The opening round of the NHL postseason will feature a matchup between two franchises that haven't won a single playoff series since 1996, as the Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers take on the New York Islanders.
Florida took the first two meetings between the squads this season, but the Islanders won their most recent game less than a month ago.
A battle between Jaromir Jagr and John Tavares should make for an entertaining series.
| Panthers | Statistic | Islanders |
|---|---|---|
| 103 | Points | 100 |
| 2.83 (8th) | Goals per game | 2.77 (11th) |
| 2.44 (7th) | Goals against | 2.57 (13th) |
| 16.9% (23rd) | Power play | 18.3% (17th) |
| 79.5 (24th) | Penalty kill | 84.5% (4th) |
| 48.7% (20th) | Corsi | 49.5% (18th) |
| 8.8% (2nd) | 5-on-5 SH% | 8.1% (6th) |
| 93.2% (3rd) | 5-on-5 SV% | 92.6% (15th) |
| Jagr: 66 | Leading scorer | Tavares: 70 |
Roberto Luongo
One of the biggest keys to the young Panthers' rise this season has been the presence of their veteran goaltender - who, in his first-ever playoff series in Florida, will face the team that drafted him fourth overall in 1997.
After being traded by the Islanders, Luongo rose to stardom from 2000-06 in his first stint with the Panthers, but was never able to reach the postseason until moving to Vancouver.
Now with a Stanley Cup Final run under his belt, the 37-year-old will be leaned on heavily, but Florida should feel good about the veteran's .931 save percentage against the Islanders this season.
Brian Campbell
While appearing in his 1,000th NHL game earlier this week, the 36-year-old defenseman also set a franchise record by playing his 375th consecutive game with the Panthers.
Campbell, who led his team in ice time this season, will skate beside 20-year-old Aaron Ekblad through the first playoff series of his career, while anchoring their power-play unit against one of the league's top penalty-killing teams.
"He's reliable every night," head coach Gerard Gallant raved prior to game No. 1,000 and his consistency will be key on a blue line where every other defenseman - outside injured captain Willie Mitchell - is under 30.
John Tavares
A first-round series victory may not mean more to a single player on either team than the 25-year-old center.
Set to make his third Stanley Cup playoffs appearance, Tavares has been productive with 11 points in 13 career postseason games, but a series win may be enough to convince Kyle Okposo - arguably the most talented linemate he's ever had - to remain in Brooklyn with his unrestricted free agency pending.
He's entering the playoffs in incredible form with nine points in his past four games and 12 in his last seven, and no player can make more of a difference at the offensive end than the Islanders captain.
| Date | Time (ET) | Location | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu. April 14 | 8 p.m. | Florida | CNBC/Sportsnet/TVA |
| Fri. April 15 | 7:30 p.m. | Florida | NHL Network/SN360/TVA |
| Sun. April 17 | 8 p.m. | New York | NBCSN/Sportsnet/TVA |
| Wed. April 20 | 8 p.m. | New York | USA/Sportsnet/TVA |
| Fri. April 22* | TBD | Florida | TBD |
| Sun. April 24* | TBD | New York | TBD |
| Tues. April 26* | TBD | Florida | TBD |
*If necessary
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The Washington Capitals stormed out of the gate this season and never looked back, collecting their sixth division title in the last nine years.
With the regular season behind them they now take their fight to the postseason. A first-place finish in the Eastern Conference has pinned them against the Philadelphia Flyers an opponent that got the upper-hand in their last postseason meeting in 2008.
The Flyers will be no pushover this time around either, as the team managed to split the season series against the Capitals.
Alex Ovechkin continues to score at will and Braden Holtby just tied an NHL record, Flyers will need to push back and push back hard if they stand a fighting chance against the beast of the East.
| Capitals | Statistic | Flyers |
|---|---|---|
| 120 | Points | 96 |
| 3.02 (2nd) | Goals per game | 2.57 (22nd) |
| 2.33 (2nd) | Goals against | 2.56 (12) |
| 21.9% (5th) | Power play | 18.9% (11th) |
| 85.2% (2nd) | Penalty kill | 90.5% (20th) |
| 51% (14th) | Corsi | 50.6% (16th) |
| 8.3% (3rd) | 5-on-5 SH% | 7.1% (21st) |
| 92.9% (11th) | 5-on-5 SV% | 93.4% (1st) |
| Kuznetsov: 77 | Leading scorer | Giroux: 67 |
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Ovechkin will enter the postseason with a near point per game resume in playoff games and we shouldn't expect much less from the team's captain this time around.
