Penguins vs. Capitals rivalry headlines second round of NHL playoffs.
It is the playoff format everyone loves to hate, but say this for the NHL’s divisional setup: It is serving up a tasty feast of rivalries in the second round.
For the second consecutive year, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins will face Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals after they hadn’t met in the playoffs since 2009.
Washington and Pittsburgh were the league’s top two teams in the regular season and are the two top Stanley Cup contenders left playing in the final eight. They face off beginning Thursday.
“We’re ready,” Capitals forward Marcus Johansson said of facing the defending Cup champions who knocked them out a year ago. “We can’t wait to get going.
“We’ve worked hard for it. We’ve worked all year and all summer to get back into this position, and now we’re here.”
The Oilers have waited 11 years to get back to the postseason, and they face their Pacific Division rival Ducks, with Game 1 set for Wednesday in Anaheim.
In the other West semifinal, the Blues have home-ice advantage against the Predators after those teams pulled off firstround upsets.
St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong expects it to be a far more physical series than anyone expects.
That could also be the case for the Senators against the Rangers, with two teams that don’t lack for big guys and a thirst for tension.
“When the NHL decided to go with division playoffs … you do get divisional hatred really quick, and that is exciting,” Armstrong said. “This is the benefit of having divisional playoffs is that you play teams right off the bat that you have a history with, and you play them consistently in rounds one and two. There are downsides to it, but this is the upside.”
Pittsburgh and Anaheim are the only teams left that have won the Stanley Cup in the salarycap era that began in 200506. Washington has been around but is trying to make the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the Ovechkin era.
The Rangers, who take on Ottawa beginning Thursday, are aiming to get back to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since losing to the Kings in 2014.
In the West, the Blues have another opportunity to break through after losing in seven games to the Sharks in the conference finals a year ago.
Like former coach Barry Trotz now with the Capitals, the Predators have never reached the conference finals.
And a year after no Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs, Ottawa and Edmonton give the Great White North two chances to end the nation’s drought that dates to the Canadiens’ victory in 1993.
The Senators and Oilers are underdogs in the second round, but there are reasons to believe they have a shot.
The Senators’ methodical style of play can frustrate opponents and at times lull them to sleep, and goaltender Craig Anderson has better numbers against the Rangers than any other opponent.
The Oilers have leagueleading scorer Connor McDavid, so enough said.