Before I reveal every series winner in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs and the exact number of games in which the series will be won, I'd like to just offer a small reminder to establish a baseline for your expectations:
I picked the New York Islanders to win the Cup before the season.
But that was before the season. Now I have 82 games of data, observation and results on each team to rely on for my prognostications, rather than just vibes. Although, in fairness, sometimes vibes work too.
The brackets are set, and so are the rosters. The 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs commence beginning Monday night, with June 30 as the last possible day for the Cup to be raised. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will shock the hockey world, either in victory or in defeat?
Here is how the Stanley Cup playoffs will play out, from the opening round through the last game of the Final. I apologize in advance for spoiling the next two months for you, as obviously all of this is going to happen exactly to script.