The National Hockey League playoffs are upon us, with the first round of action set for the Eastern Conference. Here's a look at the first round of games.
Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
A No. 2 seed (Panthers) vs a No. 7 seed (Lightning) Sunshine state throw down. Twice these intra-state rivals have met in the postseason. Both times the Lightning won.
This time around, though, the Panthers are the stronger team – by far – with Florida winning the regular-season series by just 2-1. The Panthers beat the Lightning 3-2 on Dec. 27 and whupped them 9-2 on Feb. 17. The Lightning won their last matchup on March 16 5-3.
The Panthers also concluded the session on a 4-game winning streak. This will be a blood feud if ever there was one this postseason. At this moment in time, the Panthers seem to have the superior firepower in this matchup.
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
A classic NHL matchup. The Bruins and the Leafs are both Original Six franchises. This will be the fourth time they’ve met in the first round in just the last 11 years. The Bruins defeated the Leafs in epic Game 7s 3 times over that span – in 2013, 2018 and 2019.
This iteration should be a lot of fun. The teams – well – hate each other. In their fourth (and last) meeting of the regular season, Boston and Toronto combined for 91 hits and 50 penalty minutes – and 3 fights. Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe called it “by far” the most physical game his team had played.
Oh, and what’s more, both teams are skilled on the offensive end, scoring goals with ease. On top of that, there’s a fair amount of pressure for both squads, with fan expectations that these classic franchises will make deep postseason pushes. Grab your popcorn.
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals
The Capitals weren’t supposed to make the playoffs. It’s that simple. Out of the all-star break, they were 7 points out of the wild card spot and needed to jump 4 teams to make it back into the playoff picture. Then, they sold off forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha and defenseman Joel Edmundson at the trade deadline.
Yet, somehow, they battled back and made the playoffs, drawing a first-round matchup with a very familiar foe. Their Metro Division rivals, the Rangers – who just happen to employ the Cap’s old coach – Peter Laviolette.
New York, obviously, is the team with the better record and presumably the better shot to win this series. But Washington got hot, and they still have one of the best to ever play the game, Alex Ovechkin, on the team. Who knows where this thing could go?
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders
The final matchup in the East is one we saw in the first-round last year too. The Hurricanes beat the Islanders in 2023 in Game 6 on an overtime goal by Paul Stastny.
Don’t go expecting this to be a re-run. Both teams are stronger than they were a year ago. Yes, the Islanders had to go on a run to get into the playoffs, but they’ve been dominant in the past 8 games – going 7-0-1. More importantly, their forwards are healthy, with the only major injury question hanging over defenseman Noah Dobson, who missed the past 2 games.
However, perhaps the most important factor playing into the Islanders’ hands this year, their coach, the great Patrick Roy, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) goalies to ever play hockey. He has remade the Islanders’ defense.
Yet, it’s going to be a battle, as the Hurricanes are coming into this series hot too, with a 7-1-0 record of their own over the past 8 games and healthy forwards galore.
Carolina will be favored. There’s no getting around that. But you’d be wise to think twice before betting against Roy in the postseason. That’s always been when he’s shone the brightest.
