To get you pumped up for the playoffs, watch this commercial:
The 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Wednesday night, and with that being said here is a look at the Eastern Conference playoff picture:
Season Series: Season series tied 2-0-2
November 12, 2015: Washington Capitals 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2
January 27, 2016: Philadelphia Flyers 4, Washington Capitals 3 (OT)
February 7, 2016: Washington Capitals 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2
March 30, 2016: Philadelphia Flyers 2, Washington Capitals 1 (SO)
Players to Watch:
Washington: Alex Ovechkin, Braden Holtby, Justin Williams, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, TJ Oshie
Philadelphia: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier
X-Factor:
Washington: Alex Ovechkin
Philadelphia: Claude Giroux
Team Leaders:
Goals: Alex Ovechkin - 50 (WSH), Wayne Simmonds - 32 (PHI)
Assists: Evgeny Kuznetosv - 57 (WSH), Claude Giroux - 45 (PHI)
Points: Evgeny Kuznetsov - 77 (WSH), Claude Giroux - 67 (PHI)
Wins: Braden Holtby - 48 (WSH), Steve Mason - 23 (PHI)
Shutouts: Steve Mason - 4 (PHI), Braden Holtby - 3 (WSH)
Series Notes:
-This is by far my most anticipated series to watch, I can't wait for it to begin.
-The Capitals enter this series having been the best team in the NHL this season with 56 wins and 120 points.
-Braden Holtby won a career-high 48 wins to tie Martin Brodeur for the single-season NHL record.
-Alex Ovechkin scored 50 goals for the 7th time in his career, and he did it in style with a hat trick in his last game of the season. Only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy (9) have more 50-goal seasons than Ovie.
-Evgeny Kuznetsov had a career-year for the Capitals with 50 assists and 77 points to lead the Capitals in both of those categories. Look for him to make a big impact in this season.
-The Capitals added some very important forwards this season for the playoffs, guys like Justin Williams, TJ Oshie and Mike Richards.
-Nicklas Backstrom picked up 50 assists in a season for the 6th time in his career.
-The Flyers enter this series as the hottest team in the NHL right now, winning 16 of their last 18 games to make the playoffs.
-Emotions are running high in Flyers, as longtime owner Ed Snider passed away on Monday. Flyers will be playing with heavy hearts for sure.
-Claude Giroux will need to be at his absolute best in this series, and he has a history of excelling in the playoffs. The line of Giroux-Voracek-Simmonds needs to match the Ovechkin line in goal production.
-The Flyers will also need a big series out of their 2nd line of Brayden Schenn-Sean Couturier-Michael Raffl
-The "Ghost" Shayne Gostisbehere will need to keep up his production from the regular season and produce in this series for the Flyers.
-Cool story in this series, Sam Gagner is set to play his 1st playoff game of his career after 9 NHL seasons.
Prediction: This is going to be a lot closer of a series than people realize, the Flyers were the hottest team in the NHL down the stretch winning 16 of their last 18 games. However, the Capitals are built too deep to lose in the 1st round and will ultimately win this series
(CAPITALS IN 6)
#1 Florida Panthers vs. WC #1 New York Islanders
Season Series: Florida won the season series 2-1-0
November 27, 2015: Florida Panthers 3, New York Islanders 2 (SO)
December 15, 2015: Florida Panthers 5, New York Islanders 1
March 14, 2016: New York Islanders 3, Florida Panthers 2
Players to Watch:
Florida: Jaromir Jagr, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Roberto Luongo, Aaron Ekblad, Nick Bjugstad
New York: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Cal Clutterbuck
X-Factor:
Florida: Jaromir Jagr
New York: John Tavares
Team Leaders:
Goals: John Tavares - 33 (NYI), Aleksander Barkov - 28 (FLA)
Assists: Jussi Jokinen - 42 (FLA), Kyle Okposo - 42 (NYI)
Points: John Tavares - 70 (NYI), Jaromir Jagr - 66 (FLA)
Wins: Roberto Luongo - 35 (FLA), Thomas Greiss - 23 (NYI)
Shutouts: Roberto Luongo - 4 (FLA), Jaroslav Halak - 3 (NYI)
Series Notes:
-The Panthers enter this series having won the Atlantic Division, lead by the ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr.
-Jagr lead the Panthers in points this season with 66, and is chasing his 3rd Stanley Cup.
-Roberto Luongo had a Vezina-type season this year, he will need to keep it up in the playoffs.
-The line of Jaromir Jagr-Aleksander Barkov-Jonathan Huberdeau was one of the best in the NHL this season, they will be relied upon heavily in this series.
-The Panthers are loaded with depth forwards, guys like Reilly Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Jiri Hudler and Vincent Trocheck to name a few.
-It will be the first playoff experience for many of the young Panthers players, it will be interesting to see how Aaron Ekblad performs on D. The Panthers need him to be at his best.
-The Islanders enter this series as the top Wildcard spot after losing on the last game of the season.
-John Tavares will need to be at his best in this series if the Islanders want to win.
-Look for the Islanders D to be active on offense, especially Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy.
-With Jaroslav Halak likely out for the entire series, a lot of pressure is on backup goaltender Thomas Greiss to perform in this series.
-The Islanders have the best 4th line in the NHL with Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck, look for them to make a big impact in this series.
Prediction: Many people are writing off the Panthers as a fluke and giving them no chance, but I like their mix of youth and veterans and I think they could surprise people. With the Islanders battling several big injuries, the Panthers (lead by Roberto Luongo) will take the series.
