Not to pump my own tires, but I am pretty sure I picked both Carolina and Tampa to win their first round matchups in 6 games. Surprise Surprise, that’s exactly what happened. Time to take a closer look at their second round series.
Forwards
These are two teams that are both very deep up front with the ability to roll four lines. They are built slightly different. Carolina has their scoring spread out, whereas Tampa is loaded on their top two lines. The biggest difference for me is the high end skill on the Lightning. Yes Aho and Svechnikov are highly talented, but I would much rather have Kucherov, Point, and Stamkos at my disposal. Their first power play unit is absolutely lethal. I have got to give the Lightning the nod up front.
Defence
This a great match up on the backend. These are two of the top three remaining defensive cores in my opinion. Tampa has the best overall defender in Hedman, but Carolina is a bit more balanced. Dougie Hamilton is every bit just as offensive, and Jacob Slavin is equally as good at defending as Hedman. With Cernak and Schenn I feel the Lightning lack the overall foot speed the Hurricanes have. 1-6 I have got to give the edge to Carolina.
Goaltending
Embed from Getty ImagesThis is a mismatch to me. Alex Nedeljkovic is a very good goaltender, but I feel Andrei Vasilevskiy is the best goalie in the world. With each advancing round the pressure mounts. I think this could affect Nedeljkovic. The big Russian on the other hand is cool as a cucumber. He has been there before. Nothing seems to rattle him. Advantage Tampa.
Tampa feels like the New York Yankees to me at this point. Everyone outside of their fans wants to see them lose. This is why I hope they advance. I want Colorado to play them in the finals. Carolina is a quality team, built well top to bottom. Unfortunately, not as well as Tampa. Their time will come. Just not yet. Tampa in 6.