NHL Stanley Cup playoffs first round preview

After 82 games in a gruelling regular campaign, we have reached the time of the season for the NHL play-offs.

Sixteen teams will fight for the right to reach the coveted prize of the Stanley Cup. Eight from the Eastern Division and eight from the Western Division will start the long road to the Stanley Cup finals when the First Round starts on Monday.

In the Eastern Conference, Florida Panthers will face the Washington Capitals. If Alexander Ovechkin is fit for the Capitals, this will; improve their chances of progressing to the next round.

The brilliant Ovechkin missed the last three games of the regular season with an upper-body injury, but Washington hopes he will be for the play-offs.

However, the Panthers won the President’s Trophy and had an excellent 82 game record of 58-18-6. They will be a tough side to stop.

Toronto Maple Leafs are up against the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in their matchup. The Leafs haven’t been regular visitors to the end of season play-offs for some time but they have plenty of firepower up front and are a side who are considered to be challenging to play against.

The Lightning comes into this series in good form and with Steven Stamkos in a rich vein of form with 10 goals and 16 assists in his last nine games, this could be a very tight series.

The Carolina Hurricanes are up against the Boston Bruins. The Canes had a wonderful season, winning their division and are a side to be reckoned with. However, they face a big problem going into the play-offs with goaltender Frederik Anderson struggling with an injury. He has been instrumental in Canes reaching the play-offs and will be a massive loss to them if he fails to make the series.

Bruins qualified as a wild card, but do not be fooled by that position as they have the experience of being in the play-offs on a regular basis. They have plenty of firepower up front and are solid in defence.

An intriguing series will see the New York Rangers up against the Pittsburgh Penguins. New York dominated the regular series 3-1, so they will be fancied to progress further.

Pittsburgh have suffered a blow going into the series with netminder Tristan Jarry struggling with an injury.

The Colorado Avalanche are up against the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference. On paper, this looks like a comfortable win for the Avalanche against a Predators side that have done well to qualify.

Avalanche will welcome back captain Gabriel Landeskoug at some point shortly, which will be a big plus for them. However, they should have too much for the Predators.

Minnesota Wild will face the St. Louis Blues in a divisional battle that could go either way. Both sides have a reputation for being very physical, so expect plenty of penalty-filled encounters in the series.

Dallas Stars will face the Calgary Flames, with the Stars fighting for a while to reach the play-offs. Flames look very strong in all areas and should progress into the next round.

The final match up in the Western Conference is already being dubbed the Wayne Gretzky series, as the great one was a massive star for both sides.

Kings look to have the edge in the goaltending department, but the Oilers high powered offence will be difficult to stop.

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