from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,

We’re just about to start the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, so it would be a mistake to look at this as the “real” Stanley Cup final or anything like that.

It does, however, shape up to be the one you won’t want to miss.

The Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets made a series of noteworthy statements together during the regular season that suggested, if they were to meet in the post-season, it might produce something unforgettable. Well, now the two teams will get that chance....

The Predators, Stanley Cup finalists last spring, have had their eye on the big prize since losing to Pittsburgh. They are fortified down the middle with Nick Bonino, Kyle Turris and the unretired Mike Fisher, and they posted the NHL’s best regular-season record.

The Jets posted the second-best record out of 31 teams, but came into this spring thinking of more modest dreams. Perhaps trying to win the first playoff series in franchise history. They did that and, suddenly, the dream is much, much bigger in Manitoba, as it should be in a league in which very good is good enough to win a Cup these days.

continued