So what will be key for the Capitals - as they look to prove this season's monstrous regular season was no fluke - is secondary scoring.
Though Evgeny Kuznetsov's production was far from secondary this season -leading the team with 57 assists and 77 points - the 23-year-old still largely occupies the team's second line.
Kuznetsov really began to turn heads last season once the playoffs began. After a mediocre regular season saw him amass just 11 goals and 37 points, he shared the team lead with five goals in the postseason.
He finished behind only Oveckin and Nicklas Backstrom on the team with 18 power play points and tied for the most overtime markers this season. He is young, but if he can once again elevate his game like he did last playoffs, he could be what makes the Capitals offense too much to handle.
Steve Mason
Steve Mason's playoff resume is short.
While the 27-year-old has 405 regular season games to his credit, his playoff workload includes just nine games.
In his two separate postseason appearances, Mason has failed to make it out of the first round. His first taste coming with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009 saw him rack up a dismal .878 save percentage and a 4.27 goals-against average.
However, turn the clocks ahead five years and his second instalment fared much better. In five games with the Flyers in 2014 Mason did all he could constructing a .939 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average.
The Flyers managed just the 24th most goals for this season so simply put, the pressure will be on for the team to keep the puck out.
The key will be what kind of Steve Mason will we see in the postseason, the 2009 edition or the much more impressive 2014 version.
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After the two franchises teamed up for an alumni game against the Chicago Blackhawks in February, the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild will be playoff opponents for the first time in the opening round of the postseason.
The Western Conference champion Stars took four of five regular-season meetings against the Wild, but three of those wins came in overtime.
The Wild are entering the playoffs winless in their past five games, with three of those losses coming against non-playoff teams.
| Stars | Statistic | Wild |
|---|---|---|
| 109 | Points | 87 |
| 3.23 (1st) | Goals per game | 2.60 (18th) |
| 2.78 (19th) | Goals against | 2.49 (9th) |
| 22.1 (5th) | Power play | 18.5 (15th) |
| 82.3 (10th) | Penalty kill | 77.9 (27th) |
| 52.6 (3rd) | Corsi | 47.9 (23rd) |
| 8.0 (7th) | 5-on-5 SH% | 7.6 (15th) |
| 91.7 (27th) | 5-on-5 SV% | 93.1 (6th) |
| Ja. Benn: 89 | Leading scorer | Koivu: 56 |
Jamie Benn
With Tyler Seguin's status for Game 1 still unknown, the Stars captain will have even more pressure on him to score.
Thankfully for Dallas, it just so happens the 26-year-old has more points against the Wild this season than against any other team, recording three goals, six assists, and a plus-6 rating over five games against the division rival.
The Stars don't lack for offensive depth with Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, and even defenseman John Klingberg - but Benn will be the key in powering the Stars through to the second round.
Kari Lehtonen/Antti Niemi
The biggest question mark surrounding the Central Division champs is goaltending, with the Stars allowing more goals this season than any other playoff team.
But both netminders finished their seasons with confidence as Lehtonen has won nine of his last 12 starts, while 2010 Cup winner Niemi has an impressive .942 save percentage in his last four.
They may not be too concerned as the Wild have scored just four times across four games since April 1, but whichever goalie is handed the No. 1 job will need to be sharp against Zach Parise and company.
Ryan Suter
Since signing with the Wild prior to the 2012-13 season, the veteran defenseman has averaged 28:43 of ice time per game - a full minute more than his nearest competitor, Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators.
Expect more of the same in the first round, as Suter averaged 31 minutes per game in five games against the Stars.
After matching or setting new career highs in goals (8), assists (43), and shots on goal (188) this season, it will be Suter's defensive play - tasked with shutting down the Stars' high-powered offense - that will be critical if the Wild hope to pull off the upset.
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Started from the bottom, now they're here. (Sorry.)
The Anaheim Ducks are Pacific Division champions. Again. The club locked up its fourth straight division crown - and fifth in franchise history - after beating the Washington Capitals 2-0 on Sunday. The Ducks finish with 103 points to the Los Angeles Kings' 102, a remarkable turn of events considering Anaheim's early-season struggles.
Ducks went 45-18-9 after starting the season 1-7-2.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) April 11, 2016
The Ducks lost only 10 of their final 49 games in regulation.
