Beyond Center Ice

 As heavily predicted, this Pacific showdown is going to occur. Vegas trumped the Jets in 5 games, while the Oilers defeated the Kings in a close series in 6. Winner moves on to the West Finals.  It would have been disappointing if this were not the Round Two Matchup. Connor McDavid and his Oilers take on the unit that is the Vegas Golden Knights. How did they get through Round One, though? Vegas had probably the easiest matchup of the first round, as they took on the Winnipeg Jets. I correctly predicted this series to go easily in favor of Vegas, but after game 1, things didn't look to great. The Jets looked better, looked like they wanted it more, and they won. Vegas though, rebounded and took a really good game 2. Then, they go back to Winnipeg and takes two close games facing the whiteout. And then, in Game Five, they dominated. Winnipeg looked like they lost all desire to move on, and so Vegas took it handily. As of now, they lead all playoff teams in G%, and this makes s...

 Our 2nd Western Conference preview pits the LA Kings vs the Edmonton Oilers! This series is a rematch of last season, where the Oilers won. The Kings will look to revenge, and they have a solid team to do it. On the other hand, the Oilers come into the playoffs on a 9 game win streak, have the best player in the world, and look unstoppable. They're the hottest team in hockey and some people's pick to win the Stanley Cup. This series should be an exciting one, and let's take a look at the teams.  The Edmonton Oilers are, as I said, the hottest team in the NHL going into these playoffs. They're on a 9 game win streak and are 22-5-5 since the All-Star Break. They lead the NHL in Goals For (325), and are 2nd to the Bruins with a 69 GD. They're 4th in the NHL with 55.94 G% and 3rd with 56.07 xG%. Their Corsi% is 52.07, top 10 in the NHL, so consistently offensively they are top 10. Their Shooting% is top of the NHL, above even the Bruins. The reason why they're not ...