Playoff Preview - Eastern Conference

There will be a new Stanley Cup champion crowned in June, with sixteen NHL teams battling for hockey's ultimate trophy. Get primed for the Stanley Cup playoffs with TSN.ca's postseason preview of each Eastern Conference first-round series matchup.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators

There may not be a more magical story from the 2014-2015 NHL season than the Ottawa Senators, dead in the water six weeks ago and driving to a playoff berth on the back of third-string goaltender Andrew Hammond, who had been struggling in the AHL. But it hasn’t just been a miraculous run of goaltending; the Sens have improved their possession numbers under new head coach Dave Cameron and the development of rookie forwards Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman played a big part in Ottawa’s playoff push.

The Senators were 3-1 head-to-head against Montreal this season, but the Canadiens are the higher seed after winning the Atlantic Division with 110 points. Both teams have superstar defencemen (Karlsson vs. Subban) that can control play and the one that does it better could make the difference.

The Habs have the worst possession stats of any Eastern Conference playoff team, but they have an elite goal-scorer (Pacioretty) and they’ve been able to rely on Carey Price to overcome any shot deficits; the question is whether Price’s pedigree is enough to give the Canadiens a real goaltending advantage in a seven-game series. - By Scott Cullen

Season Series

Travis Yost's Analytic Storyline

Perhaps more important than Ottawa's 3-1-0 record against Montreal this year? Their 5-on-5 dominance in those games. Ottawa enjoyed 53 per cent of possession and 58 per cent of the scoring chances in their four match-ups this season.

Craig Button's Pick

With Carey Price, the Habs have the best goals against in the league and we saw how that worked for the Kings last spring. They have great success when they score first and only Washington was better in that regard. The Senators aren't about about any one player, but about a group and the momentum would seem to favour them. But the MVP is on Montreal's side and they advance.

Canadiens' Injuries: D Tom Gilbert, upper body (day-to-day), LW Max Pacioretty, upper body (day-to-day)

Senators' Injuries: D Chris Phillips, undisclosed (indefinitely)

New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Rangers were close last season, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final. And they have a team that has a legitimate chance to return to the Final this season. To last year’s not-quite-ready squad, they added rookie centre Kevin Hayes and made a deadline deal for puck-moving defenceman Keith Yandle.

The Rangers were 3-0-1 against the Penguins this season and the Penguins are fighting an uphill battle due to injuries, especially on defence. While the Rangers could be missing Kevin Klein, the Penguins are without at least Kris Letang and Olli Maatta while Christian Ehrhoff has played just six games since the beginning of February. That personnel issue on the blueline is going to be the biggest challenge for the Penguins to overcome, but it’s not the only one, because they’re also not getting enough production from forwards aside from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

On the plus side for the Penguins, they have better possession numbers than the Rangers, but it’s not unreasonable for the Blueshirts to expect a goaltending edge (Lundqvist vs. Fleury) to be enough to make the difference tin his series. - By Scott Cullen

Season Series

Travis Yost's Analytic Storyline

A classic depth vs. power battle. The Penguins enjoy about 58 per cent of the goals with their top line on the ice, but see that number slip to 49.4 per cent when he comes off. The Rangers, on the other hand, still see 54.1 per cent of the goals when their top line is off of the ice.

Craig Button's Pick

The Rangers are the only team in the NHL that is Top 3 in goals for and goals against. Meanwhile, the Penguins limp into the playoffs having gone 3-5-2 in their last ten games and their penalty killing and save percentage were near the bottom as well. The Rangers are just too much for the Penguins.

Rangers' Injuries: D Kevin Klein, arm (day-to-day)

Penguins' Injuries: LW Pascal Dupuis, blood clots (out), D Olli Maatta, shoulder (out), D Christian Ehrhoff, upper body (day-to-day), D Kris Letang, concussion (out), D Derrick Pouliot, upper body (day-to-day)

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings legend and Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman gets to have his current team face the team for which he starred as a player. Tampa Bay was 3-1 against Detroit this season, with a shootout win included. Both teams have strong possession stats, over 53 per cent of shot attempts at 5-on-5, though both slipped some late in the season.

The Lightning’s Triplets (second-year forwards Palat, Johnson and Kucherov) have proven to be daunting matchup for opponents, and it gives the Lightning some flexibility in how they use Steven Stamkos’ line. A more pressing concern for Tampa Bay has been getting healthy on the blueline. They could start the playoffs without Jason Garrison and Andrej Sustr, but Braydon Coburn is set to return after getting hurt in his fourth game after he was acquired from the Flyers at the deadline.

Detroit is in the playoffs for the 24th straight year and they have enough talent that they could cause the Lightning problems. Veterans Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg remain productive and Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist are emerging offensive talents, so they may be able to score enough to keep pace. Goaltending (Bishop vs. Howard) will likely make a difference and it’s not inconceivable that the backups (Vasilevskiy vs. Mrazek) could be required at some point in the series. - By Scott Cullen

Season Series

Travis Yost's Analytic Storyline

Tampa Bay comes into the postseason with perhaps the league's most dominant even-strength offense (first in goals at 2.75 per 60; eighth in shot attempts at 55.9/60). If there's one team that can slow this relentless attack down, it's perhaps Detroit. The Red Wings finished the year tops in the league at shot-suppression, conceding just 45.9 attempts per game.

Craig Button's Pick

The Lightning were the highest scoring team in the NHL and Ben Bishop begins the playoffs healthy. Detroit were a .500 team for most of the second half with some inconsistent goaltending. A healthy Steven Stamkos and Bishop and the presence of one of the NHL's best lines in Palat, Johnson and Kucherov is too much for the Winged Wheel.

Lightning Injuries: D Jason Garrison, upper body (not ready for start of playoffs), D Andrej Sustr, upper body (day-to-day)

Red Wings' Injuries: RW Johan Franzen, concussion (out), LW Erik Cole, spinal cord (out), LW Justin Abdelkader, hand (day-to-day)

Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders

The Capitals' underwhelming playoff record has led to a series of coaching changes and vociferous criticism of Alexander Ovechkin despite one of the better scoring records in playoff history. That's why Barry Trotz was brought in - to transform the Capitals into a team that could win in the playoffs and Ovechkin into a responsible player. Trotz has accomplished the latter (for the most part), but can he accomplish the second starting with the Capitals' first round showdown with the Islanders?

Washington was 2-0-2 vs. the Islanders during the regular season. Their series represents the only match-up of teams who both missed the playoffs last season and one of the closest match-ups on paper.

To be determined is how it plays out on ice. Washington has the edge in goaltending (Holtby vs. Halak) while the two teams are virtually even steven in superstars (Ovi vs. Tavares), 5-on-5 scoring and possession. The Caps have a definitive edge on the power play – scoring on a league-high one out of every four chances - and the Islanders wield a similar edge. Both teams are among the league's most improved possession teams, each upgrading to the 52-53 per cent range. So, what could the difference be between a pair of teams separated by overtime goals and a shootout goal in three of their regular season meetings? - By Scott Cullen

Season Series

Travis Yost's Analytic Storyline

Craig Button's Pick

The Islanders generate opportunities, don't take a lot of penalties and Jaroslave Halak has been a key to their turnaround. Braden Holtby is the forgotten goalie this season with the second-most wins, Top 5 in goals against and Top 10 in save percentage. Holtby should be the difference in this series as the Caps advance.

Capitals' Injuries: RW Tom Wilson, head (day-to-day)

Islanders' Injuries: C Mikhail Grabovski, concussion (day-to-day), D Travis Hamonic, lower body (indefinitely)