Anaheim will face the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs.
The Ducks also clinched the William Jennings Trophy on Sunday, finishing with 192 goals against. By scoring twice on the Capitals, Washington finished with 193 goals against.
Ducks also led NHL in PP percentage and PK percentage.
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) April 11, 2016
The division title is Bruce Boudreau's eighth as a head coach.
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The NHL regular season concluded Sunday with an Anaheim Ducks victory over the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals and with that, finalized the Pacific Division standings.
Here are the four first-round matchups:
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NEW YORK - Michael Raffl scored the tiebreaking goal early in the second period and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday night.
Evgeny Medvedev, Shayne Gostisbehere, Scott Laughton and R.J. Umberger also scored for the Flyers, who trailed 2-0 midway through the first period. Michal Neuvirth stopped 15 shots in the teams' season finale that was a game rescheduled from Jan. 23 due to a blizzard.
Nikolay Kulemin and Matt Martin scored for the Islanders, who finished with the Eastern Conference's top wild card and will face the Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs.
The Islanders' loss gave the crosstown-rival Rangers third place in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Both the Flyers and Islanders had already secured postseason berths and sat their stars. The Islanders were without a multitude of players, including their top line of John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. The Flyers, who will face Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington in the first round, sat forwards Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux, and defenseman Mark Streit.
Thomas Greiss started in goal for the Islanders and stopped seven of nine shots he faced in the first period. Christopher Gibson replaced him to start the second period and finished with 15 saves.
Raffl gave the Flyers the 3-2 lead as he took a centering pass from Laughton and wristed it past Gibson for his 13th at 6:38 of the second period.
The Islanders had a 5-on-3 for 17 seconds later in the second period, but couldn't take advantage.
Laughton scored on a snap shot from the left slot at 5:50 of the third to give Philadelphia a two-goal lead. Umberger capped the scoring with a power-play goal as he converted a rebound of Raffl's shot with 8:50 to go for his second of the season.
The Flyers finished 3 for 4 on the power play and the Islanders were 0 for 4.
Trailing 2-0 midway through the opening period, Gostisbehere got the Flyers on the board with a power-play goal with 8:45 left as he took a pass from Jakub Voracek and fired a shot through the five-hole on a screened Greiss for his 17th.
Just 7 seconds after a slashing penalty on Ross Johnston gave the Flyers a 5-on-3 advantage, they tied it as Medvedev sent a pass to the left side to Matt Read, who sent it back and Medvedev fired a one-timer through traffic for his fourth with 8 seconds left in the period.
Kulemin got the Islanders on the scoreboard first, taking a pass from Calvin de Haan, used some fancy stick work to get around two defenders and poke a backhand past Neuvirth for his ninth at 5:58.
Martin doubled the lead 3:21 later as he went toward the net and redirected a pass from Ryan Pulock past Neuvirth for his career-high 10th of the season. Pulock also had a secondary assist on Kulemin's goal for his first two career assists.
NOTES: The Islanders also scratched C Casey Cizikas, D Johnny Boychuk, D Brian Strait, D Nick Leddy, and G Jean-Francois Berube. D Travis Hamonic hasn't played since suffering an injury against Columbus on March 31, and C Anders Lee is out indefinitely with a broken fibula. ... Tavares finished the season leading the team in goals (33) and points (70), and Okposo was tops in assists (42). ... F Johnston was called up from Bridgeport of the AHL and made his NHL debut, a day after Brackin Kearns and Alan Quine were called up for their season debuts with New York. ... The teams split the first four games this season. The Islanders won 3-1 at home on Nov. 25 and 4-3 in a shootout at Philadelphia on Dec. 8. The Flyers won 4-0 at home on Jan. 9 and 4-1 here on March 21. ... The Flyers also sat C Sean Couturier and starting goalie Steve Mason. ... Simmonds led the Flyers with 32 goals, and Giroux was tops with 45 assists and 67 points.
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The Eastern Conference playoff matchups are now set as the regular season came to a close Sunday, with the New York Islanders' loss to the Philadelphia Flyers finalizing the Metropolitan Division standings.
Here's are the four first-round matchups:
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The Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning will meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season. The Lightning prevailed in seven games last year, but will face a Red Wings squad without two integral players - Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman.
The teams split the season series 2-2, with Tampa Bay winning the last two meetings in February and March.
