1 Word for Every Eliminated NHL Playoff Team
Somehow we blinked, and now we're one-to-four games out West away from the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.
We laughed. We cried. The historic regular season Bruins blew a 3-1 lead to the eighth seed Panthers, who just swept the Hurricanes as they punched the first ticket to the Final. The Maple Leafs finally made it out of the first round, only to fall pretty quickly in the second.
There's tons to unpack as all the eliminated playoff teams start to come back from their respective golf courses and devise the game plan for next season.
As we and the Panthers await the results of the Golden Knights-Stars Western Conference Final, let's assign one word to each eliminated playoff team.
Metropolitan Division
1 of 4
Hurricanes: Clutchless
You have to hand it to the Hurricanes' depth players, like Jordan Martinook who came up with 10 points in the series against the Devils: They really did everything they could. Under head coach Rod Brind'Amour, you're generally going to get a consistently "all-in" effort to a man on this team.
But Brind'Amour couldn't bring injured star forwards Andrei Svechnikov or Max Pacioretty back, and as the Panthers completed the Eastern Conference Final sweep Wednesday, it was clear that finishing touch is exactly what was missing for the Canes.
Should they have done more at the trade deadline for finishing touch insurance? This has been a common criticism since deadline day, but then you look at a team like the Rangers who went all in and still lost in the first round. Maybe it's simply a matter of Svechnikov returning to health and re-signing Pacioretty, but the recurring theme of Carolina's scoring drying up as playoff series go on has been their achilles heel throughout their recent playoff trips.
Devils: Cooking
The lopsided scoring nature of the Hurricanes-Devils second-round series aged a bit poorly for the Devils now that Carolina couldn't buy a goal in the Eastern Conference Final.
It makes for further evidence for New Jersey that goaltending is the only thing holding an exciting offensive team back now. It was super encouraging to watch the young core take the next step and thrive under relatively low pressure. Underlying metrics aren't as meaningful in the playoffs when you're 1. just trying to live another day and 2. working with a significantly smaller sample size, but the dominance we saw from Jack Hughes (OK, not against the Canes in those wacky games) and Co. have me convinced this is a team on the rise with nowhere to go but up. That is, if rookie goaltender Akira Schmidt fine-tunes his game and/or they seek out a proven goaltender, they can improve the power play, and figure out contract extensions for players like Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier.
With a playoff round won and one lost now under their belts, the Devils are officially cooking in the potential perennial playoff team kitchen.
Rangers: Disappointing?
The Rangers had the biggest trade deadline splash we've seen in ages, acquiring veteran playoff stars Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko among others. It didn't matter, as their scrappy, young rivals across the Hudson came back from a 0-2 series deficit to facilitate their first-round exit.
In retrospect, it's obvious our expectations got a bit too high for the Rangers after the trade deadline. Kane and Tarasenko weren't the sole reason they lost, but their twilight years and power-play prowess just weren't enough to overcome the inconsistencies that had been plaguing this team all year. Then there was the fact that this conference was full to the brim with contenders, the randomness of a seven-game series, and the Devils' ability to solve Igor Shesterkin.
I put a question mark at the end of "disappointing" because if I'm the Rangers, I don't regret going all in at the trade deadline. They only gave up one of their two first-round picks and had plenty of salary retention help.
The question mark could turn into a period if they don't have a great offseason.
Islanders: Ugly
For the record, I was riding with the New York Islanders when most weren't. With Vezina finalist Ilya Sorokin in net, Mat Barzal's return, and the out-of-nowhere Bo Horvat acquisition, I wondered if this team had the makings of the Cinderella story of the postseason.
That ended up being Florida's title to claim. Despite games that looked close on paper and two overtime coin flips, the Islanders were no match for the Hurricanes' speed. At their worst, they resorted to a frankly unenjoyable and muddy style to stay in it. It's not entirely the players' fault, who were probably trying their best under the circumstances.
