Another year, and the Eastern Conference appears to be wide open once again. Although the state of Florida has dominated this decade, only one of those teams can advance to round 2. The Battle of Ontario is renewed between Toronto and Ottawa after the Senators had swept the season series. Montreal returns to the playoffs for the 1st time since 2021 to face the NHL’s All-Time Leading Goal Scorer in Alexander Ovechkin. Carolina sees a Jack Hughes-less, but Dougie Hamilton gained New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan Division. Plenty of demons can be exercised in these Eastern playoffs, but who will come out on top? Let’s preview the Eastern Conference playoffs opening round.
Washington Capitals (M1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (WC2)
On paper is a matchup that does not feel like it will be close. Washington almost won the Presidents’ Trophy, and the Canadiens struggled down the stretch, taking it to game 82 to even make the playoffs. Montreal is playing with house money; they are ahead of schedule in their rebuild and are getting playoff experience for youngsters like Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov. Washington has been playing for Ovechkin, becoming the NHL’s All-Time goal leader. I would be more worried for the Capitals if they were facing any other team in this first round. They have some injury concerns with goaltender Logan Thompson and Aliaskei Protas, the latter was not at practice before game 1.
Washington has been one of the biggest surprises of this season due to their consistency. They were far ahead of any other Metropolitan team, winning the division by 12 points. A +56 goal differential that is only second in the conference to Tampa Bay. Added new blood in Jacob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Andrew Mangiapane to reinvigorate the group. The only downsides to being that good all year are the pressure, expectations, and the question, “Have they been on cruise control for too long?” It’s a team that is a lot deeper than people realize, and if they’re goaltending can hold up, they should go deep.
The Canadiens could be a team very similar to the 2010 Canadiens, which famously defeated the Capitals on the back of Jaroslav Halak. They are facing a juggernaut Capitals team that dominated this season. But Montreal, in the right games, could have the best all-around forward in captain Nick Suzuki and the best defenseman in Lane Hutson. Hutson may be a stretch, but Suzuki and Caufield, who have some playoff experience in 2021, could be major contributors. We will also get to see Ivan Demidov make his playoff debut after a dazzling opening period against Chicago.
Things to Watch:
Capitals – Rust for competitive games
Canadiens – Young players’ reaction to the spotlight
Toronto Maple Leafs (A1) vs. Ottawa Senators (WC1)
The Battle of Ontario is back for the first time since 2004. Many of those fans will be nostalgic for this rivalry from the early 2000s. Daniel Alfredsson’s Krusty the clown type hair mocking Mats Sundin’s stick toss. Steve Thomas’ OT winner. The heroics of Patrick Lalime for the Leafs (sorry, Sens fans). The rivalry was at its strongest last year when Ridley Greig took a slapshot into an empty net, which upset fans, especially Morgan Rielly. Now we get to the pleasure of seeing Brady Tkachuk lead his Senators with all the confidence, with little to no pressure. The Leafs have plenty of playoff demons that they are trying to exercise with possibly their best group since 2021.
Everything in Toronto starts up front with the core four. William Nylander scored 45 goals, finishing second in the Rocket Richard race, Mitch Marner became the 4th Leaf to reach the century mark, and despite an injury-riddled season, Auston Matthews scored his 400th career goal. All of these are to say the demons of playoff failures past remain. The depth up front appears to be a lot better with Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Bobby McMann and a not-so-fun 4th line.
The back end and goaltending all look very good, with the likes of Anthony Stolarz expected to propel the Leafs forward. Even though it is not a very experienced Ottawa team, many will not believe the Leafs can do it until they prove everyone wrong. But this is one of the stronger, deep teams of this era, led by Craig Berube.
The Ottawa Senators are right where they were supposed to be. Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and looking to be the spoilers. The Sens swept all three games against the Leafs, which means something, but will also likely not be the result of this series. Captain Brady Tkachuk will lead his team to his first playoff action and played in the regular season finale, much to the delight of the fans in Ottawa.
The young Senators will lean on veterans like David Perron and Claude Giroux to get over the playoff hump. Linus Ullmark has had his ups and downs in the playoffs, but has been lights out since the 4 Nations. How will players like Stutzle, Batherson, Sanderson, and Chabot handle the playoff moment? We will just have to wait and see how much of a thorn they can be in Toronto’s side.
