Running analysis of Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Our hockey writers share their observations and insights throughout Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Sunday, April 19

Matchup to watch: Suzuki line vs. Gourde line

There are a ton of juicy storylines percolating ahead of Sunday evening's highly anticipated opening game between the Lightning and Canadiens.

Led by incredible top forward lines, both clubs recorded 106 points in the regular season. One is the longtime Atlantic Division titan; the other is attempting to become the next powerhouse. The head coaches have history, with Montreal's Martin St. Louis spending parts of two early-2010s seasons on the wing for Jon Cooper-led Lightning squads. Tampa Bay has a clear advantage between the pipes. Montreal's young core keeps leveling up.

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What's really grabbing my attention: the Lightning's depth and how it will create matchup nightmares for the Canadiens, especially to start the series.

Tampa's armed with last change in Games 1 and 2, which will allow Cooper to sic a full defensive unit on Montreal's best forwards. Yanni Gourde, Pontus Holmberg, and Zemgus Girgensons form a stingy bottom-six trio, while JJ Moser and Darren Raddysh make up a mobile and responsible blue-line pairing. There aren't many better five-man shutdown options across the NHL.

If the Lightning can limit the damage caused by Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky in this manner, Cooper can try to exploit the Canadiens' inferior skater depth when his own offensive stars (Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, and Jake Guentzel) are on the ice at five-on-five. - John Matisz

Kings need a miracle against Avalanche

The Kings have managed to avoid Connor McDavid and the Oilers in Round 1 for the first time in five years. Their prize? A date with the NHL's best team.

Los Angeles versus Colorado is by far the most lopsided matchup of the first round. While the Avalanche finished atop the standings with 121 points, the Kings wouldn't have even sniffed a playoff spot without the existence of the loser point (20 losses in 33 overtime games). An incredible stat: L.A. earned only 22 regulation wins in 82 games to tie lowly Chicago for 31st in the league.

We're probably looking at a sweep here. Game 1 goes Sunday in Denver.

For L.A. to make the series merely competitive, a few things must happen.

Anze Kopitar, the future Hall of Famer retiring at season's end, needs to turn back the clock. The two-time Selke Trophy winner will most likely be tasked with shutting down the Avs' top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Artturi Lehkonen, and the Kings can't afford to get blown out in his minutes.

L.A. needs offensive contributions beyond catalysts Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, and Brandt Clarke. Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko (activated off injured reserve), and Alex Laferriere can't have quiet series. Coach D.J. Smith sure could use Kevin Fiala's dynamism right now, but the winger's season ended months ago after breaking his leg at the Olympics.

Lastly, Anton Forsberg, L.A.'s presumed starting goalie, must stand on his head. We're talking Dominik-Hasek-in-his-prime caliber of netminding. - John Matisz

Saturday, April 18

Flyers execute game plan to perfection

Game 1 of the Battle of Pennsylvania went exactly how Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet likely wanted it to go. The Flyers had more energy from the drop of the puck and made life difficult for Pittsburgh's No. 3-ranked offense by clogging up the neutral zone, forcing 15 turnovers, and keeping the Penguins to the outside. Pittsburgh had just 10 shots through the first 40 minutes of the game. While it may seem obvious, that's Philadelphia's recipe for winning.

If this series becomes high-flying, back-and-forth hockey, that benefits Pittsburgh. But an ugly, defensive battle greatly benefits Philadelphia. The Flyers went 6-1-0 down the stretch, allowing two goals or fewer in each of those wins.

Tocchet has four lines he can trust: no forward played fewer than 11:25 or more than 18 minutes in Game 1. That's crucial to win playoff games on the road. Philly's No. 1 defense pair of Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen were up to the task of shutting down Sidney Crosby, keeping the Penguins captain off the scoresheet entirely and largely invisible for most of the night. Can they do it again in Game 2? - Josh Wegman

Minnesota's stars pick apart Dallas' defense

Minnesota isn't the NHL's deepest team. But its group of high-end skaters - Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber - is truly elite and on par with what Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado offers.

The Wild's star class tore Dallas' defense to shreds in a 6-1 Game 1 victory.

• Kaprizov: one goal, two primary assists
• Boldy: two goals, one primary assist, game-high eight shots on goal
• Eriksson Ek: two goals, 12 of 21 in faceoff circle, Wild forward-high 19:05

Hughes and Faber were also excellent as a pair, consistently controlling the flow of play from the back end while logging 24.5 minutes each. Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello, two forwards who typically drive secondary scoring for the Wild, got in on the fun by recording a combined five points.

Dallas missed two-way center Roope Hintz, who could be sidelined the entire series. No. 1 defenseman Miro Heiskanen drew into the lineup after sitting for the Stars' final three regular season games. But he's clearly not at full health. - John Matisz

Hurricanes 'big-brother' Senators in Game 1

The Senators morphed into some version of the Hurricanes over the course of the regular season, ranking in the top three in all key team defense metrics.

On Saturday, the always-stingy Canes reminded the Sens who's in charge in a 2-0 Game 1 victory that was more lopsided than the score suggests. Carolina put forth what I can only describe as a "big-brother" showing on home ice.

You want to play our brand of hockey? Aw, that's cute. We'll do it better.

The Hurricanes allowed basically nothing in 43 five-on-five minutes - just 30 shot attempts, 13 shots on goal, and seven scoring chances, according to HockeyStats.com and hockey analyst Dimitri Filipovic. Defenders swarmed Ottawa's attackers upon entry into the offensive zone and then again whenever the Senators happened to gain possession of the puck near the net.

