The East is set, here’s what to look forward to
How is everyone’s bracket looking? If it went bust immediately, you’re not alone. My Stanley Cup pick (Tampa) won exactly one playoff games, so that’s not great! The first round series are over in the Eastern Conference and here’s what we have to look forward to in the upcoming round.
Metropolitan Division: Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes
There were no upsets on this side of the bracket and it’s only fitting that the last two teams left standing in the Metropolitan Division this season are the two that have been the best for the whole season in Washington and Carolina.
It’s familiar position for the Hurricanes, they’ve made it this far in the playoffs the last four years in a row. The bad news is they’ve been eliminated three of the last four seasons in this round. The Capitals are coming off of their first playoff round win since 2018 and are trying to continue to keep that 2018 magic going for themselves.
Both teams dispatched of their first round matchups in five games. It was about as easy as a playoff series goes for Carolina to eliminate New Jersey. Despite being outscored 5-3 in the aggregate of all first periods in the round, Carolina rebounded with a 9-4 edge on the Devils in the second periods to take over. The Hurricanes parlayed those strong second periods into a 3-0 record when after after two periods. NJ didn’t have a lot of juice and the Hurricanes were able to get and stay ahead without too much drama and win in a convincing fashion.
On the other side, the Capitals had some nervy moments against the upstart Canadiens. Montreal scored half of their goals (six of 12) in the 2025 playoffs in the third period, often making some valiant comeback attempts. Those didn’t work more often than not, but the Habs were able to control play for stretches and play with momentum late in games.
That should lead to an interesting matchup if it holds, because the Capitals have given up 1-5-6 goals in the first, second and third periods, starting off very tight defensively but eventually showing signs of cracking. The Hurricanes were Washington’s almost identical inverse, CAR gave up 5-4-1 goals by period in their first round series proving to grow more stingy defensively as games went along.
Starting hot should be what the Caps focus on, it’s a cliche that every team wants to have a great start to games but it is a key factor nonetheless in this series where Washington will need to tip home ice advantage. The Canes were an impressive 31-9-1 at home this regular season, and they won all three home games against NJ in the first round.
Most models like Carolina’s depth and perceived advantages at 5-on-5 play. Call us crazy, but we’re going the other way. The Caps shot 12.9% in the first round after shooting 12.6% this season, whatever skill or luck they have is still firmly coming through. They’re a bigger and more physical team. There haven’t been many upsets in the playoffs so far but we’ll call one here since for whatever reason the Hurricanes have petered out at about this spot frequently and the Caps’ vibes have been charmed all season long.
Prediction: Washington in 7
Atlantic Division: Florida Panthers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Is it fair to say the Battles of Florida/Ontario in the first round kinda sizzled out? The Florida/Tampa games were definitely very intense and featured many a questionable hit along the way, complete with coaches chirping each other afterwards. So that isn’t to say there weren’t plenty of fireworks while it lasted, but it only lasted five games and just about from the drop of the first puck it was obvious the Panthers were on their front feet and cruising along, which they did.
The usual Toronto hysteria kicked into high gear when a 3-0 series lead shrank down to 3-2 (you would have thought the Leafs were down 0-3 not up 3-2 in the atmosphere around the lead up to Game 6) but ultimately the big lead they built up made for an anti-climatic ending and elimination of the pesky Senators. From a detached and unemotional perspective it was about how it should have gone (though it is always entertaining when Toronto gets fired up into a tizzy).
However, the Atlantic Division finals could be a matchup that lives up to the hype. There’s some pure star power (Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tkachuk, Bennett, Barkov) that the Metropolitan doesn’t have. Oh yeah, and Brad Marchand trying to do his thing against Toronto in the playoffs in new colors will be appointment television.
I keep going back to goal. Anthony Stolarz against Sergei Bobrovsky. I know which one I’d rather have. Playoff Bob is 32-15 since the start of the 2023 playoffs and his quality start percentage is very impressive. Stolarz has done everything right and is playing well, but can you buy into him taking down the defending Stanley Cup champions?
There’s also this dynamite quote from Andrei Vasilievskiy that sums the Panthers up:
“They’re the most consistent team in the league by a mile. We used to play like that too, back in 2018, 2019. When you’re that consistent throughout the full series, you get all the lucky bounces. That was a big factor too. We probably had the shittiest luck ever in a playoff series. They work hard. They were consistent throughout the series, so they deserve all the luck.”
Even after two straight years of deep playoff runs, the Panthers look stronger, more focused and better than ever. They made a very good Tampa team look pedestrian and that compete level and championship pedigree ought to be enough to get past the Maple Leafs.
Prediction: Panthers in 6