Between their brutal power play and lack of production, the Islanders in their current state just couldn't hang. Maybe a fully healthy Barzal and a more comfortable Horvat will be a different story next season, and I enjoyed the evolution of Barzal's two-way game throughout the 2022-23 regular season. But maybe they need more juice upfront that their current cap situation just doesn't allow.
Atlantic Division
2 of 4
Bruins: Shocking
Is this the worst collapse in Stanley Cup playoff history? With the dominance the Panthers are displaying, I'm tempted to hold my horses on that statement, and you saw the Panthers start taking over the series when Conn Smythe favorite Sergei Bobrovsky became their starter.
But the Bruins didn't get Bob'd, they got Bruins'd, and maybe they'd been so effortlessly good throughout the regular season, they didn't expect the Panthers to pounce on their mistakes. The Bruins gave the series away with turnovers in front of Linus Ullmark as untimely as they were uncharacteristic, and the Panthers' heroes were ready to win those loose puck battles and make Boston pay.
Florida has continued that hungry-yet-confident style throughout their impressive run, meanwhile, the Bruins have a lot to answer after their first-round exit.
Are Patrice Bergeron and/or David Krejčí coming back? How much are first-year head coach Jim Montgomery and his decision-making to blame? How much is goaltender Linus Ullmark to blame, and what was the extent of his injury?
There are some questions we'll never get the answers to when it comes to this historic regular season ending in a first-round exit, and there are some questions we aren't even sure how to phrase yet. One thing we know for sure: It was shocking.
Maple Leafs: Dramatic
Why does it feel like the pressure only got worse for the Leafs after they finally advanced to the second this season? Maybe part of it was the notion that the first round was the big monkey the Leafs needed to get off their back before they skipped go and advanced immediately to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately for the Leafs, they've now learned the playoffs only get harder after the first round, and the Panthers have been one of the toughest opponents of the 2022-23 postseason.
It seemed egregious that Kyle Dubas was canned after Toronto's second-round appearance. Still, he made comments in the post-mortem press conference that hinted at needing to think about his commitment, and it appears he was "at odds with team president Brendan Shanahan.
Maybe it was the realization of "Holy crap, this is only going to get harder with more pressure" for Dubas, combined with being on a different page than Shanahan. Regardless, the Leafs made it to the second round and the Dubas era is officially over. We don't know what's next in Toronto, but at least we know it won't be the same old story.
Lightning: Twilight
Even after a first-round exit at the hands of the Maple Leafs, I'm not willing to call the Lightning's dynasty officially cooked just yet. Nikita Kucherov had a 113-point regular season and he's got four more years left on his deal at 29 years old. Brayden Point, 27, hit the 50-goal mark -- he's under contract until 2030. Star center Anthony Cirelli, 25, is in Tampa until 2030-31.
I feel old!
Arguably most importantly, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is signed through 2027-28.
To me, it felt like this Lightning squad just needed a breather after years of playoff contention, and they lost to the one team that needed anything other than a break.
The Lightning are in their twilight, but they aren't done yet.
Central Division
3 of 4
Avalanche: Shrug
We usually place more pressure on a defending champion to at least make it to the second round, but could anyone blame these Avalanche for falling to the Kraken in seven games?
The Avalanche dealt with more than 450 man games lost due to injury in 2022-23, most notably captain Gabriel Landeskog, who was also out for the postseason. Stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar among others missed significant time in the regular season, preventing any real flow. Then injuries took Josh Manson, Darren Helm, and Andrew Cogliano out of the first-round series.
Meanwhile, you had a young, fast, chip-on-the-shoulder-but-100-point-regular-season-good team in the Kraken. The Kraken had scoring depth for days while at times the Avalanche were barely fielding a legitimate roster. That's not to discredit the Kraken -- GM Ron Francis is a depth buff with a keen eye for longevity. But this was tough bounce after touch bounce for the Avalanche, and they were uncertain about Landeskog's return, so their hands were sort of tied at the trade deadline.
As much as it stinks that Landeskog will be out for the entirety of the 2023-24 season recovering from knee surgery, at least Colorado will be able to work around his absence and seek a replacement.
