Tomorrow night, the Winnipeg Jets open their Stanley Cup Playoffs with their round 1 matchup against the St. Louis Blues at 5 pm CT. It’s the most exciting time of the season, as the anticipation for the beginning of the 2+ months of playoff hockey has finally come to an end. Before all my focus goes into watching the Jets go on a hopefully long playoff run, it’s time for me to do my 2nd year of Stanley Cup Playoffs predictions here on JetsNation. Please keep in mind that these are solely based on my gut feeling, and essentially come down to what I’m hoping and predicting will happen.

Looking back at my predictions article from 2024, I noticed two things. One was that I was wrong on a bunch of matchups (like most years), and two was that I ended up making the article way longer than intended due to some rambling. With those two things in mind, let’s cut to the chase and dive into Connor’s full 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs predictions.

Starting out West with the matchup Jets fans will be closely watching, and that’s of course the Winnipeg Jets against the St. Louis Blues. The President’s Trophy winners will take on a team with one of the best records in the 2nd half of the season, including a 12 game win streak. While I think the Jets advance here, the Blues won’t go out without a fight. The Jets will be without Rasmus Kupari and Gabriel Vilardi short term, while Nikolaj Ehlers remains out week-to-week. The Blues will be without Dylan Holloway and Torey Krug, both have no timelines for a return. Connor Hellebuyck will avenge his prior playoff struggles, and the Jets will move on.

Jets win the series in 6 games.

The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche might be the closest of the 8 first round matchups. After blowing a 5-2 lead very late in the 3rd period against the Vancouver Canucks, the Stars ended their season on a big winless streak of 7 games. Despite entering the playoffs without Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen, I still think they’re deep enough to move on to round 2. The Avalanche are carried by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who will make the series very close. This series comes down to depth, and I believe the Stars just have more than the Avalanche.

Stars win the series in 7 games.

The most lopsided round 1 matchup in the Western Conference is between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild. Vegas is strong on both ends of the ice, and their powerplay has been on a roll lately. The Wild struggled without Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprisov while both were out with injuries, but after their returns the team regained some of its early season success. Vegas has more recent playoff success, and that will go a long way this year.

Golden Knights win the series in 5 games.

For the 4th straight playoffs, it’s the Edmonton Oilers against the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings had the best home record this season at 31-6-4, which is no fluke when you see how the team is built. The Oilers entered this season with Stanley Cup aspirations after coming so very close last season. In the 2nd half of the season, the Kings were better than the Oilers, looking like the team more ready for the playoffs. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will continue to carry the weight of the Oilers offence, but it just won’t be enough this year to beat this underrated Kings team.

Kings win the series in 7 games.

Over to the Eastern conference, beginning with the battle of Ontario. The Maple Leafs surprised some by winning the Atlantic Division, while the Senators finally returned to playoffs after a few somewhat disappointing seasons. The goaltending in this matchup is more even than you’d think, and I think the deciding factor will be the offence. The Leafs have a bit more depth than the Senators, and even though they’ve struggled in prior playoffs, the offensive fire power on the Leafs will be what helps them advance to their 2nd straight round 2.

Maple Leafs win the series in 6 games.

The battle of Florida enters its next chapter, and it’ll be another very close series. The Florida Panthers will be getting back to full strength shortly, with Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad set to return as soon as game 1. The Tampa Bay Lightning have outperformed pre-season expectations, and have not only made the playoffs, but have played really well in the 2nd half of the season. I have the same concerns with the Panthers as I do with the Oilers, I just don’t think they have enough there to defend their championship. This series will have the opposite outcome of the Stars Avalanche series (where despite struggling the Stars will advance), with the Lightning moving on.

Lightning win the series in 7 games.

Most people didn’t see the Capitals finishing 2nd in the NHL league standings after barely making the playoffs late season. The Washington Capitals got to finish their season by celebrating Alex Ovechkin’s historic new goal record, and are now up against a team that almost blew away their playoff spot in the Montreal Canadiens. The Capitals have the advantage in playoff experience, but the Canadiens are a fun to watch young team that have nothing to lose while gaining valuable post season experience. The Canadiens won’t go out quietly in this series, but the Capitals experience and depth will be enough to get them into the next round.

Capitals win the series in 6 games.

The most lopsided matchup in the 1st round of the Eastern Conference goes to the Carolina Hurricanes against the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes have remained consistent throughout this season, where as the Devils started off well before limping into the playoffs in a weak Metropolitan Division. Although the Devils have the advantage in special teams with a very good powerplay, the Hurricanes are the more disciplined team. The Devils are a relatively young team, and the Hurricanes recent playoff experience will help them get past this New Jersey team.

Hurricanes win the series in 5 games.

