Playoffs Update - June 12th

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are continuing onto the conference finals, as the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games on Thursday night. The other series include Montreal sweeping the Jets, the Lightning beating the Canes in 5 games, and the Islanders beating Boston in 6 games. More details of each advancing team below.

(Image Credits - NHL.com)

Montreal Canadians - The Habs have really become a force in these playoffs. They pushed the Toronto Maple Leafs out in 7 after being down 3-1 and took the Winnipeg Jets out in just four quick games. The goaltending of Carey Price combined with the play of their depth forward group has really made the team become well-rounded and will give them their best chance to win against the Golden Knights in the next round. The X-Factor for them in this round will be Jeff Petry's health, as the Habs will need their whole defense to step up against a high-potent Vegas offense. - Prediction: Lose in 6

Vegas Golden Knights - The Knights are coming off a highly competitive series with the Colorado Avalanche in which they bested them in 6 games. The Avs were the president's trophy winners and highly regarded around the league as a cup-caliber team. The Golden Knights exposed their defensive problems, and Phillip Greabauer didn't make the saves when needed either. The Knights will be highly favored against the Canadiens, which may cause some trouble for them as the Jets and Maple Leafs were favored too. - Prediction: Win in 6

Tampa Bay Lightning - This team is the best of the four left in the Playoffs in my opinion. They are loaded up front, on the back end, and have the best goaltending of anyone still left in the final four. Tampa won the Stanley Cup last year in the bubble, and I think they have a heck of a shot at repeating and winning it again this year. The Bolts will face the New York Islanders in the conference final, and the Isles are ROLLING with the momentum of beating the Penguins and Bruins in the first two rounds. They were underdogs in both of those rounds, but I think Tampa is just better than the Isles at this point in the playoffs (haha get it? Brayden Point?) - Prediction: Win in 5

New York Islanders - The Isles are rolling right now, as I previously mentioned. The momentum of beating favored Pittsburgh and Boston in rounds 1 and 2 has gotten them into a very good position going into a serious with the impressive Bolts. The Lightning have the best goaltender left in the playoffs, and I think that will be a big problem for the Isles as the goalies they played so far have sputtered out immensely. I think the Isles will have their hands FULL with the Lightning and won't get it done. - Prediction: Lose in 5

The Lightning and Islanders start tomorrow at 3 pm EST on NBC, and the Knights and Canadiens start Monday at 9 pm EST on NBCSN.