Wild: Predictable
Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota. I've wanted to like you so desperately, despite your unwavering mediocrity. You even teased us all with a 3-2 double-overtime thriller to open up your round-one series with the Stars. But ultimately you showed yourselves to be the team you have so often been -- the one who is going to lose in the first round in six games, giving up four goals in each of your last two games and only scoring one goal in those two games in the process.
No doubt, the loss of one of the most underrated players in this league Joel Eriksson Ek was devastating, especially on the penalty kill. But rising stars Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy left me sorely disappointed in Minnesota.
I am once again begging this team to score more goals and be more fun.
Jets: Done
I am so done with the horrible vibes and lack of cohesiveness that exude from this locker room, and I'm hoping for a fresh start and lots of trades when it comes to Winnipeg's pending free agents. If it didn't make sense before, Paul Maurice stepping away from the team because he didn't think he could fix it, then going on to lead the Panthers on this Cinderella Run is starting to make more sense.
One does not simply fix the Jets in their current state. Figure out who cares the most and name a captain. Move on from those who clearly don't care. You don't have to totally blow things up, but three or four big moves this management group has always been too scared to make will legitimately change things for the better.
.png?w=256 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=256 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=256)
Pacific Division
4 of 4
Oilers: Ugh
Maybe it was Connor McDavid finally showing some personality snubbing Biz on the TNT Broadcast.
Maybe it was Leon Draisaitl taking clear exception to Alex Pietrangelo and his slash in the handshake line after the Oilers fell to the Golden Knights in the second round. Maybe it was GM Ken Holland finally making a successful move in his acquisition of Mattias Ekholm at the trade deadline, which may have proved the most effective deadline move of all despite the big swings this season.
Whatever the reason, it brings me no pleasure to report that the Edmonton Oilers were finally growing on me this postseason. Despite rookie goalie Stuart Skinner's excellent regular season, he just couldn't get it done in the playoffs. He was pulled four times in 12 games and ended with a 3.68 GAA and .883 save percentage.
I do think this is just the beginning of a solid career for him, though, and I am feeling oddly optimistic about this Oilers team now. Here we go.
Kings: Trending
I'm feeling equal parts optimistic and weird about these LA Kings after they lost to the Oilers in six in round one.
On one hand, it's a young team on the right track with two consecutive playoff appearances, tasked with the two best players in the West both times. Despite the roller coaster that was this first-round matchup, the Kings were pretty consistent throughout the regular season.
The question obviously now becomes: How do the Kings take the next step forward? Re-signing pending UFA defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov acquired with goalie Joonas Korpisalo from the Blue Jackets would help. The trouble is, according to CapFriendly.com, Los Angeles only has $2.5 million in projected cap space.
This is a young core with improvements on defense and more playoff experience under its belt now, but figuring out how to budget Gavrikov in at the very least feels important to keep on the current trajectory.
Kraken: Awesome
To me, part of being unbiased is being real, so can I be honest with y'all? I wish the Kraken beat the Stars in Game 7 and advanced to the Western Conference Final.
I mean, you see what that the Vegas-Dallas series has devolved to as the Stars had a close first two games then completely unraveled in Game 3, handing the Golden Knights a 3-0 series lead.
As heartwarming as Joe Pavelski's resurgence has been, the Stars' shortcomings had been surfacing all playoffs. Jason Robertson has picked it up recently for 15 points in 16 playoff games, but he still only has four goals. Jake Oettinger, who will no doubt become a great goalie in this league, is experiencing some growing pains in his first long playoff run after a stellar regular season.
It all imploded not five minutes into Game 3, and now captain Jamie Benn is out two games facing elimination due to an incomprehensible early game slash.
Anyways, this is about the Kraken. They are deep, they are fast, they are young, they are fun. I'd rather watch them. Lucky for me, it seems like they'll be sticking around for a while.
.png?w=480 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=480 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=480)
.png?w=600 "B/R NHL Staff Second-Round Predictions 🏒")
