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North Division first round predictions: Edmonton vs. Winnipeg, plus entire first round recap

Published May 18, 2021 at 2:17 PM
BY MIKE ARMENTI
Finally, I've reached the end of my first round predictions! Some were admittedly tougher than others but I didn't have as hard a time making my selection for the Oilers/Jets series.

Just as a bit of a recap, so far I've taken:

-The Leafs over the Canadiens

-The Bruins over the Capitals

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-The Islanders over the Penguins

-The Golden Knights over the Wild

-The Hurricanes over the Predators

-The Panthers over the Lightning

And

-The Avalanche over the Blues

Without further delay, I present to you my prediction for the Oilers and the Jets.

North Division - 2nd place Edmonton vs. 3rd place Winnipeg:

Edmonton

First off, it's nice to see the Oilers finally having some success, not only within their division, but to see them finishing in the upper-half of the overall league standings.. for a team with their rich history, it's just cool to have seen their evolution from perennial bottom-feeder to borderline contender.

It's important to note that what the Oilers did this season, putting up a 35-19-2 record despite missing arguably their best overall defenseman in Oskar Klefbom and with 39-year-old Mike Smith being rock solid was certainly incredible and deserves to be acknowledged. Smith's 21-6-2 record, 2.31 GAA and .923 SV% are among his absolute best in his lengthy NHL career. To be doing that at almost 40 years-of-age.. that's exceptional.

While we're at it, before we get to the big dogs, we should also give some much-due respect to UFA signing Tyson Barrie, who led all defensemen in the league this season with 48 points in 56 games, just edging out Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (47) and Bolts blueliner Victor Hedman (45). An absolutely sensational campaign from Barrie and a huge reason for the success of the Oilers this season.

What can we say about Leon Draisaitl and, more importantly, about Connor McDavid that has not already been said a thousand times? Once again, this dynamic duo finished 1st and 2nd in league scoring, with McDavid putting up an unbelievable 105 points in just 56 games. I mean.. WOW.. there aren't words to express how incredible it is for a player to have done that in this era. Simply put, McDavid is by far the best player in the world right now and has almost certainly locked down the Hart Trophy this season.

Leon Draisaitl's play often gets overshadowed by McDavid's absolute brilliance, but it seems that year after year, he continues to bring it and is typically either chasing the Rocket Richard Trophy or the Art Ross Trophy. This is a player who is probably of a franchise caliber on any team in the NHL and certainly does not get the recognition he deserves. I mean, 84 points in 56 games and almost nobody is talking about it. It's a crime.

Winnipeg

While the Jets are not nearly as flashy as the Oilers in terms of having two elite-level, highlight-reel type gamebreakers on the bench, they are definitely not a team to just look past.

The Jets have as solid of a top-six forward group that you're going to find in the NHL and their bottom-six is probably better than most teams' middle-six. When you have names like Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny on the ice, if you're the opposition, no lead is safe.

The fact that they also have two excellent goaltenders to rely on in reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck and one of the NHL's better backup goaltenders in Laurent Brossoit, it tends to give the guys in front of them a lot more confidence, which can make them a lot more dangerous.

The biggest question mark for the Jets in this series will be - how will the defense hold up against McDavid and Draisaitl? I fear the answer might not be to the liking of Jets fans, so I'll refrain from answering that one here.

Prediction:

Living as close as I do to Winnipeg, I'm probably going to take some flak for this one, but I just don't see how, with their defense corps in its current state, the Jets manage to shut down McDavid and Draisaitl. I can't see it.

I did not predict any 4-game sweeps in these predictions, but I feel like if any series ends that way, it could be this one. That said, I'm going with the Oilers in 5, so long as Mike Smith stays healthy.
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