Photo Credit: Rafael Suanes/USA TODAY Sports
The first round is over for the Eastern Conference teams with four teams eliminated. Of the eight teams in the Eastern Conference the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins are the four teams still vying for that Eastern Conference spot in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Metropolitan Division
In the Metropolitan Division the two top teams, the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, are set to face off in the semifinals. The Caps eliminated Wild Card team the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, while the Pens eliminated third seeded New York Rangers in five. Both series were full of scoring for the winning teams. It will be interesting to see whose defense will win out in the end because there are so many high offense players on both the Capitals and the Penguins. It could end up being a battle of the goalies, Braden Holtby and Marc-Andre Fleury. Holtby has been a strong goaltender for the Capitals with plenty of playoff experience in the past couple of years. On the Penguins end, even though the goaltenders that played in the Penguins-Rangers series had no prior NHL playoff experience, their triumph over New York could give them the confidence they need to face Ovechkin and his team. It is unclear when and if Fleury will return to his spot between the pipes just yet. Hopefully the young goaltenders in Pittsburgh can stay solid for the offense that will find ways to score some goals.
Atlantic Division
Contrary to the Metropolitan Division, a wild card team defeated the top seeded team and will play the second seeded team. The New York Islanders, a Wild Card team, eliminated the first seed Florida Panthers in six games, while the Tampa Bay Lightning bested the Detroit Red Wings. The Tampa Bay Lightning has more recent postseason experience, they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals just last year, than the Isles which might come to their advantage. The two teams have met once before in 2004, the last time the Lightning won the Stanley Cup. The Islanders have not been to the second round in 23 years. They have a well-rounded team offensively and defensively plus Ben Bishop in net. In the semifinals, the Isles will need to use the same feelings and skills that they used when they ended the Panthers season in double overtime so that they can make up for their lack of recent playoff experience. These Islanders are going to give it their all and not give up without a fight.
Since the Western Conference is still waiting on two series to finish up, the schedule for the second round has not yet been set. The Ducks-Predators series is tied up at three with game 7 being played tonight.