Back to the Western Conference, where the Jets would face with Stars in round 2. The Jets balanced team seemed to have figured how to win in many different ways this season, and that will help them as the playoffs intensify in the later rounds. The Stars won’t be an easy out, but if Robertson and Heiskanen can’t return in round 2, it might put too much pressure on some of their other star players. Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger would be a terrific goalie matchup, but the Jets should have enough fire power, especially if Vilardi or Ehlers returns, to move on to the conference finals.

Jets win the series in 7 games.

My big “upset” of this playoffs will be in the round 2 Golden Knights and Kings series. I like how both teams have constructed their rosters this season, making this matchup closer than it might look on paper. The two best teams in the Pacific Division will have a series full of low scoring, tight checking games, but the Kings home ice dominance will help them pull off the upset in an extremely close series.

Kings win the series in 7 games.

The Eastern conference round 2 will feature two matchups that have recently become ignited playoff rivalries. The Maple Leafs, after finally getting back to round 2 last season by defeating the Lightning, will try to advance to round 3 by defeating the Lightning. I know every year people say it’s not the Leafs year because of their other playoff failures, but this roster is actually built different. The Lightning have gone on deep playoff runs a lot recently, but despite recent success they don’t have what the Leafs have shown in winning the Atlantic Division this season. Another close matchup awaits these two teams.

Maple Leafs win the series in 7 games.

The Capitals and Hurricanes will clash in what promises to be an unpredictable matchup. Both teams know by now what they need to do to excel in the playoffs, but the Hurricanes haven’t seemed to figure it out when they get to the later rounds. The Capitals finished 1st place in the Eastern Conference for a reason, and I don’t think their successful regular season was a fluke, pushing them onto the Conference Finals.

Capitals win the series in 6 games.

The Kings and Jets might not attract the most TV viewers, but this would still be a great Western Conference Finals. Both teams have balanced rosters that are built for the playoffs, and Hellebuyck and Kuemper would be a battle of two very likely Vezina Trophy finalists. After back to back 7 game series, I think the Kings run ends here, as the Jets will prove why they were the best in the West this season. Home ice advantage can only go so far in the playoffs, and I think the Winnipeg Whiteout will help the Jets win their home games while stealing a pair on the road in LA.

Jets wins the series in 6 games.

The Maple Leafs and Capitals would be another epic conference finals, with two teams looking to capitalize on their great regular seasons. When the Capitals get Logan Thompson back this playoffs, it will provide them the boost they need with a goalie that might be the other Vezina Trophy finalist alongside Hellebuyck and Kuemper. Ovechkin and company will be hungry to make another run at the Cup, and that hunger will help them defeat a team that hasn’t made it this far in a long time. The Maple Leafs are almost there, but this year isn’t quite the year I see them return to the Stanley Cup finals.

Capitals win the series in 6 games.

It all comes down to the Jets vs. Capitals for the 2025 Stanley Cup. I told myself before I filled out this year’s NHL bracket challenge that I would make two brackets: one that was “biased” and one that was more realistic. Turns out, these two brackets ended up looking almost identical, with the only differences being in the amount of games these series take to decide a winner. I also kept in mind when making my predictions that this season was the 1st time where I watched almost every single Jets game. I was a fan before (as someone who lives in Vancouver), but after joining Jets Nation late last season, I’ve actually enjoyed watching the Jets and have developed more of a fandom for this team.

With all that in mind, I think that this is the year the Winnipeg Jets are crowned Stanley Cup Champions. The “curse” of a Canadian team not winning the championship since 1993 will come to an end, with another “curse” of not winning it all after winning the President’s Trophy also ending. This Jets team is a near perfectly constructed roster, even if there are still improvements that could be made. The Jets top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi (upon his return) will provide the offence they need. The defence, led by Josh Morrissey will limit opposing team’s chances throughout all situations. Connor Hellebuyck will finally prove that he can succeed in the playoffs, and with all this put together, the Jets can win the Stanley Cup. The Capitals had an amazing regular season, but they come up just short this season to a Jets team that will be ready for any matchup that awaits them.

Jets win the Stanley Cup Finals in 6 games.

I didn’t pick the Jets to win it all last playoffs, so I hope I’m not jinxing anything by picking them this season. I know it’s a bit of a “boring” pick to have the two number 1 seeds in each conference meet in the finals, but I believe the Jets and Capitals are destined to meet in the finals. I know my predictions and bracket will be wrong at various points, and with 1 wrong pick that could change the outcome of the remaining series. All that’s left now is to get ready to watch some playoff hockey, beginning tomorrow afternoon at 5 pm CT when the Jets host the Blues for game 1 of the playoffs at Canada Life Centre.

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