The writers at The Hockey Writers submitted their predictions for the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and now that they have wrapped up, it is time to see how it went.
Related: 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket
Tallying up how the voters did, the series winner is obvious, the series length will have a bit of leeway if the correct prediction has the series winner taking the series with a top-three amount of votes, and the Series MVP, while subjective, will be based on how high the true MVP was voted.
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals
By a unanimous decision, the New York Rangers were voted the winners of this series with the Washington Capitals receiving no votes. It was clearly expected to be a lop-sided series, which is exactly what we saw. The Rangers swept the Capitals and had a long wait for the start of the second round.
With 75.9 percent of voters predicting five or fewer games to defeat the Capitals, the voters were bang-on.
There was a three-way race for the Series MVP voting with Igor Shesterkin, Mika Zibanejad, and Artemi Panarin receiving the most votes, and in just four games, these three showed why. While Panarin only recorded three points, he was still excellent. With Panarin behind in points and Shesterkin doing so well, it is safe to say that his 42.9 percent of votes for MVP was wrong. Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck are in the conversation for MVP too.
Series Winner: 1/1
Series Length: 1/1
Series MVP: 0/1
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders
Another lop-sided vote for this series, and again, rightfully so, the Carolina Hurricanes received 86.2 percent of votes. The star power and depth were too much for the New York Islanders to handle, and while most games were tight, the Hurricanes were just a bit better in every aspect.
Voters gave the Islanders a better chance than they had in terms of how long it would take the Hurricanes to topple them, with 41.4 percent saying six games and 31 percent saying five.
The Series MVP was interesting. In the poll, the votes were led by Jake Guentzel, Sebastian Aho, and Freddy Andersen. Without a doubt, the true MVP for the Canes was Seth Jarvis, who posted three goals and seven points in the five-game series.
Series Winner: 2/2
Series Length: 2/2
Series MVP: 0/2
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
An extremely tight and entertaining first-round matchup saw the Boston Bruins eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7. Every game was close, physical, and fast-paced, and the voters expected it to be this close with the Bruins receiving 53.3 percent of the votes.
The Bruins taking the series in seven games was the prediction with the most votes, receiving 30 percent, with the Maple Leafs in seven games next with 26.7 percent. Everybody knew it would be tight, but the Maple Leafs’ injury struggles helped the Bruins.
As for the MVP, some of the obvious picks led the way with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and David Pastrnak earning the top three spots, but Jeremy Swayman was the undisputed MVP of this series.
Series Winner: 3/3
Series Length: 3/3
Series MVP: 0/3
Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Battle of Florida was entertaining, but not as long as some may have hoped. The THW writers had 70 percent of votes for the Florida Panthers to take the series, which they did. It is hard to bet against the Tampa Bay Lightning after the run they have been on, but this makes two first-round exits in a row, but the Panthers have been excellent.
Related: 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Predictions
There was not a single vote for either team for this series to go less than six games, so the five-game victory for the Panthers came as a surprise to everyone.
The Series MVP was an even draw between Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. On one hand, Tkachuk’s presence had a huge impact but the Verhaeghe overtime winner was clutch, but the voters had Tkachuk tied with Nikita Kucherov for first, which is hard to dispute.
Series Winner: 4/4
Series Length: 3/4
Series MVP: 1/4
Winnipeg Jets vs. Colorado Avalanche
Talk about a surprise, I am not sure anybody had the Colorado Avalanche steamrolling the Winnipeg Jets in five games, except for the one voter in our poll. While this first round was an anonymous poll, we will certainly be attaching names to give credit where it is due for Round 2. As for the rest of the voters, the Jets were leading the way in votes with 53.3 percent, so this marks the first incorrect vote so far.
As mentioned, there was only one vote for this to be a five-game series for either side. The Avalanche surprised us all.
The MVP vote was only down to two players for this series. With Nathan MacKinnon and Connor Hellebuyck being the only players to get multiple votes, only one is in the conversation after that series. MacKinnon was tied for the lead in scoring, and while many could argue Valeri Nichushkin was the MVP, it is hard to really say MacKinnon was a wrong pick.
Series Winner: 4/5
Series Length: 3/5
Series MVP: 2/5
Edmonton Oilers vs. LA Kings
In another one-sided vote, the Edmonton Oilers were voted to defeat the LA Kings with 83.3 percent. This marks three straight first-round exits for the Kings against the Oilers. With the top-end talent from the Oilers, it is hard to vote against them.
A five-game series in favor of the Oilers received 30 percent of votes, and they did just that. The Kings couldn’t compete with the Oilers’ offense over the course of the series.
The three MVP vote leaders were Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard. Those are three of the top four point-getters for the Oilers through the first round, so regardless of the MVP you want to pick, it is safe to say the voters hit the mark on this one. There is absolutely a strong case for Zach Hyman, who scored seven goals in the five-game series, but the MVP is so subjective that it is fair to give this one to the voters.
Series Winner: 5/6
Series Length: 4/6
Series MVP: 3/6
Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators
While the votes were heavily in the Vancouver Canucks favor at 80 percent, voters expected a tight series. A defensive matchup of the ages, the Canucks were about to out-match the Nashville Predators on the back of rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs, who was their third goalie of the series. They faced adversity, but the Canucks stuck to their game and got it done.
Vancouver in six games was the highest voted option, and of course, was correct. With 36.7 percent of votes headed toward this, it was obviously a fair vote, but I am not sure the series really went the way anybody thought with how defense-heavy both teams played.
The MVP vote was led by Thatcher Demko, Quinn Hughes, and J.T. Miller. While all three played well, it would be one of Brock Boeser or Silovs to take the MVP this series.
Series Winner: 6/7
Series Length: 5/7
Series MVP: 3/7
Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Though they finished the season in a wild card position, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars was a strong matchup between two great teams. With 80 percent of the votes, the Dallas Stars were the pick for the writers.
Dallas in seven games was the most popular pick, and that was what came true. This was a series that really could have gone either way, but ultimately the writers predicted correctly.
Both teams had some incredible performances, with Wyatt Johnston leading the Stars and Jack Eichel leading the way for the Golden Knights. Jake Oettinger and Miro Heiskanen led the way in the votes, and while they both had great showings in this series, I wouldn’t say either was the true MVP.
Series Winner: 7/8
Series Length: 6/8
Series MVP: 3/8
Impressive Predictions
The only series the writers predicted incorrectly was nearly split down the middle, which could have gone either way for the votes. Getting seven series correct out of the possible eight, and when you include the predictions on the length of the series, going six for eight is also quite impressive.
When it comes to predicting the Series MVP, there are, at the bare minimum, 40 candidates in each series. We have seen time and time again players come out of nowhere and take over a whole series. Going three for eight is still pretty impressive.
The Round 2 predictions are coming and will follow the same style, as well as the following rounds.