For the first time in 21 years, the New York Rangers will enter the Stanley Cup playoffs as the hunted.
The Rangers are both the defending Eastern Conference champions and this season’s Presidents’ Trophy winner for the best regular season record. Couple those facts with the Los Angeles Kings’ absence from the post-season — just the third time since 1970 a defending Stanley Cup champion has missed the playoffs — and it would seem the Rangers are the team to beat.
However, if the Rangers are to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time since 1994, they will be tested along the way. As the tournament is set to open today, there are new teams, old faces in new places and five Canadian teams involved — the most since 2004.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Metropolitan Division
No. 1 New York Rangers (113 points) vs No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins (98)
The Rangers ended the Penguins’ season a year ago, prompting a major reshuffling in Pittsburgh’s organization. Both the Rangers and the Penguins were ravaged by injuries this season, yet the Rangers somehow persevered to the Presidents’ Trophy, while the Penguins sneaked into the tournament as the East’s No. 8 seed.
Pittsburgh will be without the stalwart defenders Kris Letang and Olli Maatta, and because of salary-cap constraints, they were able to dress just five defensemen at times down the stretch. Still, there is no cap in the post-season, and the Penguins still have a collection of skilled forwards, including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, Patric Hornqvist, David Perron and Brandon Sutter, who can wreak havoc on defenses.
No. 2 Washington Capitals (101 points) vs No. 3 New York Islanders (101)
The final post-season at Nassau Coliseum will open with the Islanders facing off against a familiar playoff foe. The Capitals and the Islanders have met six times in the playoffs — most recently in 1993, a six-game Islanders win and the franchise’s last playoff series win.
It has been more than 30 years since the Islanders enjoyed a season like this one. The Islanders sent their venerable home rink out with their first 100-plus-point season since 1983-1984, thanks to John Tavares’ career campaign. Tavares, 24, finished just 1 point shy of the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the points leader, posting 86 points.
However, under their first-year coach, Barry Trotz, Washington is a popular dark horse to reach the Stanley Cup final. Alex Ovechkin netted an NHL-best 53 goals — his sixth career 50-goal season — and goaltender Braden Holtby played a league-high 73 games and won 41.
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Montreal Canadiens (110 points) vs No. 4 Ottawa Senators (99)
Two seasons ago, the heavily favored Canadiens met the upstart Senators, but Ottawa rolled to a five-game series win. Led by goaltender Andrew Hammond, Ottawa enters the playoffs as the hottest team in hockey, posting a 23-4-4 record in their final 31 games to sneak into the post-season.
Whereas Hammond and the Senators are the underdogs, Carey Price will backstop Montreal. Price, a 27-year-old Vancouver native, is the favorite for both the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league’s best goaltender, and the Hart Trophy, given to the player most valuable to his team, having registered a franchise-record 44 wins in goal.
No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning (108 points) vs No. 3 Detroit Red Wings (100)
On paper, the Lightning and the Red Wings do not have a shared playoff history. The Red Wings are in only their second year in the Eastern Conference, and Tampa Bay could be considered one of their least likely rivals.
Still, there is some familiarity there. Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman enjoyed a Hall of Fame tenure in Detroit, leading the Wings to three Stanley Cups as captain between 1997 and 2002. Forward Valtteri Filppula was a third-round draft pick for Detroit and spent the first seven full seasons of his career with the Red Wings.
This series boasts two of the sport’s most skilled centers, Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central division
No. 1 St Louis Blues (109 points) vs No. 4 Minnesota Wild (100)
The Wild are the West’s hottest team and one of their best stories. Since moving over from Arizona in a January deal, Devan Dubnyk started all the subsequent 39 games in goal, posting 27 wins, five shutouts and a .936 save percentage.
Still, many believe the Blues are the West’s team to beat this season. St Louis boast a tough and tenacious defense led by Kevin Shattenkirk.
The Blues can beat opponents with their offense as well. Nine Blues netted at least 10 goals, led by Vladimir Tarasenko’s 37, and Dallas were the only Western Conference team to score more than the Blues’ 248 goals.
No. 2 Nashville Predators (104 points) vs No. 3 Chicago Blackhawks (102)
The Predators and the Blackhawks have met only once in the playoffs, in 2010, and the Blackhawks claimed a six-game series win on the way to the Stanley Cup.
Led by their first-year coach, Peter Laviolette, the resurgent Predators earned home-ice advantage for the first round. The Finnish goaltender Pekka Rinne, who missed all but 24 games last season with a variety of hip ailments, posted 41 wins, a .923 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average.
Despite their No. 3 seeding and Patrick Kane’s broken clavicle, which will keep him out for part of the first round, if not longer, the Blackhawks are widely considered one of the more dangerous squads in the tournament. Chicago are the Las Vegas favorite to win the West.
Pacific Division
No. 1 Anaheim Ducks (109 points) vs No. 4 Winnipeg Jets (99)
In Paul Maurice’s first full season behind the bench, the Jets are one of the youngest teams in the post-season, and they warded off the defending champions, the Kings, and the mid-season distraction of Evander Kane’s trade to reach the post-season for the first time since 2007, when they were the Atlanta Thrashers. Winnipeg have not hosted a playoff game since 1996.
Anaheim claimed the Pacific Division’s regular-season crown for the third straight season. Coach Bruce Boudreau boasts a .678 regular-season record, but are still in search of his first appearance in a conference final. The Ducks have goaltending concerns, as John Gibson and Frederik Andersen have struggled lately.
No. 2 Vancouver Canucks (101 points) vs No. 3 Calgary Flames (97)
The Flames are among the NHL’s best stories, having improved by 20 points from last season, and are making their first playoff appearance since 2009. They are among the league’s worst teams in terms of advanced metrics — Calgary ranks third from the bottom in shot-attempt percentage — but they made up for it with a stunning ability to rally. Calgary’s 99 third-period goals led all Western Conference teams.
The Canucks are also a terrific story. Willie Desjardins is the team’s third coach in three seasons and they have improved by 18 points since last season.
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