Predictions for the 2023-24 season

The Panthers are favourite for the Cup, followed by the Stars.

Let’s look at the second round individual match-ups.

• Rangers (67.0%) vs Hurricanes (33.0%), 3-2: Nice comeback from the Hurricanes but I doubt they’ll be able to win the next two games. Nonetheless, the sixth game is in Carolina so I would not be surprised that this goes to a seventh game.

• Panthers (82.7%) vs Bruins (17.3%), 3-2: The Panthers are clearly the better team. I’m a bit surprised that this series is not over yet.

• Stars (79.8%) vs Avalanche (20.2%), 3-2: The Avalanche forced a sixth game by winning last night. After a hard fought first round series, I did not expect the Stars to play this well in the first round.

• Canucks (48.4%) vs Oilers (51.6%), 2-2: This is a tight series. The odds are about the same for the two teams. I still expect the Oilers to win but it will not be easy.

Power ranking

What do you know? After winning two games against the Rangers, the Hurricanes are back on top.