The Western Conference Round Robin is basically what soccer fans call the "Group of Death," consisting of the St. Louis Blues, the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Dallas Stars. The Blues proved that there's no such thing as the Stanley Cup hangover by winning games left and right; and the scary thing: they did this without Vladimir Tarasenko. He'll be back for this restart. Oh boy. The Colorado Avalanche became a team on a mission; after back-to-back seasons of sneaking in, we've become something resembling a powerhouse, led by the "Top Line": Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen.
Vegas is now three-for-three--three seasons of existence, three playoff appearances. Two seasons ago, the Knights made their run to the Stanley Cup Final, but last season saw Vegas blow a 3-1 series lead to San Jose, which was capped off by leading 3-0 in Game Seven, only for SJ to go on a major PP that saw they score four goals. The team actually fired Gerard Gallant in the middle of the season, but went on a tear after that, leading to the Knights being the only Pacific representative of the Round Robin. The Stars, much like the Flyers, went on a winning tear that saw them toe-to-toe with both the Blues and the Avalanche in the Central, creating an amazing divisional race that was, sadly, halted due to the pandemic.
IMO, the Round Robin is between the Blues and Avalanche; I really can't see Vegas or Dallas overtaking those two teams. I think when all is said and done, the Avalanche will emerge as the #1; I truly think we're the one team capable of taking down the defending Champions.
Predicted finish: Avalanche #1, Blues #2, Knights #3, Stars #4
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