After the excitement of March Madness that ended with UConn becoming back-to-back champions, sports fans look to the next postseason tournament to get excited about. This upcoming weekend, both the NBA and NHL playoffs begin, and they are sure to bring excitement. Last year, the Stanley Cup Playoffs were thrilling to watch, and ended with the Las Vegas Golden Knights taking home their first Stanley Cup. This year, the same level of thrill is to be expected, as the regular season has been wild. This column will preview the Stanley Cup Playoffs and pick contenders for the ultimate prize.
Eastern Conference
The Eastern Conference has been highly competitive throughout the season and playoff seeding has gone down to the wire. In the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers swapped places all year for the top spot, while teams like the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers each fought for the last bid.
The playoffs are sure to be even more competitive as the East is always full of upsets. Despite the competitiveness, there have been four teams that have stood out: Boston, Florida, the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers.
Boston, fresh off a historic season that ended in a first-round exit, responded with an excellent season that saw them near the top of the Atlantic Division. After losing their top two centers, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, the Bruins needed others to step up.; Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha have done just that.
Florida followed up their impressive run to the finals with an outstanding season that saw them finish second in the Atlantic. The Panthers have one of the best offenses in the NHL, led by Matthew Tkachuk and a veteran goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky.
In the Metropolitan Division, the Rangers dominated from start to finish and are one of the most well-rounded teams in the league. They called up Matt Rempe from the Hartford Wolfpack midseason and he immediately became a league sensation with fights every night.
Additionally, Carolina have been one of the best defensive teams in hockey over the past few years and that has carried over to this year. They will be set for a rematch with the Islanders, a team they eliminated last postseason.
Western Conference
The West has not been as wild as the East this season but is not shy of its own title contenders. For starters, last year’s Stanley Cup champion clinched the last wild card spot and is looking to continue their playoff success. Las Vegas will get captain Mark Stone back for the playoffs, despite him missing much of the season due to injury.
The Central Division was highly competitive between the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets, with each team finishing within five points of one another. In the Pacific Division, the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers battled for first place throughout the season, with Vancouver pulling away at the end. The storyline that everyone in the hockey world will be watching is whether the Oilers, with superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, can finally make a long postseason run. In their way will be the upstart Canucks who are a well-balanced young team ready to make a name for themselves.
Colorado will take their championship experience into the postseason and are looking to add another Stanley Cup to their resumes. At their fingertips is Nathan MacKinnon, one of hockey’s best players who continues to get better every season. The Stars and Jets may not have the biggest stars but are both veteran-laden teams hungry to get a Stanley Cup.
Tune into the Stanley Cup Playoffs starting this Saturday on TNT and ESPN