Tampa tops East, postseason on tap
With the Boston Bruins unable to earn a win over an opponent that had nothing at stake on Sunday, the final piece of the NHL playoff picture fell into place.
The Bruins would have won the Atlantic Division and posted the Eastern Conference’s best record with a win over Florida in a makeup game Sunday night at Boston. Instead, the Panthers, who were eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday, earned a 4-2 victory, allowing the idle Tampa Bay Lightning to emerge with the division crown.
Tampa Bay will face the East’s No. 2 wild-card team, the New Jersey Devils, in the first round of the playoffs. The Lightning lost their three regular-season meetings with the Devils.
The Atlantic Division’s No. 2 squad, Boston, will open the playoffs against Atlantic’s No. 3 team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Boston lost three of four to Toronto.
The Bruins and Maple Leafs are back in the playoffs after firstround exits last season. Tampa Bay missed the cut last year after losing in the Eastern Conference finals in 2015/16, while New Jersey is in for the first time since losing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2011/12.
In the other half of the East playoff bracket, the Metropolitan Division-winning Washington Capitals will play host to the East’s No. 1 wild-card team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, in a firstround series. Washington beat Columbus in three of their four meetings this season.
The Capitals are in the playoffs for the fourth straight season, having lost in the second round in each of their three previous trips. The Blue Jackets haven’t made it past the first round in their franchise’s history.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, No. 2 in the Metropolitan, with match up with the Metropolitan No. 3 Philadelphia Flyers. The intrastate rivals met four times in the regular season, with the Penguins winning each contest.
Pittsburgh is seeking its third straight Stanley Cup, while Philadelphia hasn’t made it past the first round since 2011-12.
The Western Conference matchups are as follows:
Central Division champion Nashville Predators vs No. 2 wild card Colorado Avalanche
The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Predators beat the Avalanche in all four of their meetings this season. The Predators lost to the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final last season, while the Avalanche had an NHL-worst 48 points. Colorado is in the playoffs for just the second time in the past eight seasons.
Central No. 2 Winnipeg Jets vs Central No. 3 Minnesota Wild
The Jets beat the Wild in three of four this season, including a 7-2 rout on November 27. The Jets are still looking for their first playoff win as a franchise since entering the league as the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999/2000, going 0-4 as the Thrashers in 2006/07 and getting swept while playing in Winnipeg in 2014/15.
The Wild are making their sixth straight playoff appearance, though they’ve been eliminated in the first round each of the past two seasons.
Pacific Division champion Vegas Golden Knights vs No. 1 wild card LA Kings
The expansion Golden Knights took the league by storm in their first season, though they split their four-game series with the Kings, losing each of the last two meetings as part of a home-andhome in February. Los Angeles is back in the postseason after missing the cut last year. The Kings have won two Stanley Cups this decade (2012, 2014).
Pacific No. 2 Anaheim Ducks vs Pacific No. 3 San Jose Sharks
The Sharks and Ducks played to shootouts in three of their four meetings this season, with San Jose holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. Anaheim has made it to the Western Conference Finals in two of its past three playoff trips, while San Jose lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015/16.
The playoffs begin on Wednesday with Minnesota at Winnipeg, Philadelphia at Pittsburg and Los Angeles at Las Vegas. The other five series will begin Thursday.