~ Flames in 7
Wild - Blues ~ Blues in 7
Avalanche - Hawks ~ Avalanche in 4

East
Buffalo - Panthers ~ Sabres in 5
Bruins - Bolts ~ Bolts in 7. Just because I can.
Caps - Habs ~ Habs in 7
Rangers - Jackets ~ Rangers in 7

[Jagaski]

WEST
Oilers V. Jets - Oilers in 4
Flames V. Yotes - Flames in 5
Wild V. Blues - Blues in 7
Avs V Hawks - Avs in 7

EAST
Sabres V. Panthers - Sabres in 6
Bruins V. Lightning - Bruins in 5
Caps V. Habs - Habs in 7
Rangers V. Jackets - Rangers in 5

[menohobo]

WEST
Oilers V. Jets - Oilers in 5
Flames V. Yotes - Yotes in 4
Wild V. Blues - Wild in 6
Avs V Hawks - Avs in 5

EAST
Sabres V. Panthers - Sabres in 5
Bruins V. Lightning - Bruins in 6
Caps V. Habs - Caps in 6
Rangers V. Jackets - Rangers in 5

[AlexM]

BUF v FLA - Don't buy that Luongo holds up. BUF in 5
BOS v TB - Experience v Skill. BOS in 7
WSH v MTL - Price needs to be the difference. WSH in 6
NYR v CBJ - Losing a starter is a pain. NYR in 6

EDM v WPG - McDavid truly becomes McJesus. EDM in 5
CGY v ARI - The Pacific is a hot garbage fire. CGY in 6
MIN v STL - Tarasenko is going to make someone his pain. STL in 6
COL v CHI - Chicago relies on special teams to score. Eff that. COL in 6

[GigantorTheGoalie]

WEST
Oilers V. Jets - Oilers in 6
Flames V. Yotes - Flames in 4
Wild V. Blues - Blues in 7
Avs V Hawks - Avs in 5

EAST
Sabres V. Panthers - Sabres in 4
Bruins V. Lightning - Bolts in 4
Caps V. Habs - Habs in 6
Rangers V. Jackets - Rangers in 5

[Cap'n]

East Conf:

BUF vs FLA: A nearly healthy Sabres squad (Silfverberg and McCabe expected back by game 1) will be too much for a fading Panthers squad. Luongo just doesn't have the playoff chops to backstop these young and talented Panthers out of the 1st round. Buffalo in 6

BOS vs TB: Tampa's high flying offense meets Boston's stout defense and depth. For all the goals that Tampa scores they sure struggle on the powerplay and this is only going to be magnified facing Boston's top ranked PK unit. Boston in 5

WAS vs MTL: Possibly the best series in the East this round. Two good teams with good goaltenders and GM's with experience. Washington has more star power and despite Montreal being the hottest team in the East I think they'll persevere with the advantage of the extra home game. Caps in 7

NYR vs CBJ: Mason just isn't to the same level as Bobrovsky and as long as Lundqvist stays healthy the Rangers are going to persevere. Rangers in 6

Western Conf

EDM vs JETS: Too much talent in Edmonton for Winnipeg to overcome, especially without Little. Oilers in 5

FLAMES vs YOTES: Stamkos for the win! Yotes do nothing more by making the playoffs than destroy the value of their pick, sorry Luke! Calgary in 5

MIN vs BLUES: How do you follow up a surprise trip to the Stanley Cup finals? By blowing your team up, going through multiple configurations, maximizing production from erstwhile underperforming players and finishing 2nd in the conference, that's how! Lindback will start the playoffs on IR which may be a blessing for a St Louis team that has taken a tumble after winning the president's trophy last year. Wild in 5

AVS vs HAWKS: Anything short of a cup win will be falling short of the expectations the AVs gm has established for his team. This won't be an easy matchup as the Hawks have real talent and playoff experience. Crawford vs. Samsonov? I'll go with Chicago and their superior road record. Blackhawks in 7

[Andrew55]

East
BUF v FLA - Sabres are too good for a cold Florida team. BUF in 4 (am I doing this right, Geremy? ) Seriously, BUF in 5.
BOS v TB - Anything can happen.
WSH v MTL - Close matchup between two hot teams but I say MTL in 7.
NYR v CBJ - Having Bobo out isn't easy to overcome although CBJ is a better team. NYR in 7.

