Tampa enters the postseason as possibly the favorite to come out of the East but a key blueline injury could derail their hopes. Carolina looks go to one step beyond last year and make it to the Stanley Cup Final while several other teams are also in the mix.
Playoff Power Rankings
1. Colorado Avalanche
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Dallas Stars
4. Carolina Hurricanes
5. Vegas Golden Knights
6. Minnesota Wild
7. Montreal Canadiens
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Utah Mammoth
10. Buffalo Sabres
11. Boston Bruins
12. Pittsburgh Penguins
13. Philadelphia Flyers
14. Los Angeles Kings
15. Ottawa Senators
16. Anaheim Ducks
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Main players to target: Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Darren Raddysh
Secondary players to target: Anthony Cirelli, Corey Perry, Gage Goncalves, Victor Hedman (health dependent)
Mid-season, the Lightning looked like they would cruise to another division title. Instead, Buffalo rose from the ashes, winning the Atlantic Division, pushing Tampa into second place and a first-round matchup with Montreal. The Lightning could run the table, as we believe will happen, but an initial round bow out would not be shocking either for a team that last won a round when the won the Cup in 2022.
Tampa has firepower up front and a high-scoring blueliner. However, the latter is Darren Raddysh, who has more than ably stepped in for Victor Hedman, limited to just 33 games by injury. A big postseason would help Raddysh earn a big contract in free agency. The other wild card is Brayden Point, whose production and games played fell for the third straight season, though this one was precipitous.
All the elements, including an elite goalie are in place for a long run. But injuries and the absence of key players could change the equation.
Carolina Hurricanes:
Main players to target: Sebastian Aho, Nikolaj Ehlers, Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis, Shayne Gostisbehere
Secondary players to target: Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, K'Andre Miller, Jordan Staal, Alexander Nikishin
The Hurricanes took a step forward last season, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals. This regular season, they enter the playoffs as the top seed in the East. Can they get to the Stanley Cup Finals is the remaining question.
Carolina recognized they needed secondary scoring and another puck-moving defensemen after last year's run. The Hurricanes signed Nikolaj Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million contract with Ehlers proceeding to have a career-best campaign (26 goals, 45 assists). Carolina also did a sign and-trade with the Rangers for K'Andre Miller, who is locked up for eight seasons, to help their blue line. In addition, Alexander Nikishin played his first full campaign with the Canes, lengthening their blueline. That depth will be needed, especially in the first round versus an Ottawa team that clamps down defensively, limiting shots and quality chances.
One question exists coming into the playoffs: who is the goalie. Will it be Brandon Bussi, who saved the team this season after coming off the scrap heap? Does Carolina turn to Frederik Andersen or will it be Pyotr Kochetkov, healthy after missing four months with a hip injury? The answer to this question may define the team's playoffs hopes.
Montreal Canadiens:
Main players to target: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson
Secondary players to target: Oliver Kapanen, Zachary Bolduc, Noah Dobson (health permitting), Mike Matheson
Montreal took steps forward last season under coach Martin St. Louis and built on those strides made to finished with Tampa for second in the Atlantic Division. The Habs get the Lightning in the first round and go in as an underdog, but have shown they belong.
The Canadiens' top line of Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky is elite. Ivan Demidov should finish in the top-three of the Calder Trophy voting as best rookie while Lane Hutson built off his Calder winning season to be even better. Secondary scoring will be key for Montreal with Alex Newhook, who returned last in the season from his injury, a possible difference maker.
Where Montreal is affected entering the postseason is on the blueline. The likely absence of Noah Dobson is a major difference maker on the back line, putting pressure on Arber Xhekaj and others. David Reinbacher dressed for his first ever game in the season finale and could start Game 1 against Tampa. If the blueline holds up, Jakob Dobes has shown he can be a #1 netminder with Jacob Fowler next in line if needed.
Buffalo Sabres:
Main players to target: Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin
Secondary players to target: Ryan McLeod, Josh Doan, Jack Quinn, Jason Zucker, Josh Norris, Zach Benson, Bowen Byram, Mattias Samuelsson
The odds you could have gotten around the end of 2025 for Buffalo making the playoffs and winning their division certainly paid out well for anyone who took advantage. For 14 straight seasons, the Sabres were on the outside looking in. This season, they rallied following a GM change to bust that door down and crash the party.
Up front Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, a pending UFA, are the key scorers. But as seen from the list of secondary players to target, Buffalo has several players who stepped up to provide production. One name to keep in mind is Josh Norris, who closed the season on a six-game point streak and played every game from the Olympics break on. Sam Carrick and Noah Ostlund may miss all of the first round, impacting the team's bottom-six, especially on the penalty kill with Carrick out.
Rasmus Dahlin played through the personal issues he had to rack up a career-high 74 points. Bowen Byram and Mattias Samuelsson contributed offensively with Owen Power a solid fourth d-man. The team's third pair leaves a little to be desired so expect these four to see major minutes. If Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen plays as he did during the regular season, a deep run could happen.
