NHL Expert Predictions For The Hard To Predict First Round
Wednesday night, the 2017 NHL postseason gets underway, with four game ones highlighting the schedule. Thursday night, the puck drops on three more opening round series, including contests that feature the conference leading Capitals and Blackhawks.
What sets the NHL playoffs apart from pretty much all other sports is the unpredictability of the matchups. In many cases, seeding is simply thrown out the window. The history of lower seeds pulling off the upset is far more frequent in hockey, as compared to most other sports, particularly the NBA. In fact, the Presidents’ Cup winner (team that finishes with the most regular season points) has won the Stanley Cup in only 2 of the last 10 seasons.
Like last year, the perennial playoff underachievers from our nation’s capital enter this postseason with the top regular season record.
