Nick’s Eastern Conference 1st-Round Picks

I’ve written a lot about the NFL for this site, so I wanted to switch it up with this piece. My favorite sport is in fact hockey, and I have followed it closely for many years now. While my beloved New York Rangers missed out on the big dance this year, the playoffs are the best in all of sports.

So let’s get into my first round picks for the Eastern Conference series.

(1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC 2) New Jersey Devils

We open with a first-round matchup that features one of the tournament’s heavy favorites and a team virtually no one picked to be here. The Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils will lock horns with one another in round one for a star-studded matchup. Taylor Hall, Steven Stamkos, Nico Hischier, and Nikita Kucherov, just to name a few of the key players in this matchup.

The bolts have been one of the most dominant teams in the league all year, and only got stronger with the acquisitions of Ryan McDonough and J.T. Miller from the Rangers at the deadline. Their overall depth is a lot to handle for any opponent and their impressive home record of 29-10-2 will be put to the test after securing home-ice advantage throughout the eastern playoffs.

Continue reading Nick’s Eastern Conference 1st-Round Picks at Daily Rivals.