(1) New York Rangers vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
The Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy for the first time since 1994 and did so despite not having Henrik Lundqvist for a few weeks. Rick Nash finally started to show the scoring touch that has been absent since his Columbus days, but now, he must continue that in the playoffs. Lundqvist will still likely be kicking off some rust, but the Rangers will be fine in goal. The Penguins needed a win at Buffalo on the last day to make the playoffs, and with some injuries to players like Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist, plus periods of an offensive power outage, it's hard to believe this was the Penguins team that could waltz into the playoffs in previous years.
Prediction: Rangers in 5
(2) Washington Capitals vs. (3) New York Islanders
The Capitals didn't miss a beat when it came to where the offense would come from, as Alex Ovechkin once again claimed the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals in a season. However, it finally seems that the Caps have found some semblance of secondary scoring and their defense has gotten better, as Braden Holtby has taken a firm hold of the starting goaltender job in Washington. The Islanders started off hot, but tailed off badly towards the end, barely getting in on the last week of the season. John Tavares is the engine that makes everything go, but Jaroslav Halak needs to rediscover his first half magic or else the Islanders will be going home early.
Prediction: Capitals in 6
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Ottawa Senators
The Canadiens rode the stellar goaltending of Carey Price to this spot, and there is no reason to believe that the Canadiens' chances of winning it all won't be on his shoulders once again. While the team in front of him is solid, there isn't an outstanding offensive force that can take over games and take some of the pressure off of Price. The Senators were out of the playoff picture as recently as six weeks ago, yet thanks to the heroics of then-unknown Andrew Hammond, the Senators find themselves here. The run they needed to make is not sustainable, but then again, there just might be some magic left in the Sens, and players such as Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, and Bobby Ryan will be leading the way.
Prediction: Canadiens in 7
(2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings
The Lightning are led by the usual suspects (i.e. Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop), but it has been the likes of Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov that have stepped up and given the Lightning a greater offensive punch. Defensively, they've held it together despite injuries to top defenseman Victor Hedman. The Red Wings are in the playoffs for the 24th time in a row, but their stay may not be a long one, as goaltending is not as strong as it has been, as Petr Mrazek looks like he may be starting the first game of the series. This may be more of an indictment of Jimmy Howard's troubles in recent games. For the Wings to win, they need their reliable players such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Gustav Nyquist to be the leaders on offense and compensate for a merely average defensive unit.
Prediction: Lightning in 4
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