It's Time To Rank Western Conference Matchups Using The Ol' Intrigue-O-Meter
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are almost here, and we've already run through the best matchups that we'll be getting out of the Eastern Conference, so let's turn our sights toward the Western Conference and fire up the Intrigue-O-Meter.
By the way, I'm thinking about repainting the Intrigue-O-Meter — which looks like a Geiger Counter with hot rod flames painted on it — for next season. Maybe I'll go with Eddie Van Halen stripes and give the hot rod flames a break.
SIGN UP for The Daily OutKick. New Look, Same Attitude.
I guess I can do whatever I want with this fictional device I made up, because, hey, if Da Vinci was allowed to draw a picture of something and claim he invented it, then so can I!
There are some great storylines and matchups to be found out west, so let's get into it!
An impressive young Minnesota Wild team will take on a Vegas Golden Knights squad with plenty of postseason experience. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
Minnesota Wild Vs. Golden Knights
Minnesota started the season on fire and just kind of snuck into the postseason as a wild card team (how ironic), which wins them a date with the Pacific Division champs, the Vegas Golden Knights.
While the Wild are one of the rising teams in the NHL with the likes of Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, Matt Boldy, and Filip Gustavsson, the depth and experience that the Golden Knights have, especially when it comes to the postseason, is going to be a tough thing for Minnesota to deal with.
That’s why I think this may be a short series, with Vegas winning in 5 and the Wild stealing one of the games in St. Paul.
One interesting storyline is that this could be Marc-Andre Fleury’s final games, and while in all likelihood they’ll be spent on the bench backing up Gustavsson, they will be against one of his former teams in the Golden Knights.
Intrigue-O-Meter Score: 4 out of 10. Check the score in the morning, especially for those 10 pm Vegas starts on the East Coast.
The St. Louis Blues have been one of the best teams in the NHL through the spring, but will they be able to hang with the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets? (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
St. Louis Blues Vs. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets come into this one as the Presidents’ Trophy winner as the top team during the regular season, but all hockey fans know that historically, that comes with a bit of baggage.
As for the Blues, they turned things around mid-season and were one of the hottest teams in hockey down the stretch.
I don’t want to get Blues fans too excited, but this reminds me a lot of 2019, when they went all the way and defeated the Boston Bruins for the Stanley Cup.
But to go on a miraculous run like they did back in ‘19, the Blues are going to need to get past one of the most complete teams coming into the playoffs.
Scoring? Check.
Defense? Check.
Goaltending? Double-check, thanks to runaway Vezina favorite Connor Hellebuyck.
I think this series will be a bit tighter than your typical Presidents' Trophy-winner vs. Second Wild Card series would be, but I’m leaning toward Winnipeg in 6.
Intrigue-O-Meter Score: 6 out of 10. I think we know how this one will end, but watch it because it might be an interesting ride.
A pair of Central Division heavyweights — the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars — will duke it out in the opening round. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Colorado Avalanche Vs. Dallas Stars
I think this series may be one of the biggest coin flips in the first round.
The Central Division was one of the best in the league, with five teams making it into the postseason, and the Stars and Avalanche finished just four points apart.
They're equally matched, and that should give us a good series that critics of the current format would argue should probably come no sooner than the second round, but this is what we've got.
In net, you've got to give the edge to the Stars with big Jake Oettinger between the pipes and some serious talent upfront with guys who have been around forever, like Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin as well as younger players like Jason Robertson (who is out week-to-week at the moment) while the Avs have some serious offensive weapons of their own from the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
One of the biggest stories in this series has to do with personnel. After arriving in Dallas by way of Carolina, Stars forward Mikko Rantanen will take on his former team.
Meanwhile, Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog could make his return to NHL action after three years following knee surgery.
Lots of good stuff in here, and I think Dallas wins it in 7.
Intrigue-O-Meter Score: 8.5 out of 10. If anyone asks you to do something, say you're busy so you can stay home and watch this series.
The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings will meet in the first round for the fourth-straight seasons, and it's fair to say they aren't fond of each other. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Los Angeles Kings Vs. Edmonton Oilers
For the fourth-straight season, we get an edition of the Gretzky Bowl, and I think we’re at the point where this is really starting to get to both teams.
The Oilers and Kings played this week, and it was nasty thanks to an incident involving Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse cross-checking Kings forward Quinton Byfield in the head.
This led to a war of words between LA’s Phillip Danault and Edmonton’s Corey Perry, so I think it’s safe to say that this is going to be one of, if not the most intense series of the first round thanks to the history between the two teams from years passed and as recently as this week.
Furthermore, the Oilers — the reigning Western Conference champs — are dealing with some key players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Trent Frederic, and Evander Kane, all coming off of injuries, but most should be in the lineup.
Still, they may not be 100%.
My gut tells me to pick the Oilers, but I wouldn’t put it past the Kings. I feel like this one goes 7, and I would love to be the team that gets the winner in the second round because they’ll be beat up after what’s sure to be a slugfest.
Intrigue-O-Meter Score: 10 out of 10. Cancel plans, stay up late, and play hurt the next day at work; do whatever it takes to catch this one.
…
That's it, folks!
It's time for some playoff hockey!