Logan Stankoven between Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake was the best forward line on either side. The trio's been terrific all season and the chemistry was on full display through clever forechecking sequences in the offensive zone. Stankoven opened the scoring and Hall bagged the insurance goal.

Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield was the best defense pair on either team.

The more disciplined team was - yep, you guessed it - Carolina. - John Matisz

Brind'Amour's gutsy goalie decision pays off

Frederik Andersen made his head coach look like a genius, stopping all 22 shots he faced in the Carolina Hurricanes' 2-0 Game 1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Even in a game Carolina controlled, Andersen came up with multiple key stops, including a 10-bell glove robbery on Drake Batherson early in the third period that kept the Canes ahead by a goal. It was arguably the turning point of the game.

Brind'Amour's decision to go with the 36-year-old certainly raised some eyebrows. After all, Andersen struggled this season, ranking 55th out of 59 qualified goalies with an .874 save percentage. Nobody would've batted an eye if Brandon Bussi got the call after going 31-6-2 with an .894 save percentage in his first NHL campaign. But Brind'Amour clearly valued Andersen's experience, and it proved to be the right move. - Josh Wegman

Hurricanes go with the veteran for Game 1

Frederik Andersen split starts with Brandon Bussi down the stretch, and head coach Rod Brind'Amour is opting for the 36-year-old to begin the series against the Ottawa Senators.

For much of the season, it looked like Bussi would be the guy for the Hurricanes once the playoffs rolled around. He impressed early, winning 11 of his first 12 starts and entering the Olympic break 23-3-1 with a .906 save percentage. However, Bussi's play has dipped, sporting an .865 SV% in 12 games since returning to action at the end of February. Andersen has been marginally better with an .879 SV% in 13 contests in that span.

Both goalies head into the postseason coming off quality starts. Andersen stopped 26 of 27 against Utah last Saturday, and Bussi made 29 saves on 30 shots versus the Islanders on Tuesday.

We'll likely see both in this series. Maybe even Pyotr Kochetkov, too. This is Carolina's eighth straight playoff appearance, and they've had two goalies start at least one game every postseason during this streak. - Kyle Cushman

Late-arriving rookies could be X-factors

Five highly touted prospects left the NCAA for the NHL in the final month of the regular season: Cole Hutson (Capitals), Cole Eiserman (Islanders), Porter Martone (Flyers), Charlie Stramel (Wild), and James Hagens (Bruins).

The two about to make their playoff debuts have an X-factor vibe to them.

Martone, a 6-foot-3, 214-pound right winger built for the grinding nature of playoff hockey, has made an immediate impact in Philadelphia. He racked up 10 points (four goals, six primary assists) and a team-high 32 shots in nine games down the stretch. Logging 17:02 a night, the former Michigan State freshman has been playing alongside veterans Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak. The trio's outscored the opposition 5-1 in 83 five-on-five minutes.

No Eastern Conference playoff team scored fewer goals in the regular season than Philadelphia. Martone offers the Flyers some much-needed juice.

Hagens is eight games into his pro career - six in the AHL and two for the Bruins. The speedy and creative left winger out of Boston College picked up an assist off a strong forecheck against Columbus and looked the part of a top-nine forward in 16 minutes versus New Jersey in the Bruins' regular-season finale. Hagens, 19 years old like Martone, is excellent in transition, both as a distributor off the wall and puck carrier through the neutral zone.

Boston's testing out an all-youngster third line of Hagens, 21-year-old Fraser Minten, and 23-year-old Marat Khusnutdinov. The addition of Hagens helps the rest of the forward group to click into place a little bit better. - John Matisz

Who's in trouble if Round 1 goes sideways?

Four presidents/general managers and three head coaches have been fired by NHL teams since March 1. Who's next? It depends on how the next two weeks unfold, but there are a couple of situations worth monitoring.

Rod Brind'Amour: The Hurricanes' bench boss is a fantastic coach. If made a free agent by Carolina, he would be snapped up by another franchise within days. Still, if Carolina loses in the first round, a change makes some sense. Brind'Amour, the third-longest-tenured NHL coach, is in his eighth year. The goal since Day 1 has been to win a Stanley Cup, and the team hasn't made a Cup Final to this point while playing a distinct style under Brind'Amour.

Kris Knoblauch: General manager Stan Bowman's seat should be as hot, if not hotter than the Oilers coach's. Bowman's done a terrible job trying to construct a championship-caliber roster around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. However, Bowman hasn't made a coaching change since getting hired in July 2024. GMs usually get at least one. Also, Knoblauch's coaching was critiqued by McDavid in late March. Not a good omen. - John Matisz

Bandwagon teams, players to root for

Half the league's teams won't be playing a meaningful game until October, which means millions of fans are looking for a bandwagon to jump on.

Buffalo (14-year playoff drought is over!), Pittsburgh (former powerhouse is unexpectedly back in contention!), and Utah (first playoff appearance since moving from Arizona!) are all appropriate picks. Each team is fun to watch.

Then there are individual players. Most fans, especially in Canada, will naturally gravitate toward rooting for generational talents Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. But what about the old dudes who've dedicated their entire lives to pursuing the Stanley Cup but fallen short time and time again for whatever reason?

Colorado's Brent Burns (1,579), Ottawa's Claude Giroux (1,345), Minnesota's Nick Foligno (1,287), and Dallas' Jamie Benn (1,252) enter the playoffs with the most regular-season games played without a Cup. Burns, the oldest skater in the NHL this season, is one of the sport's most colorful characters.

Rasmus Ristolainen is set to make his playoff debut. The Flyers defenseman's 820 regular-season games - 542 in Buffalo, 278 in Philadelphia - are tops among active players who've yet to take a postseason shift. - John Matisz