The National Hockey League postseason begins on Wednesday, which will mark the first year the playoffs will be affected by realignment.
Previously, the Western and Eastern Conferences had three divisions. Each of the division winners would secure the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds in the conference and the remaining five spots were given to the top five teams in each conference aside from the division winners.
Now, the top three teams from each division make the postseason, leaving only two extra spots per conference. Those spots are wild card teams and the four No. 4 teams will face one of the two division winners from their respective conferences.
Anaheim secured the west with 116 points, while Boston took the east crown and the President’s Trophy for the NHL’s best regular season finish with 117 points. Pittsburgh (109 points) and Colorado (112 points) earned the other two No. 1 seeds in the east and west, respectively.
Although there will be several playoff matchups to look forward to, there is one in particular that will have hockey fans in the state of Ohio excited and nervous.
No. 4 Columbus will face off against Pittsburgh in the first round, with game one beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Penguins dominated the season series, as they came out victorious in all five regular season games.
The Penguins have the clear advantage on special teams, as they ranked second in both departments during the regular season with a 23.4 percent efficiency on the power play and an 85.5 percent efficiency on the penalty kill. They also have a plus-42 goal differential in comparison to Columbus’s plus-15. Pittsburgh also has a one-two punch with two of the NHL’s top players in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
However, not only has Pittsburgh seen a lack of production from its third and fourth lines, it also has a disadvantage when it comes to goaltending. Although Marc-Andre Fleury had yet another great regular season for the Penguins, he has experienced struggles in the postseason since the team’s 2009 Stanley Cup run. Dating back to 2009-10, Fleury is 7-10 with an .877 save percentage (SVP) in the postseason.
On the other hand, Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky might be the hottest goalie heading into the playoffs. He ended his first regular season in a Blue Jackets uniform with a 32-20-5 record and an impressive .923 SVP. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner for the league’s best goaltender might be the difference in the series.
Still, I think Pittsburgh’s potent offensive attack and slight defensive advantage will be a little too much for the inexperienced Jackets.
Prediction:
Pittsburgh in five games.
ks363012@ohiou.edu
@kelsey_surmacz4
