Eastern Conference preview: Isles, Caps highlight 1st-round matchups
The New York Rangers eclipsed 50 wins and won the Presidents' Trophy with 113 points. The last time that happened was 1994, which happens to be the last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup.
Great expectations?
"We're the No. 1 overall seed, but everyone is going to be out to beat us," center Derick Brassard told the New York Daily News. "We'll have to be at our best."
Metropolitan No. 1 New York Rangers (53-22-7, 113 points) vs. Wild card No. 2 Pittsburgh (43-27-12, 98 points)
Season series: Rangers, 3-0-1
Goalies: New York's Henrik Lundqvist got plenty of work down the stretch after returning from a strained blood vessel in his neck. He posted a .932 save percentage in five April games and is the kind of player that instills supreme confidence in the team in front of him. Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury played well most of the season, leading the league with 10 shutouts. But like his team, he didn't play well late, posting a .908 save percentage in each of the final two months and losing eight of his final 11 games. Fleury's playoff failures have been well documented.
Key players: The emergence of New York center Kevin Hayes (17 goals, 45 points) gave the Rangers three scoring lines — the kind of balance any team needs to succeed in the postseason. Hayes has never played in the playoff grinder, however, and at age 22, his consistency will be tested. With Kris Letang and Olli Maatta out, while Christian Erhoff and Derrick Pouliot are ailing, defensemen Paul Martin, Ian Cole, Rob Scuderi, Ben Lovejoy and Taylor Chorney have been logging 20-plus minutes a game for Pittsburgh. Can they possibly hold up against New York's withering speed and depth up the middle?
Key stats: New York forward Rick Nash scored just five of his team-high 42 goals over the final 22 games. ... Pittsburgh went 4-9-2 in its last 15 games after going 39-18-10 in its first 67. ... The Penguins scored 25 goals in their final 15 games, an average of 1.67 per game. ... New York was the NHL's most effective team in 5-on-5 play, with a 1.32 goals for/against ratio.
Breakdown: Before the series started, the Penguins received more bad news on their injury-decimated blue line when they found out tough-luck defenseman Letang (concussion) won't play again this season. Sluggish starts, poor defensive structure and a surprising lack of offense have plagued the Penguins of late. Any team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should not be counted out, but the bottom six forwards don't look much improved over last season despite a concerted effort in the offseason to address that shortcoming, and the defense is relying on players who shouldn't be logging such heavy minutes. Pittsburgh looks ripe for a quick exit. The Rangers may be the NHL's most complete team, with a deep blue line, depth and incomparable speed up front and Lundqvist providing rock-steady play in goal. Trade-deadline acquisition Keith Yandle is starting to look settled in his new environment and could really help spark New York's power play in the postseason from the point. New York knows its window is now. With the Penguins' problems on defense and New York's speed, it's tough to see this series going the distance.
Prediction: New York in 5
Atlantic No. 1 Montreal (50-22-10, 110 points) vs. Wild card No. 1 Ottawa (43-26-13, 99 points)
Season series: Ottawa, 3-1
Goalies: Montreal's Carey Price should win the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP. He finished first in goals against average (1.96), first in save percentage (.933), first in wins (44) and tied for second in shutouts (nine), carrying a middling possession team to the Atlantic Division title. Ottawa's Andrew Hammond (20-1-2 as a starter) came out of nowhere to lead the Senators to the playoffs, much like Devan Dubnyk did in Minnesota. Hammond posted a .941 save percentage in 24 games, which was too few to qualify for the league leaders, but better than any goaltender who played more than two games this season. Hammond is the type of goalie that litters NHL history — one who could rise from obscurity to lead his team on a deep run.
Key players: Rookie right wing Mark Stone posted 50 of his 64 points at even strength and emerged as a legitimate top-six forward playing alongside center Kyle Turris. He finished tied with Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau for the rookie scoring lead and finished the season on a nine-game point streak (eight goals, five assists), scoring two huge goals in the Senators' magical rally from a 3-0 deficit against the Penguins, including the game-winner. Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty was practicing on Monday morning and that's a great sign for the Habs. Pacioretty suffered an upper-body injury April 5 against Florida and missed the last two games. He led Montreal in goals (37) and points (67). His presence is critical.
Key stats: In two games against Ottawa, Price had a 3.03 GAA and a .887 save percentage, one of three teams against which he had a sub-.900 save percentage this season. ... The Canadiens finished the regular season 23rd overall in shot-attempt percentage (48.5). ... Pacioretty led the NHL with a plus-38 rating.