(PANTHERS IN 7)
#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #3 New York Rangers
Season Series: Pittsburgh won the season series 3-1-0
February 10, 2016: New York Rangers 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 0
March 3, 2016: Pittsburgh Penguins 4, New York Rangers 1
March 13, 2016: Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Rangers
March 27. 2016: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, New York Rangers 2 (OT)
Players to Watch:
Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Patric Hornqvist, Nick Bonino
New York: Henrik Lundqvist, Eric Staal, Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, Keith Yandle, Mats Zuccarello
X-Factor:
Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby
New York: Henrik Lundqvist
Team Leaders:
Goals: Sidney Crosby - 36 (PIT), Derick Brassard - 27 (NYR)
Assists: Kris Letang - 51 (PIT), Keith Yandle - 42 (NYR)
Points: Sidney Crosby - 85 (PIT), Mats Zuccarello - 61 (NYR)
Wins: Marc-Andre Fleury - 35 (PIT), Henrik Lundqvist - 35 (NYR)
Shutouts: Marc-Andre Fleury - 5 (PIT), Henrik Lundqvist - 4 (NYR)
-The 3rd year in a row that these two teams will meet in the playoffs.
-The Penguins enter this series as one of the hottest teams in the NHL down the stretch, lead by an MVP-type season by Sidney Crosby
-A big storyline of this series is the injury of Evgeni Malkin, who won't play at all unless the Penguins move on.
-The line of Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist will need to lead the way for the Penguins
-The best line in the NHL the last month was Carl Hagelin-Nick Bonino-Phil Kessel, it will be interesting to see how they perform in this series.
-Kris Letang was one of the best offensive defenseman in the NHL this season with 67 points in 71 games. He will be relied on heavily to produce
-Marc-Andre Fleury needs to be at his best to beat the Rangers, and he's coming off a concussion so there's reason to worry for the Penguins.
-The Rangers enter this series after finishing 3rd in the Metropolitan division with 101 points.
-Henrik Lundqvist, as always with the Rangers, will be leaned on a ton to carry the load in this series.
-It will be interesting to see how Eric Staal does in his first playoffs for the Rangers, he hadn't been in the playoffs much with the Hurricanes.
-Rick Nash seems to always take his game to another level in the playoffs, after a slow season it will be interesting to watch #61.
-Look for forwards Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard and Chris Kreider to carry the load offensively for the Rangers.
-With Ryan McDonagh out with a broken bone in his hand, the Rangers will need a big performance out of Marc Staal, Keith Yandle and Dan Boyle in this series.
Prediction: This will be the 3rd straight year the Rangers/Penguins face off in the playoffs, with the Rangers winning both the previous series. However, even without Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins are playing too good right now and will overpower the aging Rangers
(PENGUINS IN 5)
#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #3 Detroit Red Wings
Season Series: Season series tied 2-2-0
October 13, 2015: Detroit Red Wings 3, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
November 3, 2015: Detroit Red Wings 2, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
February 3, 2016: Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Detroit Red Wings 1
March 22, 2016: Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Detroit Red Wings 2
Players to Watch:
Tampa Bay: Ben Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Victor Hedman, Jonathan Drouin
Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Brad Richards, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar
X-Factor:
Tampa Bay: Ben Bishop
Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk
Team Leaders:
Goals: Steven Stamkos - 36 (TBL), Dylan Larkin - 23 (DET)
Assists: Victor Hedman - 37 (TBL), Henrik Zetterberg - 37 (DET)
Points: Nikita Kucherov - 66 (TBL), Henrik Zetterberg - 50 (DET)
Wins: Ben Bishop - 35 (TBL), Petr Mrazek - 27 (DET)
Shutouts: Ben Bishop - 6 (TBL), Petr Mrazek - 4 (DET)
Series Notes:
-The biggest storyline heading into this series (and probably in the NHL right now) is the recent injury to Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos, who will miss 1-3 month with a blood clot in his arm. Stamkos is likely done for the season and possibly in Tampa Bay for good.
-With the injury to Stamkos, the Lightning will rely heavily on the Triplets line of Ondrej Palat-Tyler Johnson-Nikita Kucherov.
-Not only is Stamkos hurt, but Anton Stralman is out with a broken leg too. That means Victor Hedman needs to lead the way on defense.
-The Jonathan Drouin saga was one of the weirdest in the NHL this season, and even weirder when he was called up after the Stamkos injury. Will be interesting to watch his impact in this series, I'm definitely rooting for him.
-Ben Bishop was one of the best goalies in the NHL this season and will likely get nominated for the Vezina. He needs to be at his best for the Lightning to win
-The Red Wings enter this series having extended their playoff streak to a ridiculous 25 years.
-Biggest storyline to watch for the Red Wings is the final playoffs for Pavel Datsyuk in the NHL, as he will return to Russia and join the KHL next year. This has been rumoured for years and isn't a surprise, but it's definitely sad to see the Magic man leave.
-The Red Wings need Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to be at their best in this series.
-Look for the young Red Wings forwards to make an impact, especially Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist.
-The Red Wings added Brad Richards to bring experience for the playoffs, it will be interesting to see how he performs.
-The Red Wings need offense out of Niklas Kronwall and Mike Green to match the Lightning defense.
-Petr Mrazek looked like he was the #1 goalie for the majority of the season, but he struggled down the stretch and Jimmy Howard found his game again. Looks like Howard will get the start initially, but I wouldn't be surprised if Mrazek get's in the net at some point.
Prediction: For the 2nd year in a row the Lightning and Red Wings face off in the first round. Even with the injury to Steven Stamkos, I feel the Lightning are the better team here and will beat the Red Wings in this series
(LIGHTNING IN 6)
This would have Washington, Florida, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay moving on to the next round. The match ups would be as follows:
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #2 Pittsburgh Penguins
#1 Florida Panthers vs. #2 Tampa Bay Lightning
Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
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