First Round Playoff Preview:
Eastern Conference
(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs (8) Washington Capitals
The Flyers have been nothing short of remarkable since making the playoffs in 2030 and that amazing Stanley Cup run. This year even without a GM it was no different as the Flyers land the first seed in this years Eastern Conference and even tied the loaded Preds with 114 points at the top of the league. This first round will not be easy for them as they are facing the best 8 seed the East has seen in TWELVE years as the Capitals finished with a whopping 90 points. Many know that this 1 vs 8 is not like many we've seen in the past as Washington has a real chance to upset here. This series is going to come down to Igor and Kakko as if they take over the series I don't think the Flyers will be able to pull off four wins.
(2) Montreal Canadiens vs (7) Boston Bruins
The Canadiens have done it again winning the Atlantic Division just after only being one year removed. A big help was the league's leading point scorer in Michael Dal Colle who has had two straight years at the top of the league and easily cements himself as a Top 5 player currently in the league. With the postseason success that the Canadiens have had in their history under GM Walsh it will be a difficult task for the Bruins to pull off. Boston however has a ton of star power on their side and dual-headed goalie tandem that can propel them. The X-Factor in this series is special teams as the Canadiens have the 3rd best PP in the league and the Bruins have the 27th, while both PK units were in the bottom half of the league.
(3) Columbus Blue Jackets vs (6) Pittsburgh Penguins
What a fun matchup here with the Defending Cup Champions playing an organization who has an incredible season after three years of missing the playoffs. The two teams battled in their four matchups which saw an even 2-2 split. Now we know how unbelievable the Blue Jackets defense is but what they saw in their regular season matchups is that Jack Hughes is capable of taking over a game at any point. This series in my opinion will be much closer than many think and the X-Factor once again is the special teams as the two teams are completely flip-flopped. The Penguins have the 5th best PP but not the strongest PK unit and the Blue Jackets are the exact opposite, so this series will really come down to which side prevails.
(4) Detroit Red Wings vs (5) Tampa Bay Lightning
Two teams that can score quite a bit of goals thanks to their young guns and some veteran help. This series I fully expect the over of 5.5 to hit almost every single game. We have two premier young former first overall picks going at it with Roope Hintz and Connor Bedard who both had absolutely incredible seasons for each of their teams. The season series saw the Lightning win all four matchups pretty convincingly as Bedard collected 3 goals with 2 helpers in the games. But I would not let that season series fully distort you from how good this Red Wings team is. There is scoring on all four lines and this team had the best special teams with their PP ranking 1st and their PK ranking 5th in the entire league.
Western Conference
(1) Nashville Predators vs (8) Vancouver Canucks
A matchup far too familiar as its a rematch from last year's first round matchup which feature the dynasty of the Nashville Predators against the versatile Canucks. Its a difficult matchup for the Canucks facing this Nashville team that finds themselves in the 1 seed year after year but the Canucks are different then years past. They're younger and much faster, the team saw Bo Horvat eclipse the 40 goal mark for the first time in his career and don't want the celebrating to end there. Granted Nashville lost some talent this past offseason but if Vancouver wants any chance The Great Dubinsky has to get neutralized.
(2) Los Angeles Kings vs (7) Arizona Coyotes
This is definitely the wildcard matchup of the first round as it is very hard to predict. The Kings are filled with star studded talent including Jack Eichel's 73 point year while the Coyotes have incredible death and have been riding the hot hand of Cayden Primeau this season who has played phenomenal. I truly have no idea which side to lean on but I do think this series fully depends on Primeau and if he struggles will GM Ken Knoph rely back to his longtime tender Anders Lindback.
(3) Minnesota Wild vs (6) Chicago Blackhawks
The newly managed Wild rise back to their stardom and still Patrick Kane is on the squad. Now the Minnesota Wild have a completely different roster than this point in our last season and it's thanks to their new GM Erickson who also went out and picked up former MVP Quinton Howden at the deadline and truly have a star studded lineup now. The Blackhawks on the other hand have had a great roster every single year I've been in this league and this year is no different. But one thing I do know is even with these great rosters the Blackhawks have struggled greatly when it comes for the postseason. They are hoping new GM Cienfuegos can change what's been a very disappointing postseason history.
(4) Calgary Flames vs (5) Anaheim Ducks
We see the Ducks with back to back impressive seasons and the Flames in the same spot they always feel to be in. The Ducks have played good hockey this year and this offseason GM McGillivray will have quite a few decisions on his hands as quite a few big name players have expiring contracts. Nino has clearly brought out the most of the team the last few seasons and I expect nothing different this series. On the other side its the Flames who appear dangerous down the stretch that saw their deadline acquisition from the Stars, Clayton Keller put up 19 points in 15 games as a Flame. This team comes down to the same thing every year which is how long can Malcom Subban be hot for as I truly think if he's hot this Flames team can beat anyone.
12/17/2025 - 1063 words
