These NHL Playoff Sleepers Shouldn’t Be Counted Out

Overtimes. Heroes. Thrilling goals. Scintillating saves. Intensity.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs never fails to provide all of those and more every year.

Add surprises to that list, also.

The opening weekend of this year’s quest for the Cup in the books, we have received a taste of what makes it so special.

Here are some predictions to anticipate until Lord Stanley’s Mug is hoisted.

We have three first-round upsets in mind, and not just because all three won their series opener.

The Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild all have great cases to knock out their opponents.

The Canadiens may not be true underdogs since they finished tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning in points with 106 and placed third in the Atlantic Division by tiebreaker.

But what we saw in Montreal’s 4-3 overtime win featuring Juraj Slafkovsky’s hat trick is exactly why the Montreal should not be taken lightly.

Also considered should be the recent history of the Lightning and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Tampa Bay has been bounced in the opening round three consecutive years, and Vasilevskiy has looked pedestrian in those series.

By the way, Slafkovsky collected four goals and seven points in four regular-season meetings.

The Flyers are another team that finished with the same number of points as their opponents, yet are underdogs against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Battle of Pennsylvania.

With the Penguins were in cruise mode heading into the playoffs, the Flyers used a late-season surge as a springboard to the series-opening 3-2 win.

Along the way, Philadelphia became a better five-on-five and defensive club, aided by a breakthrough campaign from goaltender Dan Vladar.

The Penguins have plenty of veteran experience, but the way the Flyers are built — better forward depth and a more-rounded defense corps — along with the late-season addition of Porter Martone adding size and skill, will make the difference.

Lastly, the Minnesota Wild, who finished third in the Central Division, eight points behind the Dallas Stars. While that may seem like a big difference, keep in mind the Stars finished with a five-game winning streak.

The Wild snapped that with a vengeance in 6-1 beating to open what may be a thrilling seven-game series.

That Minnesota won should come as no surprise, considering that Dallas has lost Game 1 in nine of its last 11 series.

As excellent as the Stars are at rebounding, this is not going to be an easy feat against a Wild team that matches up extremely well, and does not have the same injury woes looming over their heads.

Both clubs boast offensive game-breakers at forward and defense, have proven to be stout at defending and good special teams, especially on the power play, which was on display in the opener.

The further this series goes, the more likely Minnesota FINALLY wins a playoff round.

Here are some other surprises to watch for: The Canadiens could very well go the furthest of any Canadian team. Sure, the Edmonton Oilers have reached the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two seasons, but Edmonton has a tough gauntlet to run, while the East is more balanced … While it is hard to imagine a wild-card team knocking out a division champ, it is very real that the Flyers will go to the Eastern Conference finals … In the west, the Vegas Golden Knights have been rolling since that coaching change. It looks like the winners of the Pillow Fight Division laced their weapon with plaster just in time … Lastly, it should come as no surprise that the Presidents’ Trophy winners as regular season champs wins the crown, but the Colorado Avalanche are on the quest to make it happen for the first time since the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. Betting cash on it happening would be a wise idea.