Breaking down the first round of the 2023 NHL playoffs

Playoff hockey in the National Hockey League (NHL) and each team’s quest for the glory of the Stanley Cup begins this week. The NHL playoffs are underway, and there is no better time of year for the sport of hockey. This year’s tournament is filled with storylines all around with some of the most interesting being: will Colorado win back-to-back championships? Do the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins have enough to win it all? And will the Toronto Maple Leafs finally make it past the first round? Let’s take a look at some of the first-round matchups in each conference.

Starting in the west, the Seattle Kraken, in their first-ever postseason appearance, have the unfortunate task of taking on the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche who, unfortunately for them, have been plagued with injuries. Even though Colorado is without captain Gabriel Landeskog, the team looks poised to go on to another Stanley Cup run. Every hockey fan’s least favorite team, the Vegas Golden Knights, will take on the Winnipeg Jets in an exciting matchup. Vegas finished as the best team in the West during the regular season, and while they kept winning, they faced some challenges in the net. If Connor Hellebuyck manages to hold it down in the net, Winnipeg will have a strong chance to beat Vegas in round one.

In another exciting matchup, the Dallas Stars will take on the Minnesota Wild in the first round of this year’s playoffs. Something every fan is wondering is if Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson can carry the Dallas Stars to beat the Kirill Kaprisov-led Minnesota Wild. Dallas’ young stars were workhorses for the team in the regular season, but Minnesota will look to hold them off in the postseason.

Lastly, in the West, the Edmonton Oilers will take on the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers had a very strong finish to their regular season, but the sleeper pick Los Angeles Kings will look to put an end to that this coming week. They are looking to ruin Connor McDavid's historical season, which would serve as a loaded task for any team. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will undoubtedly show out in the series, but can the rest of the Oilers help get the job done? Or will the Kings get revenge for last year's playoff loss to the Oilers?

In the East, the juggernaut Boston Bruins will take on the Florida Panthers. Boston had a fantastic and historic regular season and are another team poised for a Cup run, but can the Matthew Tkachuk-led Panthers upset the President Trophy Winners after a strong regular season finish?

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning will meet yet again in the first round. Toronto is looking to finally win a playoff series and the odds are looking favorable with a deeper team than ever. This Tampa Bay team also has no momentum going into the playoffs which provides another reason to suspect a possible Maple Leafs’ victory in round one. 

The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to go on a long playoff run and attempt to finally get over the hump, but their first-round matchup won’t be easy against the New York Islanders. Carolina has some injuries which will make this series interesting—meanwhile, the Isles have Ilya Sorokin, who has been one of the best goaltenders in the league this year.

The final and most interesting matchup in the East will be between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers. New Jersey, a team no one expected to be as good as they were during the regular season, will take on the New York Rangers, who are stacked with depth players, in a battle between sworn rivals.

This postseason should be a fantastic one full of great games, with some obvious favorites and surprise underdogs in each conference. Boston is the favorite to come out of the East, while also being the heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup later in the playoffs. The West is a different story, with teams like Edmonton and Vegas being among the favorites but the conference as a whole being wider open. We will see how the NHL playoffs unfold and who will come out on top as the new Stanley Cup champion in the coming weeks.