NHL Playoffs Poll: Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes Seen as Cup Front-Runners

Earlier this week, THN.com unveiled some of the results from a new poll of writers and editors from The Hockey News. Forty-seven respondents to the poll gave out laurels to NHL individual awards front-runners, and you can find that story here. Today, we’re focusing on the parts of the poll connected to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Here are many of the results:

Which Team Will Win the Eastern Conference?

Analysis: The two best teams in the Metropolitan Division were THN writers' and editors’ pick to emerge from the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s best team. The Hurricanes were a nice pick all season long to do great damage in the regular and post-seasons, and nothing has changed in that regard. The Rangers got the majority of the votes that didn’t go to Carolina, followed by the first-place-in-the-Atlantic-Division Panthers, second-in-the-Atlantic Bruins, and third-in-the-Atlantic Leafs. The Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders and Washington Capitals received no love from voters.

Which Team Will Win the Western Conference?

Analysis: The Stars – the West’s best regular-season team – were the clear winners in this category, landing nearly two-thirds of the votes. Far behind them are the Oilers, Jets and Avalanche, followed by the Canucks and Golden Knights. Many of these teams are taking on one another in Round One, so there are bound to be major disappointments in some markets. But Dallas was another pre-season favorite to win the West, and the regular-season results only confirm the Stars’ prowess.

Which Team Will Win the Stanley Cup?

Analysis: Given that the Stars and Hurricanes were THN staffers’ picks to win their respective conferences, it follows that those two teams would garner the most votes in this category. The Rangers, Oilers, Jets, Panthers, Avalanche and Canucks each got two votes, followed by Toronto and Vegas, who each picked up a single vote. The vast discrepancy between the NHL’s strongest teams in voting speaks to the parity of the league; you can make a decent argument for every team on this list to be a Cup-front-runner, and that’s reflected in the results here.

Who Will Win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP?

Analysis: Although more people picked Aho to be the post-season MVP, three Stars players combined had four more votes than Aho. A smaller slice of the pie went to Panarin and Guentzel, while 15 players received one-to-two votes here.

Which Canadian Team Goes Furthest In the Playoffs?

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Analysis: The Oilers got the nod in this category by the slimmest of margins, followed by the Jets and Leafs. Vancouver and Edmonton led the way, perhaps in part because the Western Conference is seen by some as the easier path to the Cup Final, while the Leafs got the fewest based on their difficult road in the East.

Who Will Be the Playoff Scoring Leader?

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Analysis: McDavid was one of the NHL’s best point-producers this regular season, so it makes sense that poll voters gave him the most votes in this category. Panarin, Aho and MacKinnon also got some respect, and the fact that 15 players were chosen underscores the vast difference of opinion here. Interestingly, the Art Ross Trophy winner this season, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, wasn’t a leader in this category’s voting, which says it all about voters’ skepticism that the Lightning will go very far this spring.

Which Cup Favorite Will Go Out Early?

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Analysis: After losing in Round One to Florida last season, the Bruins were the narrow leaders in this question, followed closely by the Avs and Rangers. Edmonton also received a handful of votes, and five other teams garnered at least one vote as well. Picking the Blueshirts to lose early is a function of them winning the Presidents’ Trophy, but the truth is, there’s so much competition out there, any favorite team could suffer extreme disappointment and lose out at the beginning of the post-season.

Which Team Has the Most to Prove?

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Analysis: We knew heading into the season that the Leafs would ultimately be judged by their playoff performance, and the voting in this category reflected that pressure. In second place were the high-octane Oilers, followed by the Hurricanes, and then a handful of other teams garnering between one and two votes apiece.

Who Will Be an Unlikely Playoff Hero?

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Analysis: Again, players on the Hurricanes and Stars made the cut in this category, with Jarvis leading the way, followed by five votes split between Dallas forwards Johnston and Stankoven. Voters ultimately handed out a slew of other votes to individual players on many teams, but overall, the consensus was either a Carolina or Dallas player is most likely to contribute in a big way and be remembered forever for it.

Which Player Has the Most to Prove or Lose? 

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Analysis: A pair of Maple Leafs have the most pressure on them in this post-season, according to poll voters. Marner was the top name mentioned with 18 votes, and Matthews was second with 11. Seeing McDavid’s name here is a little bit of a surprise, but it’s true he and the Oilers need to step up in a notable way in this year’s playoffs. And Panarin does need a successful year in Manhattan to justify his salary and place as an elite NHLer.

Which Youngster Will Have a Coming-Out Party? 

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Analysis: Once again, the highly-favored Stars got individual honors from our poll respondents, with rookie Stankoven and youngster Johnston combining for 25 total votes. Jarvis was next in voting, followed by Predators up-and-comer Evangelista.

Which Trade Acquisition Will Have the Biggest Impact? 

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Analysis: The grand majority of poll respondents chose Guentzel as their reply to this question. Second was Stars blueliner Tanev, followed by Jets winger Toffoli, Golden Knights forward Hertl, Hurricanes center Kuznetsov and Oilers veteran Perry.