After an NHL season that featured its share of surprises and spectacular performances, the postseason has finally arrived. Starting tonight, 16 teams will begin the quest to lift the most famous trophy in sports, the Stanley Cup. To get you ready, the Daily breaks down all eight first-round series:
Eastern Conference
No. 1 New York Rangers vs. No. 8 Ottawa Senators
The Rangers exceeded all expectations this year, posting their best regular season record since the 1993-94 season, when they captured their most recent Stanley Cup. The Rangers will have similar dreams this time around, and will continue to depend on goalkeeper HenrikLundqvist to carry them to glory. The 30-year old Swede is the favorite for the Vezina Trophy, and the Rangers' formula for success this season has been to score a few goals and let Lundqvist do the rest.
Meanwhile, the Senators have ridden their aging leaders, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, to another playoff berth. After appearing in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, the Senators are looking to get back to championship heights, but they will need their uninspiring offense to step up its play if they want to beat Lundqvist. The most important player for the Senators may be 21-year old All-Star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who is second on the team behind Spezza with 78 points. The series may be close for a while, but in the end, the Rangers' all-around game will be too much for the Senators to handle.
Pick: Rangers in six
No. 2 Boston Bruins vs. No. 7 Washington Capitals
The defending Stanley Cup champions enjoyed another successful season in the TD Garden, although it was bumpier than the Bruins hoped. With goalie Tim Thomas struggling and the squad reeling from numerous injuries, the Bruins slumped in the middle of the season, but finished the year with a strong push to lock up the No. 2 seed. Led by Thomas and defenseman ZdenoChara, Boston is still a championship contender. Expect the Bruins to surge during this postseason as they try to become the first team to repeat since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings.
The Capitals have also had a rocky campaign that resulted in the firing of coach Bruce Boudreaumidseason. Under new coach Dale Hunter, the team has been reinvigorated, but star forward Alexander Ovechkin did not produce his usual output this season and Washington only clinched a playoff spot in the 81st game of the year. With center NicklasBackstrom finally back from a concussion, the Caps' offense has a little more pop, but the Bruins' physicality will ultimately wear down Washington's attack.
Pick: Bruins in six
No. 3 Florida Panthers vs. No. 6 New Jersey Devils
The Panthers made the playoffs this year for the first time since 2000, and to say they made it hard on themselves would be an understatement. Florida won only two of its last 10 games but still managed to clinch the Southeast Division title on the last day of the year. Much of the reason for the slump was the erratic play of goalie Jose Theodore, whose starting position may be in question due to the fine play of backup and former Devil Scott Clemmensen.
The Devils, on the other hand, have rebounded from a miserable 2011 to continue their record of success in the modern era by returning to the playoffs. Goalie Martin Brodeur, now 39, continued to cement his legendary status with a strong regular season, but he still needs to prove himself in the postseason; the Devils are just 16-26 in the playoffs since 2003. This series features two very similar teams and has become a popular upset pick for one reason: The Devils' potent offense will eventually be enough to get the job done.
Pick: Devils in seven
No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers
In arguably the most anticipated series of the first round, the Pennsylvania rivals will battle in a matchup of two teams very similar in nature. For Pittsburgh, the season was a slog, but forward EvgeniMalkin turned in an MVP-caliber performance in the second half of the year, and the return of forward Sidney Crosby only helped its cause. With Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes, the Penguins rose to new heights in the second half, and they seem to be firing on all cylinders heading into the playoffs.
The Flyers, meanwhile, endured a successful yet frustrating season after going 0-6 against their archrivals, the Rangers. Much like the Penguins, they are built on stars, with Claude Giroux carrying the offensive load for the team; he had 26 more points than any other player on the roster. The young Flyers can certainly score goals, but their success will depend on the performance of eccentric goalkeeper IlyaBryzgalov. This series is a coin flip and it is likely to go down to the last minute of the last game.
Pick: Penguins in seven
Western Conference
No. 1 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 8 Los Angeles Kings
The Canucks clinched their second straight Presidents' Trophy by posting the league's best record this year, giving them home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. But last year, the Canucks made it to the Stanley Cup Finals only to see goalie Roberto Luongo fall apart and the series slip away in seven games. Expect the Canucks to seek revenge, as brothers Daniel and HenrikSedin will be looking to up their game and bring a cup to a city that dealt with riots after last year's loss.
On the other side of the ice are the Kings, a team known to most casual fans as the second stop of Wayne Gretzky's illustrious career. Today's Kings are a scrappy bunch, and after almost clinching their second division title in history, they slipped into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed with arguably the toughest matchup of any team. The Kings will need goalie Jonathan Quick to deliver one of the best performances of his career; barring that, Los Angeles doesn't stand much of a chance in this series.
Pick: Canucks in five
No. 2 St. Louis Blues vs. No. 7 San Jose Sharks
The Blues were another surprise team this season, making the playoffs as a No. 2 seed after years of futility. The defense-first squad was especially good at home, posting the second-best home record in the league at 30-6-5. The Blues, who allowed the fewest goals of any team this season, split time at goalie between JaroslavHalak and Brian Elliott, an unusual system that paid major dividends this year. However, the question for the Blues will be whether they can generate enough offense over a long series to complement their outstanding defense.
The Sharks, meanwhile, are the battle-tested veterans of the Western Conference, having reached the conference finals in each of the last two seasons. However, they suffered through a somewhat bizarre and disappointing regular season, barely getting into the playoffs and constantly playing from behind due to a penalty-kill unit that ranked 29th in the league. This is another popular upset pick, but unlike the Panthers-Devils series, the higher seed should prevail in this one.
Pick: Blues in six
No. 3 Phoenix Coyotes vs. No. 6 Chicago Blackhawks
The fact that the Coyotes even made the playoffs is a minor miracle, considering that the team has no owner and its attendance numbers are consistently among the worst in the NHL. For all the trials and tribulations, though, the Coyotes managed to pull it together when it counted, winning the Pacific Division with 97 points thanks to the stellar late-season play of goalie Mike Smith, who allowed just two goals in his last five games.
But the Blackhawks might actually be the favorites in this series. The squad posted 101 points in the regular season and retains the core from its 2010 Stanley Cup title team. Unfortunately, star forward Jonathan Toews, the linchpin of that 2010 run, has been out since February with a concussion. The special teams have also been a disaster for Chicago, which ranks 26th on the power play and 27th on the penalty kill. This series will be closer than people think, but in the end, Chicago's experience will be the deciding factor.
Pick: Blackhawks in seven
No. 4 Nashville Predators vs. No. 5 Detroit Red Wings
The final series in our preview features a Central Division clash between the two teams that finished just behind the Blues. Nashville has had a breakout year, and after several key acquisitions at the trade deadline, the Predators have come into their own and enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak. Nashville's strength lies in its attack, and the team boasts the best power-play unit in the league thanks to forward Shea Weber and defenseman Ryan Suter.
For the Red Wings, being in the playoffs is business as usual; the team from Hockeytown qualified for the postseason for the 21st year in a row. For much of the year, the normally potent offensive club was carried by goalie Jimmy Howard, but after Howard was sidelined by multiple injuries, the team's offense, led by forward PavelDatsyuk, picked up the slack. The Red Wings are one of the league's most successful franchises, but this series will be very tight. Much like the Eastern Conference's No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup, this one might be too close to call.
Pick: Predators in seven
