The Top Storyline for Each Canadian Team in the NHL Playoffs

Thanks to COVID, we're about to see an NHL postseason like none other, with four Canadian teams squaring off against one another. Here's the top story for each.

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Image via Getty/Mark Blinch/NHLI

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An NHL season like none other will end with the kind of postseason that we are unlikely to see again. The 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs have begun and will feature a one-time-only format that pits four Canadian NHL teams against one another.

The teams that qualified for the postseason out of the all-Canadian North Division are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, and Montreal Canadiens. The first two rounds of the playoffs will feature three matchups involving those teams. It begins with a series between the Leafs and Canadiens, in their first postseason clash since 1979, and a series between the Oilers and Jets. The winner of each series will play in round two

The 2021 NHL season was shortened by the pandemic. As a result, each Canadian team faced its own share of adversity during the four-month sprint through a loaded 56-game schedule, and each has its own major storyline entering the playoffs.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs: Purging Playoff Demons

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews

The Leafs have largely rolled through the other Canadians teams this season, leading the North Division for months heading into the playoffs. Despite the team’s success and the individual success of its stars—including career-best production from both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner—there is an unmistakable restlessness amongst the fanbase, rather than excitement. It is not hard to see why. 

The franchise has yet to win a postseason series in the Matthews-Marner-Nylander era. That stretch includes four straight first-round series losses, three of which came in series-deciding games (two Game 7 losses to Boston and last year’s Game 5 loss to Columbus). Anything less than being the last Canadian team standing—and perhaps more—will be viewed as failure for this group.

Toronto has continued to add pieces around their young core in recent years and has never looked stronger than they have this season. Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, T.J. Brodie, and Nick Foligno were all acquired for this year’s playoff run. They are playoff-hardened veterans that bring something new to the Leafs: an edge that many analysts and fans alike felt past lineups lacked. This season has also seen the rise of veteran goaltender Jack Campbell in a starring role. The 29-year-old has never appeared in the NHL playoffs, but has been dominant in his starts with the Leafs this season. Campbell boasts a 17-3-2 record, 2.15 goals against average, and a 0.921 save percentage. With reliable goaltending and contributions from their deep forward group, this could be the year Toronto finally breaks through.

Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid Has Peaked

Connor Mcdavid takes a shot for the Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid’s speed, skill, and vision make him the most dangerous man on skates. He has decisively seized the mantle of ‘best player in the world’ with one of the most prolific offensive seasons we have seen in years, surpassing the 100-point mark in just 53 games. He had more points in his last 15 games than the leading scorers of five NHL teams had the entire season. McDavid has ascended to a space all his own in 2021 and is set to win the second MVP award of his career. 

Edmonton will need more offensively though beyond McDavid and fellow Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl. A lack of depth scoring has doomed the Oilers in seasons past, and it remains a concern, but we have never seen McDavid quite this dominant before. In fact, we have not seen McDavid in the playoffs proper since 2017. He has conquered his North Division opponents on a nightly basis this year. Those are the same opponents he will be facing in the opening two rounds of the playoffs.

Winnipeg Jets: Can They Shake Their Late-Season Slide?

Winnipeg jets

It has been a bit of a tumultuous year in Winnipeg. Between trading former second-overall pick Patrik Laine and the late-season injury of star forward Nikolaj Ehlers, the Jets have limped their way towards the finish line. Late April and early May have not been kind to the Jets, who lost nine of 10 games heading into the final week of the season. In seven of those games, Winnipeg scored two goals or less.

“When you go through a stretch like we’re going through right now, it’s very frustrating,” said team captain Blake Wheeler after a recent loss to the Canucks. “I still think we have a good vibe in our room and a lot to look forward to going forward. But we are certainly having a hard time here closing out the season.”

The loss of Ehlers certainly played a role in the Jets’ current goal shortage, but he has begun practicing again ahead of the playoffs. It would be critical for Winnipeg if Ehlers can return close to full strength, as would receiving more offensive production from early-season acquisition Pierre-Luc Dubois. The forward they received in the Laine trade has only mustered 20 points with the Jets this season.

Fortunately for Winnipeg, the postseason grants a clean slate for the 16 teams who qualify. Their recent performance indicates that they could be in for an early playoff exit however.

 

Montreal Canadiens: Cole Caufield Has Arrived

Cole Caulfield

The Canadiens aren’t exactly blazing a path into the postseason either, but they have gained some buzz due to the arrival of 20-year-old rookie Cole Caufield. The American forward—viewed by many as a star in the making—was called-up to join the Canadiens towards the end of the regular season. Caufield’s NHL entrance was much-anticipated and it has already yielded strong results for Montreal.

Caufield has four goals in 10 games thus far in Montreal, including two overtime winners. He spent the last two seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA and won the Hobey Baker Award earlier this year as the top player in college hockey. Strangely, Habs’ head coach Dominique Ducharme announced earlier this week that Caufield and other young Montreal players will not play in Game 1 of the playoffs, but it is still expected that Caufield will make his way into the series before long.

A postseason debut this early in a player’s career is a great test but also a great opportunity. Caufield could prove to be just the player Montreal needs right now. They are a team that ranked in the bottom half of the league in goals-per-game this season. It may be a lot to ask of him at this point, but perhaps Caufield can give the Canadiens the jolt that they need to make some noise in the playoffs. A breakout performance from Caufield may be required for Montreal to have any chance in the first round against the high-powered Leafs.

The Oilers and Jets will kick off their seven-game playoff series on Wednesday night and the Leafs and Canadiens will begin on Thursday.

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