Things to watch
Leafs – Playoff demons arising again
Senators – Brady Tkachuk’s coming-out party
Tampa Bay Lightning (A2) vs. Florida Panthers (A2)
For the second straight year, we get the Battle of Florida in the first round. Both of these teams loaded up at the trade deadline to avoid each but here we are back again. These two have dominated this decade, with one of them being in the Stanley Cup Finals every year since 2020. But now we have questions about the durability of these players after so many deep playoff runs. These teams are so close with the goaltending in Bobrovsky and Vasilevskiy, injuries, and Florida missing Aaron Ekblad for the first 2 games of the series that it’s hard to imagine this doesn’t go the distance.
The Bolts have home ice advantage and a chip on their shoulder after being knocked out in the first round the last two years. They added Jake Guentzel, JJ Moser, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Brought back Ryan McDonagh and Yanni Gourde to reunite with some former Stanley Cup champions. While Bjorkstrand will likely miss the entire series with a lower-body injury, all the other additions should have a big impact.
Their X-factor will be Andrei Vasilevskiy, who ranked in the top 5 in Goals Against Average, Save Percentage, and shutouts. At times this year, it looked like the 2020 and 2021 versions of Vasi might be back. They have the top-end talent to compete with the Panthers, but can their depth hold up in tight spots?
The defending Stanley Cup Champions have a chance to go back-to-back with plenty of reinforcements inserted into their lineup. At the deadline, they loudly added Brad Marchand but quietly added Seth Jones, similar to Noah Hanifin to Vegas last year. And we aren’t talking about the Panthers without including Matthew Tkachuk. He has been out since February but was a full participant at practice. While no Panther had an outstanding season personally, Sam Reinhart led the way with 81 points in 79 games. This is a team that now knows how to win and what it takes to do so in the playoffs. Getting everyone healthy and on the same page before they travel to Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay.
Things to watch
Lightning – Depth scoring of any kind
Panthers – The health and ability of Matthew Tkachuk
Carolina Hurricanes (M2) vs. New Jersey Devils (M3)
Two teams and a matchup that are not being taken as seriously this year are the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils. Carolina had a whole Mikko Rantanen saga that included trading for, then moving for Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski. New Jersey is without their best player in Jack Hughes, but managed to hold on to this spot despite a serious run from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Carolina has made at least the second round every year since 2021, and the Devils return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. Both teams may be underestimated, but everything is back to zero, and that’s the beauty of playoff hockey.
Rod Brind’Amour has brought this Hurricanes team to be a perennial threat but has yet to get over the hump fully. This is by no means their most star-studded team, but maybe that is exactly how they’re supposed to win. Suffocating, low-event, defensive hockey with the hope of goaltending being an answer as opposed to a question.
The back end is led by Jaccob Slavin, who had a rise to fame via the 4 Nations and a solid group including Shayne Gostisbehere and Brent Burns. The dangling carrot for Brind’Amour is Alexander Nikishin. The 23-year-old former captain of SKA Saint Petersburg could easily be a difference-maker. One of these goalies has to be able to keep the net and not be a negative.
Not many have given the Devils a proper shot without Jack Hughes. They have the goaltending advantage with Jacob Markstrom and a back end that re-added Dougie Hamilton. Whether or not they can score will be a question. Jesper Bratt has ascended as the best player of this team, but it will need to be more than just the Swede to contribute offensively. This could be a coming-out party for Luke Hughes, who has the reliability of former Cane Brett Pesce to cover for him. This team lacks depth, but Sheldon Keefe has plenty of playoff experience to help these Devils.
Things to watch
Hurricanes – Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending
Devils – Depth of any kind contributing
Eastern Battles should create classics
We have plenty of hype in these series and playoff heroes to be created. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk are looking to make their impact. A Canadiens team with a chance to remind fans of 2010 and 2021. The Lightning are looking to get back out of the first round. The Leafs and their many demons. The young Russians Demidov and Nikishin are trying to make an early imprint. Plenty of storylines and potential for thrillers. If you’re looking to keep up those storylines and heroics, keep it locked to Area 51.
