Ladies and gentlemen!

The first round of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs has been one of the most surprising ones ever. 

The current champions have been eliminated and the sympathetic bunch of jerks from Carolina advances to the next round. Funny enough, Barry Trotz, last season's head coach of the Washington Capitals, has advanced to the next round with the New York Islanders.

The best team of the regular season and huge candidate for a Stanley Cup victory, the Tampa Bay Lightning, has been swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Calgary Flames, the best team in the Western Conference, got eliminated in five games by the surprising Colorado Avalanche.

As if that weren't enough, the terrible Leafs got eliminated once more by the Bruins to keep traditions going in style. Funny enough, John Tavares former team, the New York Islanders, have advanced to the next round. It's impossible to predict which team is going to win the Stanley Cup at this point and that's what's so great about it! I like it!

Here are my predictions for the second round:

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Boston Bruins: Columbus in five

Boston has a lot of experience but Columbus has only played four playoff games so far, has incredible momentum and has the confidence of heaving beaten the regular season champions. I predict Columbus will continue to surprise and beat Boston in five games.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders: New York in six

The Hurricanes have grown stronger as a team and the fan base seems to be back to support them frenetically but the Islanders have a little bit more depth and the league's best coach. New York is going to win this series in six games.

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues: Dallas in seven

This series is the most difficult to predict because I think that these two teams are nearly on the same level. Dallas relies less on the performance of individual players and seems to be the stronger collective which is why I picked them in seven games.

Colorado Hurricanes vs. San Jose Sharks: Colorado in six

San Jose had a huge comeback against the Vegas Golden Knights but that effort was also extremely exhausting. Colorado's team is fresher and younger and this will pay off in the long run. The Avalanche is going to win in six games.