These will be Pavel Datsyuk's final playoffs in the NHL, so here's to some magic happening.
| Lightning | Statistic | Red Wings |
|---|---|---|
| 97 | Points | 93 |
| 2.7 (12th) | Goals per game | 2.5 (22nd) |
| 2.4 (4th) | Goals against | 2.7 (17th) |
| 15.8% (28th) | Power play | 18.8% (12th) |
| 84% (7th) | Penalty kill | 81.6% (14th) |
| 52.2% (6th) | Corsi | 51.7% (9th) |
| 7.9% (8th) | 5-on-5 SH% | 7% (22nd) |
| 92.9% (10th) | 5-on-5 SV% | 92.6% (14th) |
| Kucherov: 66 | Leading scorer | Zetterberg: 50 |
Jimmy Howard
The Red Wings turned to Jimmy Howard down the stretch to run their consecutive playoff appearances streak to 25, and even though they scrapped in, it appears Howard's the man in the crease.
Make no mistake: Howard did not have a good season. He played only 37 games, his .906 save percentage the worst of his career. But he was big in April, posting a .916 in five big-game starts. Petr Mrazek, who saw the crease for the majority of the season, became the backup after a nightmare March that saw him record a 3.72 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage.
The biggest question facing the Red Wings: Can Howard get it done? He played only 20 minutes in last year's series, Mrazek carrying the load.
Tyler Johnson
Tyler Johnson's shooting percentage dropped from 14.3 percent to 8.4 percent this season, and he scored only 14 times after a career-high 29 goals in 2014-15. Without Stamkos, the onus is going to fall on Johnson to provide secondary scoring behind leading scorer Nikita Kucherov.
Johnson was brilliant in last year's playoffs, scoring 13 goals and adding 10 assists in 26 games as the Lightning marched to the Stanley Cup Final. He needs to do it again.
It's been a trying season, and Johnson was on the wrong end of a questionable cross-check in the Lightning's regular-season finale, so he could be hurting going into Game 1. Whether he overcomes, and whether he can put a disappointing 69 games behind him, will be a storyline to watch.
Jonathan Drouin
Jonathan Drouin's back, and scored in both games he played in after his recall. He logged 15:41 in his first game, and 19:27 in his second.
Drouin played in only six Lightning playoff games last season, going pointless and averaging only 10 minutes of ice per game. If he's given a top-six role this time around, and can contribute, perhaps the damaged relationship between the 21-year-old and his team can be repaired, after all.
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Pavel Datsyuk is going home.
The Detroit Red Wings center appears set to forego the final year of his contract, opting instead to return to his native Russia for family reasons.
"I'm thinking I go home after this season," he told Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press. "I may not be done with hockey, but - it is hard to say - I think I am done playing in NHL."
Datsyuk added he wanted to make the announcement sooner rather than later to avoid any distractions now that the team has clinched a playoff spot, especially following reports last week suggesting there was a legitimate chance he would leave the NHL.
"Because of the rumors out there, I wanted to clear this up now before the playoffs started so I can focus only on giving my best playoff performance," he said. "And I wanted the fans to hear it from me, not someone else."
The 38-year-old has one year and $5.5 million remaining on his contract, which carries a $7.5-million cap hit that will remain on Detroit's books since the deal was signed after he turned 35. The three-year pact is one that, in hindsight, Datsyuk wishes he hadn't signed.
"I feel very bad about it," the center said. "Looking back, I wish I had done a year-by-year contract, not a three-year contract. I stayed (last year) in respect for (team owners) the Ilitch family. I don't want to leave team in disaster. But if I have to do over again, I would sign a different deal. I didn't realize it at the time."
Datsyuk's agent later corroborated his client's statement:
Just spoke w/Datsyuk's agent @danmilstein who confirmed report. Plan is for Datsyuk to meet w/Holland & Ilitch family after season. (con't)
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) April 10, 2016
He said this is very personal for Datsyuk who will do anything to help the Red Wings in any way possible to help with the cap charge, etc.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) April 10, 2016
The Red Wings clinched their 25th consecutive playoff spot Saturday, and will face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round, meaning Datsyuk has at least two games remaining at Joe Louis Arena.
Detroit's sixth-round pick in 1998, Datsyuk has appeared in 953 regular-season games with the Red Wings, recording 314 goals and 604 assists. He's also won two Stanley Cups and the Selke Trophy three times.
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