Check out our Western Conference Second Round Preview if you haven’t done so already. The series in the Eastern Conference begin on Sunday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning play against the Boston Bruins in Game 1.
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TAMPA BAY (2) vs. BOSTON (4)
Tampa Bay was swept in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs by Columbus, as their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season went down the drain. The Lightning got some revenge in the bubble with a five-game series victory over the Blue Jackets.
Tampa Bay won Game 1 in quintuple overtime in what was the fourth-longest game in NHL history, but the Blue Jackets responded with a win in Game 2. However, the Lightning won the next three matches in one-goal decisions to eliminate Columbus. Tampa Bay managed to get the better of Joonas Korpisalo, who was outstanding for the Jackets, as the series progressed.
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Tampa Bay hasn’t had the services of Steven Stamkos since the restart because of a lower-body injury. He is out indefinitely and it’s unclear when he will be ready to return. In the absence of Stamkos, Brayden Point has stepped up and starred for the Lightning. He leads the team with five goals and 10 points in eight postseason games. Point scored the winner in both overtime matches against Columbus, including the series winner.
Nikita Kucherov isn’t far behind with nine points (two goals, seven assists). Beyond that offensively-potent duo, Tampa Bay has received plenty of scoring from the team’s top-three lines. Tyler Johnson (three goals, one assist), Alex Killorn (two goals, two assists) and Yanni Gourde (two goals, two assists) have registered four points each. Blake Coleman (one goal, two assists) and Anthony Cirelli (one goal, two assists) have contributed as well.
Tampa Bay also has a strong defense corps, which got a boost when Victor Hedman was good to go for Game 1. The other star in the defensive end is goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has a 1.98 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in the postseason.
The Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes for a second straight year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2019, the two teams met in the Eastern Conference Final and the Bruins eliminated the Hurricanes in four straight games. It took Boston five contests to knock out Carolina this time around, as they found another gear following a listless round robin.
Impressively, the Bruins overcame the losses of David Pastrnak, who sat out three games of the series due to an injury, and Tuukka Rask. who opted out of the postseason prior to Game 3 because of family reasons.
Pastrnak managed to return in Game 5 and he finished the Eastern Conference First Round with one goal and three assists in two appearances. Jaroslav Halak took over between the pipes for the Bruins and he won all three of his starts. He has a 2.29 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in the postseason.
David Krejci leads Boston with nine points (three goals, six assists) in eight postseason contests. Brad Marchand has three markers and seven points in eight outings, while Patrice Bergeron has two goals and four helpers in eight matches.
Charlie McAvoy is often tasked with shutting down the best players on the opposition, but he has also contributed one goal and four points in eight outings.
Tampa Bay against Boston is a clash of Eastern Conference titans. The Bruins had the best record in the league during the regular season and the Lightning had the second-best record in the East. This has all the makings of a long, intense and physical series between two teams that stand a very good chance of hoisting the Stanley Cup at the end of this tournament.
Tampa Bay Projected Lineup
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Tyler Johnson
Barclay Goodrow - Yanni Gourde - Blake Coleman
Pat Maroon - Mitchell Stephens - Cedric Paquette
Mikhail Sergachev - Kevin Shattenkirk
WHO’S HOT
Brayden Point has been held off the scoresheet once over eight games in the postseason. He posted four goals and three assists in five games versus Columbus. Nikita Kucherov has been held without a point in just two of the eight contests he’s played in since the NHL’s return. He collected one goal and six helpers in five outings against the Blue Jackets.
WHO’S NOT
Ondrej Palat has posted only two assists in the postseason and he picked up one helper in five matches against Columbus. Mikhail Sergachev has one assist in eight postseason appearances.
Boston Projected Lineup
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Ondrej Kase
Sean Kuraly - Charlie Coyle - Jack Studnicka
Joakim Nordstrom - Par Lindholm - Chris Wagner
Matt Grzelcyk - Connor Clifton
Daniel Vladar
WHO’S HOT
David Krejci extended his point streak to six straight games, with at least one point in each of Boston’s five matches against Carolina. He finished the series with three goals and five assists. Brad Marchand accounted for three goals and four assists in five contests versus the Hurricanes. Patrice Bergeron picked up two goals and three helpers in five outings against Carolina.
