To the Ice Round 1

It is hard to believe it has almost been a year since the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup! We are 3 days away from the start of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Caps however, will start on Thursday night.

Here is a look at the First Round Matchups. In the Eastern Conference, the President's Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, the defending champion Capitals will take on the Carolina Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in a rematch of last year's opening round and the New York Islanders will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In the Western Conference: the Calgary Flames will take on the Colorado Avalanche, the Nashville Predators will take on the Dallas Stars, the Winnipeg Jets will take on the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks will take on the Vegas Golden Knights.

Here are my predictions:

Eastern Conference
Lightning over Blue Jackets in 4
Caps over Hurricanes in 5
Maple Leafs over Bruins in 7
Islanders over Penguins in 7

Western Conference
Flames over Avalanche in 5
Predators over Stars in 5
Blues over Jets in 6
Golden Knights over Sharks in 7