NHL Eastern Conference playoff capsules
Washington Capitals (55-19-8) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (40-27-15)Capitals leaders:
Niklas Backstrom (23-63-86) and Alex Ovechkin (33-36-69)
Braden Holtby (.925, 2.07)
Maple Leafs leaders:
Auston Matthews (40-29-69) and James van Riemsdyk (29-33-62)
Frederik Andersen (.918, 2.67)
The skinny: The Maple Leafs, led by dynamic rookie Auston Matthews, claimed just their second playoff berth since 2004. This is a balanced team as five players have 60 or more points. … Washington won its second straight Presidents' Trophy by amassing 118 points. With the firepower Ovechkin, Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, a D-man like Kevin Shattenkirk joining the Caps at the trade deadline and Braden Holtby in net, this will be one difficult team to eliminate.
Prediction: Capitals in 6.
Montreal Canadiens (47-26-9) vs. New York Rangers (48-28-6)Canadiens leaders:
Max Pacioretty (35-32-67); Carey Price (.923, 2.23)
Rangers leaders:
Mats Zuccarello (15-44-59) and J.T. Miller (22-34-56)
Henrik Lundqvist (.910, 2.74)
The skinny: The Canadiens' reward for winning the Atlantic Division is date with a Rangers team that has just 1 fewer point than they do. Montreal is 16-6-1 since Claude Julien took over as coach and is led by all-world goaltender Carey Price. Former Blackhawk Andrew Shaw didn't have a great season in Montreal, finishing with just 12 goals and 17 assists.
Prediction: Canadiens in 7.
Pittsburgh Penguins (50-21-11) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (50-24-8)Penguins leaders:
Sidney Crosby (44-45-89) and Evegni Malkin (33-39-72)
Matt Murray (.923, 2.41)
Blue Jackets leaders:
Cam Atkinson (35-27-62), Alexander Wennberg (13-46-59) and Brandon Saad (24-29-53)
Sergei Bobrovsky (.931, 2.06)
The skinny: Losing top defenseman Kris Letang (neck) for 4-6 months means Pittsburgh is already behind the 8-ball in trying to become the first team to repeat as champion since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings. Pittsburgh is still loaded, but winning another title won't be easy without Letang. … The Blue Jackets surprised the league with a fantastic season that included a 16-game winning streak, but they area also banged up and may be without D-men Zach Werenski and Ryan Murray.
Prediction: Penguins in 6
Ottawa Senators (44-28-10) vs. Boston Bruins (44-31-7)Senators leaders:
Erik Karlsson (17-54-71), Mike Hoffman (26-35-61) and Kyle Turris (27-28-55)
Craig Anderson (.926, 2.28)
Bruins leaders:
Brad Marchand (39-46-85) and David Pastrnak (34-36-70)
Tuukka Rask (.915, 2.23)
The skinny: Boston caught a huge break when Toronto fell to Columbus on Sunday. That meant the Bruins stayed in third place in the Atlantic Division and earned them a date with the Senators instead of the Capitals. … Ottawa sports almost no big-name players, and wins with defense and goaltending. The Senators beat the Bruins in all four meetings this year, but they also went just 5-6-4 in their last 15 games.
Prediction: Senators in 7
- John Dietz
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John Dietz's preseason predictions:
Western Conference final: Blackhawks over Ducks
Eastern Conference final: Canadiens over Capitals
Stanley Cup Final: Blackhawks over Canadiens