Analyst makes wild Stanley Cup Finals prediction involving the Leafs, triggering an interesting discussion

If the Playoffs started today, the round 1 matchups would be as follows:

Boston vs Pittsburgh
Carolina vs Washington
Toronto vs Tampa
New Jersey vs New York
Dallas vs Colorado
Seattle vs Edmonton
Winnipeg vs Minnesota
Los Angeles vs Vegas

Obviously, there are still plenty of teams in the hunt and plenty of things could change, but there are certainly some interesting round 1 matchups - perhaps the most interesting being the second consecutive R1 tilt between the Leafs and the Lightning.

On Monday, The NHL Network's panel was asked who they believe would win the Cup this year if the Playoffs started today. Mike Rupp was very quick to answer Tampa and Mike Johnson was originally leaning Boston, but then pivoted to his dark horse SCF matchup - Toronto vs Edmonton in an all-Canadian final, with the Leafs beating the Oilers and winning their first Stanley Cup since 1967.

It's easy to brush this off as "homerism", since Johnson lives in Toronto a good amount of the time, but it's also worth mentioning that the Leafs are currently 3rd in the overall NHL standings and have been right in the mix near the top of the leaderboard for the majority of the season. The consistency with which they've played for much of this season combined with Tampa not looking nearly as strong this season than in years past could be just the recipe that the Buds need to get over the hump this year. It's really anyone's guess how it will all go down, but Johnson's prediction is certainly music to the ears of Leafs Nation.