Boston Bruins:
Main players to target: David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, Charlie McAvoy
Secondary players to target: Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, Fraser Minten
Boston's "rebuild" went a lot faster than expected, returning to the playoffs after short absence. This is a top heavy team, relying heavily on production from Pastrnak, who hit 100 points again in the season finale, Geekie, showing last year's goal production was no fluke, and Zacha, setting a new career high in points. Viktor Arvidsson proved to be a wise acquisition, providing the Bruins what he was unable to give the Oilers, secondary scoring.
Two wild cards up front are Elias Lindholm, who had a solid season despite missing 13 games, and James Hagels, last year's seventh overall pick, who played two contests at the end of the season after signing his ELC following his sophomore campaign at Boston College. The Bruins will need one or both to produce to have a shot at defeating the Sabres and moving forward.
Charlie McAvoy's face was a puck magnet. Despite missing nearly a month after breaking his jaw when a puck deflected into his face, McAvoy posted a career-best 61 points in 69 games, dealing with bumps and bruises throughout. Nikita Zadorov posted 196 hits and 102 blocked shots as a physical presence from the blueline. The rest of the defense is okay, not elite, and will be under pressure from Buffalo's scorers.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Main players to target: Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary players to target: Anthony Mantha, Rickard Rakell, Egor Chinakov, Ben Kindel, Kris Letang
Heading into 2025-26, one main question is would Pittsburgh deal Sidney Crosby as they were not expected to contend. New coach Don Muse did a tremendous job putting in a new system, getting a veteran laden team onboard. The end result was a surprising playoff berth and Battle of Pennsylvania in round one versus the Flyers.
Crosby extended his career stretch of scoring a point-per-game, leading the team despite missing time with an injury. Evgeni Malkin got off to a red hot start before being sidelined a month with an injury, though he did finish the season strong. Keeping with the injury absence theme, Rickard Rakell missed six weeks early on, but still potted 24 goals in 60 games. Bryan Rust may have been the most consistent producer, notching 65 points for the second straight season in 72 contests.
Kyle Dubas' acquisition of Egor Chinakhov from Columbus proved to be key, as he posted 18 goals and 18 assists in 43 appearances. Ben Kindel, drafted last year, wore down midseason and limped to the finish. Anthony Mantha signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Penguins last July and proceeded to deliver career highs in goals (33), assists (31) and points (64) while tying his high mark in power-play points (13). If he has a hot playoffs, Pittsburgh will be a vastly more dangerous team.
On the blue line. Erik Karlsson may have had one of his finest seasons overall. He closed strong, recording 10 multi-point games over his last 18 outings, producing a combined nine goals and 17 assists, including nine power-play points. Kris Letang has substantial playoff experience but his production has tailed off. Samuel Girard should see major minutes from the blueline. Pittsburgh's key question is who will be in net: Stuart Skinner or Arturs Silovs and can either provide consistent netminding.
Philadelphia Flyers:
Main players to target: Travis Konecny, Christian Dvorak, Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett, Matvei Michkov
Secondary players to target: Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, Travis Sanheim
The East is raft with teams earning surprising playoff berths, Philly is one of those squads. Philadelphia received better than expected netminding from Dan Vladar bolstered by a defensive system that prevents scoring chances and expected goals to earn the third seed in the Metro Division. Their reward is the first Battle of Pennsylvania since the 2018 first round won that year by the Penguins in six games.
Travis Zegras' arrival gave the Flyers a true gamebreaker and he rebuilt his reputation by tallying 67 points. In addition, Philly brought in Christian Dvorak, who parlayed a career-high 51 points into a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension with the Flyers in January. Those two along with Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett did much of the offensive work with Matvei Michkov slumping in his second season.
Michkov found his game late and heads into the playoffs on a roll. Couple his hot streak with the return of Tyson Foerster from injury and Porter Martone off the Michigan State campus, and you have a deeper forward squad than much of the season. Don't look past Noah Cates, who matches up against the opposition's top scoring line and found a way to contribute 47 points.
Travis Sanheim is the team's best overall d-man and Philly gets back Rasmus Ristolainen for the playoffs. This is a defense greater than the sum of its parts, jelling as a unit during the season. If Philly gets past the Penguins, a run would not be shocking.
Ottawa Senators:
Main players to target: Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Cozens, Jake Sanderson
Secondary players to target: Claude Giroux, Shane Pinto, Thomas Chabot
Ottawa slid into the playoffs as the eighth seed, slightly besting several teams on their heels. The Senators received a brilliant season from Sanderson, who has become their #1 blueliner, and usual production from Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson, who quietly has increased his production five straight full seasons. Brady Tkachuk missed 20 games early in the season with a thumb injury, finishing with 59 points in 60 contests.
The Senators received decent secondary production from Dylan Cozens, a career-best season, Claude Giroux, who has slowed, and Shane Pinto, the team's third line center. That production will be key for Ottawa to have any shot against Carolina. What gives them a real chance is their blueline and attention to defense overall.
Jordan Spence is a fine, two-way player while Artem Zub will be matched up as a shutdown option against any team's first line. Thomas Chabot returned very early from a fractured arm, so keep an eye on his play. Those three and Sanderson will log heavy minutes. Linus Ullmark. may need to stand on his head for Ottawa to advance.
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