WHO’S NOT
Jake DeBrusk was held off the scoresheet in four of five games against Carolina. He scored two goals in Game 4. Ondrej Kase didn’t earn a point in three of five matches versus the Hurricanes, while chipping in three assists in the series. He’s still looking for his first goal in a Boston uniform. Anders Bjork hasn’t earned a point in seven postseason matches. He was scratched in Game 5 versus Carolina when Pastrnak returned.
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PHILADELPHIA (1) vs. NY ISLANDERS (6)
Philadelphia was taken to six games by the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference First Round. The Flyers blanked the Canadiens twice in the series after they were shut out by Montreal in Game 2. Philadelphia was held to two goals or fewer in each of the first four games before scoring six times in the final two contests of the series.
Jakub Voracek was Philadelphia’s most productive player against Montreal with four goals and three assists in six outings. Kevin Hayes rebounded from a sluggish start to register one goal and two assists in the last three games of the series. He came up big in Game 6 to punch Philadelphia’s ticket to the next round.
Carter Hart became the second-youngest goaltender in NHL history to record consecutive shutouts in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 22-year-old netminder has a 1.71 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in eight postseason starts.
The New York Islanders advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round with a convincing five-game series victory over the Washington Capitals. The Islanders had no problem bottling up the Capitals with the same total team effort that dominated the Florida Panthers during the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
The trio of Josh Bailey (two goals, eight assists), Anthony Beauvillier (six goals, three assists) and Brock Nelson (three goals, four assists) has been the team’s most productive combination, but New York has benefited from a balanced scoring attack. Mathew Barzal has seven points, including three goals, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau (four goals, two assists) and Ryan Pulock (one goal, five assists) have six points apiece. Anders Lee also got into the scoring act with three goals versus the Capitals.
The Islanders were in complete control of the series during five-on-five situations. New York allowed just three five-on-five goals to the Capitals over the five matches, while yielding only 91 shots against at five-on-five. New York outscored Washington by an 11-3 margin at five-on-five. Semyon Varlamov has helped out as well with a .960 save percentage at even strength. He has a 1.67 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in the postseason.
Montreal gave the Flyers more trouble than most expected and Philadelphia will have to be much better to beat the New York Islanders in Round 2. The Islanders’ relentless forechecking makes them a difficult team to play against, but Philadelphia has the tools and the depth to be a handful as well. However, the Flyers need some key players to elevate their games. If Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier remain silent on the scoresheet then the Islanders could be heading to the Eastern Conference Final.
Philadelphia Projected Lineup
Michael Raffl - Sean Couturier - Jakub Voracek
Joel Farabee - Kevin Hayes - Travis Konecny
Claude Giroux - Derek Grant - Scott Laughton
James van Riemsdyk - Nate Thompson - Tyler Pitlick
Travis Sanheim - Philippe Myers
Shayne Gostisbehere - Justin Braun
WHO’S HOT
Jakub Voracek generated three goals and three assists to finish Philadelphia’s series against Montreal with a four-game point streak. He has four goals and seven points in seven postseason matches. Kevin Hayes has one goal and two assists in his last three contests.
WHO’S NOT
Claude Giroux earned four assists in six games, but he was held off the scoresheet three times in the series against Montreal. He also still looking for his first goal of the postseason. Travis Konecny hasn’t lit the lamp either and he has three assists in nine contests. He has one helper in his past seven outings. James van Riemsdyk hasn’t posted a point in six postseason appearances.
NY Islanders Projected Lineup
Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier - Brock Nelson - Josh Bailey
Derick Brassard - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Leo Komarov
Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
WHO’S HOT
Josh Bailey accounted for two goals and four assists in five games versus Washington thanks in large part to two multi-point performances. Anthony Beauvillier had three goals and one helper in five matches against the Capitals. Mathew Barzal posted two goals and two assists in New York’s five-game series versus Washington.
WHO’S NOT
Jordan Eberle had one goal and one assist over five appearances during the Eastern Conference First Round. Ryan Pulock also cooled off from a hot qualifying round with two helpers in five outings against the Capitals.