Breakdown: Ottawa won the final three meetings with Montreal and it was no fluke. The combined score was 13-5. Price's lack of success against the Senators comes from too small a sample size to form judgments. It's clear he can carry a team on his back and he just may do that in this series. The Canadiens also have a Norris Trophy candidate in P.K. Subban and it looks like they'll have a healthy Pacioretty to try and make amends for last season's conference final loss to New York. However, Ottawa is on a 21-3-3 run where absolutely everything is clicking. Ottawa's Mika Zibanejad had a career-high 20 goals and 46 points this season to provide secondary scoring and the Senators have allowed less than two goals per game for a long stretch. In this season of upheaval, we see another traditional power going down.
Prediction: Montreal in 6
Atlantic No. 2 Tampa Bay (50-24-8, 108 points) vs. Atlantic No. 3 Detroit (43-25-14, 100 points)
Season series: Tampa Bay, 3-1
Goalies: Tampa's Ben Bishop must be itching to get the playoffs started after missing all of the 2014 postseason with an upper body injury. Bishop's .916 save percentage wasn't overly impressive, but it came on a team that tends to play a little loose with so much offensive firepower (league-high 262 goals) and speed. Detroit's Jimmy Howard has the resume, but not the recent play. Howard missed a month with a groin injury and did not play well after his return, going 8-13 down the stretch, allowing 56 goals in those 21 games. That's why coach Mike Babcock chose to go with, Petr Mrazek (.918 save percentage) for Game 1. It's not an obvious or overwhelming choice; it's more of a statement on Howard's game.
Key players: Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk is still a wonder to watch at age 36. He had 65 points in 63 games this season, he made Darren Helm more effective when he was on the ice and he made Detroit's power play the league's second best at 23.8 percent. Tampa forward Valtteri Filppula, who spent his first seven NHL seasons in Detroit, had a somewhat disappointing season in Tampa with just 12 goals and 48 points, but that was a sacrifice he made when becoming the third-line center. He is still a key cog on the power play and a major threat against his old team.
Key stats: Detroit is making its 24th straight playoff appearance, the longest streak in the NHL.
Breakdown: Detroit's lack of size won't hurt it all that much against a Lightning team predicated on speed and skill, but the Red Wings simply didn't play well down the stretch, going 7-10-2 in March and April. The loss of left wing Erik Cole to a spinal contusion was a big blow to the Wings, who are hoping to get wing Justin Abdelkader back from a hand injury. Detroit's 1.05 goals for/against ratio in 5-on-5 play is the worst among the Eastern Conference's eight playoff teams. The Wings can't get overly reliant on their power play but it certainly would help if it keeps clicking at its current pace. Tampa's top two lines are deadly and will present a dilemma for Detroit's Babcock when deciding whom to play his top defensive pairing against — the triplets line of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov or whichever linemates 43-goal scorer Steve Stamkos is playing with. The only question mark with Tampa is its blue line, which lost trade-deadline acquisition Braydon Coburn to a foot injury after just four games. Even if he doesn't return in this series, the Lightning looks too loaded to falter this soon in the postseason.
Prediction: Tampa in 6
Metropolitan No. 2 Washington (45-26-11, 101 points) vs. Metropolitan No. 3 New York Islanders (47-28-7, 101 points)
Season series: Capitals, 2-0-2
Goalies: Washington's Braden Holtby is never mentioned when talk turns to the league's top goaltenders, but he finished the season tied for the most shutouts in the league with nine, his 2.22 goals against average ranked fifth, his .923 save percentage ranked seventh and he tied for second in wins (41). New York's Jaroslav Halak posted a mediocre .914 save percentage and was inconsistent down the stretch, making him the biggest question mark on an upward trending team.
Key players: This series will feature two of the game’s biggest stars and a pair of MVP candidates in Washington forward Alex Ovechkin and Islanders center John Tavares. Ovechkin had five points (four goals) in four games against the Islanders. Tavares had five points (two goals) against the Caps. If you're looking for star power, this series is one to watch.
Key stats: Alex Ovechkin became the sixth player in NHL history to record 50-plus goals in six seasons. ... Washington boasts the league's best power play at 25.3 percent; the Islanders' penalty-killing unit is ranked 26th at 78 percent. ... The Islanders have not won a playoff series since 1993.
Breakdown: This series could mark the final games at aging Nassau Coliseum, which the Islanders will leave at the end of the season to move to Barclays Center in Brooklyn. New York's offseason makeover was keyed by the additions of defensemen Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk, but the Islanders will sorely miss emotional leader Travis Harmonic if he can't play after limping off the ice Friday following a hip check from Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. New York is an electric offensive team to watch, but the Islanders will need to clamp down and play tighter defense than they did late in the season. Washington is one of the heavier teams in the league and is playing more responsible hockey under first-year coach Barry Trotz, but the Caps are still averaging more goals per game this season than they did last year. The offseason additions of Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen, combined with Mike Green, John Carlson and Karl Alzner gives the Caps one of the deepest, most skilled blue lines in the NHL. If Washington can finally make some postseason noise, Ovechkin may finally shed his label as a point producer who doesn't produce wins.
Prediction: Washington in 7
