by Tony Fiorello
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 6, 2024: The Stanley Cup is staged for a visit by staff members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation at Capitol Hill on March 6, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images)
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Typically that’s a phrase one would hear around Christmas. But for hockey fans, there’s no better time of year to enjoy the game than the playoffs. With storylines galore and the intensity at an all-time high, witnessing 16 teams battling for the right to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup is a sight to behold.
Throughout the postseason, Buffalo Sports Page will provide you with series previews and predictions from the start of round one – which begins this weekend – through the finals. Previews will become more in-depth as the playoffs roll along, but for now here is our analysis of the first round in the Eastern Conference.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
New York Rangers (1) vs. Washington Capitals (WC2)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 27: Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers celebrates a win with Igor Shesterkin #31 after defeating the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on December 27, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Mooney/NHLI via Getty Images)
Over the last few years, the importation of Artemi Panarin plus a pair of stud defensemen in Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox has turned the Rangers into one of the best teams in hockey. The names previously mentioned have been supported by Chris Krieder, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck, who continue to shine on Broadway. Youngsters Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil (currently injured) have shown flashes of brilliance while veteran pickups Barclay Goodrow and Jack Roslovic have been brought in by general manager Chris Drury and new head coach Peter Laviolette to provide grit. Igor Shesterkin has been a worthy successor to Henrik Lundqvist in between New York’s pipes.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 16: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against Samuel Ersson #33 of the Philadelphia Flyers at 18:08 of the first period at the Wells Fargo Center on April 16, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Back in the playoffs after a one-year absence, Washington is led by the usual suspects – Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson – and new faces like Dylan Strome, Max Pacioretty and Connor McMichael have bolstered their depth. Defensively they are still led by John Carlson, and Charlie Lindgren and Darcy Kuemper are holding down the fort in goal. But the team is changing – longtime stalwarts like Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov are either gone from the team entirely or are injured, and after rarely struggling for offense in the past the Caps were just 28th in goals scored.
PREDICTION
Rangers in five. Washington barely squeaked into the postseason – they have the worst goal differential of any NHL team to reach the playoffs since 1991 – and New York had the league’s best regular season record.
Carolina Hurricanes (2) vs. New York Islanders (3)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 07: Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates during the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PNC Arena on April 7, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)
For the first time since the team moved to Raleigh from Hartford, Carolina has reached the postseason for a sixth consecutive year. General manager Don Waddell and coach Rod Brind’Amour lead a team characterized by a combination of young guys (Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas, Andre Svechnikov) and veterans (Teuvo Teravainen, Brent Burns, Jordan Staal, Dmitry Orlov, Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin and Brady Skjei). That mix, plus trade deadline pickups Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov, has churned out positive results via Brind’Amour’s stifling defensive system and the goaltending duo of Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov have brought stability to the Canes’ crease.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 13: New York Islanders Goalie Ilya Sorokin (30) reaches for a shot wide of the net taken by New York Rangers Center Vincent Trocheck (16) (not pictured) during overtime in the National Hockey League game between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers on April 13, 2024 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
New York is in the tournament for the fifth time in the last six years. Talents like Matthew Barzal, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Bo Horvat, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson have helped lead the Islanders through deep playoff runs in the past and are supplemented by strong defensive talents in Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield (done for the season with an injury) and Noah Dobson. Veterans like Pierre Engvall and Kyle Palmieri were brought in by general manager Lou Lamoriello to help Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck play in the team’s smothering defensive system and Ilya Sorokin has become one of hockey’s best goalies. They’re also bolstered by new coach Patrick Roy – the Hall of Fame goaltender took over midway through the season after inconsistency plagued ex-bench boss Lane Lambert.
PREDICTION
Hurricanes in six. A year ago Carolina eliminated the Islanders in the same number of games in the first round and it seems as if lightning will strike twice for the ‘Canes. This may be the best Hurricanes team on paper since the 2005-06 edition that won the Cup.
Florida Panthers (1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (WC1)
SUNRISE, FLORIDA - APRIL 9: Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers warms up on the ice prior to the start of the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Amerant Bank Arena on April 9, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
Florida is playoff-bound for the fifth straight year (the first time in franchise history that’s happened), and the appointment of the well-traveled Paul Maurice a year ago to replace the tandem of Andrew Brunette and future Hall of Famer Joel Quenneville has given the Panthers some much-needed guidance behind the bench. Maurice inherited a team bolstered at forward by Selke Trophy-winner Alex Barkov and gritty Matthew Tkachuk, supplemented by quality depth in Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Vladimir Tarasenko and Sam Bennett. Defensively the Panthers are held down by Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour. In goal the aging Sergei Bobrovsky has turned back the clock and been outstanding in net this season with a 2.37 goals-against-average, a .915 save percentage and six shutouts.
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 27: Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 and Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate the win against the New Jersey Devils at Amalie Arena on January 27 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images)
A powerhouse in the Eastern Conference over the last decade (and former back-to-back Cup winners), the Lightning remain a threat thanks to the leadership of general manager Julie BriseBois and coach Jon Cooper. Over the years homegrown faces like Brayden Point, Ross Colton, Yanni Gourde and Anthony Cirelli and imports like Mikhail Sergachev, Barclay Goodrow, Blake Coleman and Ryan McDonagh joined Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov (who along with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid became a member of the exclusive 100-assist club this season), Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn to build a juggernaut. Andrei Vasilevskiy is widely regarded as the best goaltender in the NHL and Victor Hedman remains one of the league’s best rearguards.
The losses of Palat, Johnson, Killorn, Colton, Gourde, Coleman, Goodrow and McDonagh over the last few offseasons were made up by BriseBois bringing in veterans with Cup Final experience like Conor Sheary and Anthony Duclair and younger pieces in Brandon Hagel, Nick Paul and Tanner Jeannot – resulting in Cooper’s bunch not missing a beat. However, some cracks are starting to show with the team ending the regular season just 22nd in goals allowed.
PREDICTION
Panthers in seven. As great as the Bolts used to be, the Panthers are now the dominant team in the Sunshine State.
Boston Bruins (2) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (3)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 16: Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) drills a shot during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators on April 16, 2024, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
A year after setting the NHL record for wins in a season and shockingly bowing out in the first round, the Boston Bruins and coach Jim Montgomery have a nice mix of older players left from their Cup runs of the past decade and youngsters who have come into their own. While names like two-way extraordinaire Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Zdeno Chara have retired in recent years, super-pest Brad Marchand, sniper David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Brandon Carlo remain from the old guard. Veteran imports like Pavel Zacha, Hampus Lindholm, Morgan Geekie and James van Riemsdyk have helped keep the Bruins’ window for contention open while the tandem of Linus Ullmark (who enjoyed a career year last season) and Jeremy Swayman has stepped in for the retiring Tuukka Rask.
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 13: Toronto Maple Leafs Center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates after scoring his 69th goal of the season during the NHL regular season game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 13, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Leafs have reached the postseason eight years in a row and led by their core group of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, this roster is a high-flying group that can score in bunches and is augmented by grizzled warhorses in Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Reaves, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi. Defensively, the Leafs are paced by Morgan Rielly, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Tim Liljegren, Jake McCabe and rookie Simon Benoit. Coach Sheldon Keefe and general manager Brad Treliving have had to sort through a three-headed goaltending monster in Joseph Woll, Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones.
PREDICTION
Bruins in seven. A year ago the Leafs won their first playoff series since 2004, but they haven’t emerged victorious over Boston in a playoff series since 1959. Having beaten them in seven games in the opening round of the postseason three times since 2013, the Bruins will do it again.