Edmonton Oilers: The North Division wasn’t as easy as it appeared
By Jim Lynch
The Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs both seem to have overestimated their chances during this year’s postseason.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were the clear favorites to win the North Division and steamroll their way to the conference finals. The Edmonton Oilers on the other hand were supposed to be the best chance at beating the Leafs, and now all of a sudden both teams find themselves at home watching the Jets and Canadiens face off in round two.
I do not think we all misread those two series, I just think that anything can happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and yes there are a lot of reasons why Edmonton did end up falling short.
The North division was supposed to be a ticket to the conference finals. Winnipeg ended the season on a bad note and Montreal really wasn’t supposed to be there as well. Yet here we are, watching a great series between Winnipeg and Montreal.
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If I am being honest I guess we all misread the North Division. Yes, the defensive holes on all the teams were glaring at times. Any division with Ottawa and Vancouver was going to feature some pretty easy wins. However, the four teams that did make it into the postseason provide some great hockey and showed that they all were playoff teams.
Yes, the Colorado Avalanche are a complete monster of a team that could steamroll their way to a Stanley Cup, same is true for Tampa Bay and a lot of other teams still playing hockey. However, at the end of the day, I think whoever does make it out of the North shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Both of these two teams were underdogs in round one, and honestly, I think they won’t mind being underdogs again against any team they end up playing in round three.
Playoff hockey is great, and maybe the north division teams still remaining are built for it. Game one between Montreal and Winnipeg was fun to watch, and hopefully, the entire series will be as well.
The Edmonton Oilers did get swept in round one, but I do not think their competition was a team that should have been taken lightly. While Edmonton did beat them a lot during the regular season, Winnipeg is a team built for the playoffs.