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The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, April 20.
The bracket is set, and although some teams have a much better chance of winning the cup than others, there will be some upsets as we saw last year with the eighth-seed Florida Panthers making it to the finals.
Ahead of the playoffs, let's look at three teams that could be the dark horses to win the cup.
Top 3 dark horses to look out for ahead of Stanley Cup playoffs
#1. Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets have a tough first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, but the Jets could go on a run in the playoffs.
Winnipeg has one of the top goalies in the NHL, Connor Hellebuyck, who finished the year with a 2.39 GAA and a .921 SV%. If Hellebuyck continues to play at this level, the Jets going on a run to the cup is not out of the picture as Winnipeg is a tough series for anybody.
#2. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 but have lost some key players, so fans are writing them off, saying their window is closed.
But, to close out the season, Tampa Bay was playing some of the best hockey in the entire NHL. Andrei Vasilevskiy is back to his old self, and if he continues to play like that, it will be hard for opposing teams to score on him.
Meanwhile, Nikita Kucherov is arguably the best player in the NHL this season and can win a game on his own.
#3. Nashville Predators
The ultimate dark horse is the Nashville Predators, the top wild-card team in the West.
Nashville is facing Vancouver in the first round, which is a fairly even matchup. The Preds are on the right side of the bracket and don't have to play Vegas, Dallas, Winnipeg or Colorado for the first two rounds.
Goaltender Juuse Saros is also one of the best goalies in the NHL. So, Saros shutting down opposing teams and winning a series or two isn't out of the picture.