West
EDM v WPG - Oilers are too good for Jets. EDM in 4.
CGY v ARI - It should be an easy series for Flames. CGY in 5.
MIN v STL - Great, interesting matchup. Wild defense is pretty good. MIN in 7.
COL v CHI - This is a series between two underperforming teams. Hawks PO experience can be the difference. CHI in 6.

[Mauso]

BUF v FLA - Florida didnt look healthy heading to POs and I think Matt is happy that he is facing Panthers instead of Wings now, BUF in 5
BOS v TB - Cant really come up with any logical explanation, but I feel like Tampa is overally little bit better, Bolts in 7
WSH v MTL - Gallagher is still injured for the 1st round and even though Habs have been on fire, Caps in 7
NYR v CBJ - Stevie M will fall into pieces, NYR in 5

EDM v WPG - McOilers in 5
CGY v ARI - Yotes might be dangerous, but Flames are simply better...Flames in 5
MIN v STL - Wild were great almost whole season, but I think STL have the PO players there and Senko is a beast, Blues in 7
COL v CHI - I will trust Hawks in 6 here

[bjl]

EAST
BUF vs FLA: Buffalo in 6
BOS vs TB: Tampa Bay in 5
WAS vs MTL: Montreal in 6
NYR vs CBJ: New York in 5

WEST
EDM vs WPG: Edmonton in 4
CGY vs ARI: Calgary in 5
COL vs CHI: Chicago in 6

[bjl]

EAST
BUF vs TB: Buffalo in 6
WAS vs NYR: Washington in 5

WEST
EDM vs CGY vs ARI: Edmonton in 5

[Cap'n]

Well, I got 6 out of 8 right in the first round. Here's a stab at the 2nd round

EAST

Buffalo vs Tampa

Both teams were firing on all cylinders in the first round. Buffalo will finally have it's full lineup for the first time this playoffs while Tampa is missing defenseman Brodin until game 5 or 6 though while Brodin's replacement doesn't look like much att wise but the kid lit it up in the first round. Buffalo went 4-0 vs. the Lightning in the regular season. Buffalo's depth of scoring and top flight goaltending will prove too much for Tampa. Buffalo in 5


Washington vs New York

Washington got through a tough opponent in round 1 in a hard fought 6 games while the Rangers feasted on backup gk Steve Mason. Injuries may be a factor in this series as Karl Alzner will be sidelined for the first couple games at least. Rangers are watching Zuccarello's neck strain and hoping the forward doesn't do further damage and wind up on the sideline for any length of time. Lundqvist is the key to this series. The star swede has been absolutely fantastic over the past two seasons in the playoffs. You can bet Washington will crash the net and try to rattle him or even knock him out of the series. Holtby has looked very pedestrian so far this playoffs so I'm gonna go with the Rags. Rangers in 6

WEST

Edmonton vs Calgary

Edmonton's kids shined in the first round, especially once RNH returned. Calgary struggled early in their series vs. the plucky Desert Dogs but ultimately their talent prevailed. Talent will prevail once again. Edmonton in 5

Minnesota vs. Colorado

Could be the best 2nd round matchup as both teams netted an identical 106 pts in the regular season though the contrast in styles is readily apparent. Colorado's free wheelin' meets the Wild's buttoned down approach. Goaltending will again be the difference in this series. After a shaky game 1, Vasilevsky steadied himself and proved worthy to the task against a tough Blues squad. Varlamov on the other hand played his best in game 1 and then regressed with each game after that. I'll go with the Wild in 7

[GigantorTheGoalie]

WHL Semi-Finals

Eastern Conference
Buffalo vs. Tampa: Tampa in 6 Games

Washington vs. New York: Caps in 5 Games

Western Conference

Edmonton vs. Calgary: Calgary in 7 Games

Colorado vs. Minnesota: Colorado in 5 Games

[bjl]

EAST
WAS vs TBL: Tampa Bay in 6