Boston Bruins heavy favorites in Causeway Crowd brackets

The 2017-2018 Boston Bruins enter the 2018 Playoffs as one of the favorites in the East. The Causeway Crowd tries to put our bias aside as each contributor and Site Expert fills out their playoff bracket!

This regular-season has been one full of broken records, surprising successful teams, a new team and so many highlights. It is finally the best time of the season, playoffs. The Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals are the division champions. You also have the Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets as some of the favorites going into the first round. There is plenty of room for high-powered matchups, heart-breaking upsets, and great hockey.

Unlike last year, choosing the Boston Bruins to go farther than the first round doesn’t seem so far-fetched. In fact, choosing them to reach the Cup Final isn’t out of the question either.

While myself, and the rest of the Causeway crowd, patiently await the start of round one, we each took some time to complete the NHL’s Playoff Brackets. Each of our picks is below, highlighting the Conference Finals, Cup Final and then Stanley Cup Champion.

Disclaimer: The Boston Bruins are really, really good. Please excuse any and all perceived bias in these picks.

Chad Zimmermann, Site Expert

First Round Winners:

Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers

Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks

Western Conference Final:

Nashville Predators vs. Anaheim Ducks

Eastern Conference Final:

Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals

Stanley Cup Final:

Nashville Predators vs. Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Champions:

Boston Bruins

Conor Peniston-Bird, Site Expert

First Round Winners:

Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins

Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks

Western Conference Final:

Nashville Predators vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Eastern Conference Final:

Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Stanley Cup Final:

Nashville Predators vs. Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Champions:

Boston Bruins

Sean Torney, Contributor

First Round Winners:

Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins

Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks

Western Conference Final:

Winnipeg Jets vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Eastern Conference Final:

Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Stanley Cup Final:

Winnipeg Jets vs. Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Champions:

Boston Bruins

Jeremy Hynes, Contributor

First Round Winners:

Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins

Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, LA Kings, San Jose Sharks

Western Conference Final:

Nashville Predators vs. LA Kings

Eastern Conference Final:

Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Stanley Cup Final:

LA Kings vs. Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Champions:

Boston Bruins

Dan Luise, Contributor

First Round Winners:

New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins

Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks

Western Conference Final:

Nashville Predators vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Eastern Conference Final:

Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Stanley Cup Final:

Nashville Predators vs. Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Champions:

Nashville Predators

Joe Szymanski, Contributor

First Round Winners:

Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers

Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, LA Kings, San Jose Sharks

Western Conference Final:

Winnipeg Jets vs. San Jose Sharks

Eastern Conference Final:

Boston Bruins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Stanley Cup Final:

Winnipeg Jets vs. Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Champions:

Boston Bruins

Next: Bruins v. Maple Leafs: Preview and Prediction

So clearly the Bruins are heavy favorites amongst this group. Let’s hope everyone’s predictions, except mine obviously, hold true! No matter how good, or bad, our brackets do, I can honestly say we are all very excited for the 2018 Playoffs.