Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Although it seemed that it took a longer time for the Eastern Conference teams to clinch playoff berth, besides Washington of course, there are finally eight teams slotted for the postseason. The top team in the league, the Washington Capitals, have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy, giving them home ice advantage against any matchup they face. Let’s take a look at what teams have a shot for the Stanley Cup from the Eastern Conference.
Metropolitan Division
The Washington Capitals are no doubt the top-seeded team. They clinched early in mid-March, and captain Alexander Ovechkin is really itching to get further than the Conference Semifinals for the first time. Ovechkin leads the league in goals and goaltender Braden Hotlby leads the league in wins. With such an offensive leader and brick wall of a goaltender, this could be the year the Caps make it to the third round or even further. As the first seed in the Metropolitan Division, they face off against the Wild Card team, Philadelphia Flyers, in the Conference Quarterfinals. After missing last year’s playoffs, the Flyers are back to the postseason in 2016. With a regular season record of 41-27-14, Philadelphia will need its entire team to come together to successfully play against the top team in the league. The first game of the Caps-Flyers will be April 14th at 7:00PM EST on NBCSN.
The New York Rangers return to the playoffs after being the Presidents’ Trophy winners last season. With Ryan McDonagh out with a hand injury for the rest of the regular season, it is up to the rest of the team to pick up the slack. This is especially true for Brady Skjei, as he was called up from the AHL in McDonagh’s absence.  As the third seeded team they play the second seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. These two teams are no strangers in the playoffs; they came up against each other last year when the Penguins almost swept the series before the Rangers miraculously came back and won the series in seven games. Like the team they are facing, the Pens was hit with injuries as well. Their starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was recently out with a concussion and their backup Matt Murray recently sustained an injury causing the team to call up goalie Tristan Jarry from the AHL. Fleury has returned to practice today and could end up playing in the first round.  NHL favorite Sidney Crosby is the league leader in goals, points, and assists.  The Penguins-Rangers series will start on April 13th at 8:00PM EST on USA.
Atlantic Division
Further down south, the Florida Panthers have clinched the top position in the Atlantic Division. They will be facing the Wild Card team in the quarterfinals. Legendary forward Jaromir Jagr has 66 points and 39 assists while playing in his mid-forties. Roberto Luongo, the goaltender for the Panthers, has a stellar save percentage at .922 and 35 wins this season. They also have a strong defensive core in front of Luongo in Brian Campbell, Dmitry Kulikov, and Erik Gubranson. All of these assets are reason for the team clinching a playoff berth. At the top of the Atlantic Division, they have home-ice advantage and play against the New York Islanders in the Conference Quarterfinals. The Islanders, who were neck and neck with their fellow New York team in the standings, have a regular season record of 45-27-10. The Isles are returning to the playoffs for the second year in a row, having lost to the Caps in the first round in 2014. Captain John Tavares leads the team with an amazing 70 points while also providing 33 goals and 37 assists. The first game between the Panthers and the Islanders is April 14th at 8:00PM EST on CNBC.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost in the Stanley Cup Finals,  are looking for their chance to change the outcome this year. They will be missing their star player Steven Stamkos due to a blood clot. Stamkos is one of the league’s top ten players in goals, so his offensive skills will be missed. If the Lightning manage to make it deep into the playoffs and Stamkos has a speedy recovery, the full force of this team will be seen just as they showed in 2015. The Lightning are seeded at number two and will play the Detroit Red Wings the Conference Quarterfinals. Detroit has a regular season record of 41-30-11 and faces the same team they lost against in the first round of the playoffs last year. Pavel Datsyuk, who won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2002 and 2008, has recently announced that he plans to leave the team and the league as he wants to return to Russia for his family. That alone can get the team pumped up and playing together for Datsuk’s last postseason appearance and final NHL game. The Lightning take on the Red Wings on April 13th at 7:00PM EST on NBCSN.
Check out the full schedule for the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs here.
