1 storyline, player to watch for each East playoff team
Teams are transitioning to hub cities. Exhibition games are on deck in Edmonton and Toronto. It's time to talk hockey.
Below is a breakdown of one dominant storyline for each Eastern Conference club participating in the qualifying round, with a quick note about a player to keep an eye on when the action begins Saturday. (We'll cover the Western Conference on Monday.)
Boston Bruins
Armed with veteran leadership and a playoff-tested roster, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins looked practically bulletproof heading into summer camp. But with COVID-19 added as a potential cause of derailment for a stacked team, this postseason is tenuous. Star winger David Pastrnak - who missed the bulk of training camp to quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 - was one of many Bruins to sit out at least one day of summer camp. Pastrnak is off to Toronto with the team, so he appears to be on track to return to the lineup. But it would be a shame if non-hockey factors diminish Boston's chance at redemption following a Game 7 loss in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins were the only team to finish with a .700 points percentage in 2019-20. They boast the best line in hockey with Patrice Bergeron between Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, elite goaltending, a fearsome blue line, and a top-notch coach. Here's to good health.
Player to watch: Brandon Carlo plays an understated game but the 6-foot-5 defenseman is more than capable of handling the opposition's best players.
Carolina Hurricanes
For the second straight year, the Hurricanes - who lost in the conference finals in 2018-19 - had a legitimate shot at going on a postseason run. Or so it seemed. Dougie Hamilton's slated return hit a snag this week when the stud defenseman left practice. Based on reports, his issue appears to be an injury, not an illness. If Hamilton's latest setback after breaking his leg in December is only minor, inserting him into the lineup will surely give Carolina a shot in the arm. However, the indefinite absence of Brett Pesce, another important member of the club's formidable blue line, at least partially offsets that potential boost. The vast majority of playoff teams are fully healthy, and the Canes are the exception. And neither of the team's goalies is elite. That means clutch performances from the forward group - namely, offensive catalysts Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov - will be critical. The Rangers, who swept the four-game regular-season series with Carolina, won't be an easy out in the qualifying round.
Player to watch: Justin Williams rejoined the team in January for one last playoff run at 38 years old. Mr. Game 7 already has three Stanley Cup rings, a Conn Smythe, and eight game-winners.
Columbus Blue Jackets
John Tortorella received his fifth Jack Adams Trophy nomination last week. The nod was wholly deserved: The Blue Jackets, who were steamrolled by injuries throughout the regular season, finished with the same points percentage as the Maple Leafs, who boast a superior roster. Yet, even with his club now close to full health, Tortorella will have his work cut out for himself versus Toronto and coach Sheldon Keefe. This tantalizing qualifying-round series pits a skilled, free-skating squad against a structured, defensive squad. We know the Blue Jackets are capable of winning that battle of extremes thanks to last year's sweep of the 62-win Lightning. But can they do it again?
Player to watch: It'll be fascinating to see how Pierre-Luc Dubois, a 22-year-old No. 1 center, fares in a series that features stars Auston Matthews and John Tavares lining up on the other side.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers haven't won a playoff series since 1996, so a qualifying-round victory over the Islanders would mean a lot to the franchise. Plus, the team's long-term pillars - Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Aaron Ekblad - have been around since 2014 but have appeared in only six postseason games (coincidentally, all versus the Islanders). Any additional high-pressure experience is helpful for this team to grow. But the Panthers will be doomed if Sergei Bobrovsky, who authored a career-worst .900 save percentage in 48 starts this season, doesn't stand on his head against New York.
Player to watch: Mark Pysyk, who's a rare hybrid skater. He played both defenseman and forward in the regular season while posting a career year offensively. He's done double duty in summer camp, too, but has been penciled in to start at forward during the qualifying round.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are lucky to be included in the 2020 postseason. But with a 13% chance of drafting top prospect and Quebecker Alexis Lafreniere, the prize for bowing out in the qualifying round isn't bad. That said, assertive performances from captain Shea Weber and goalie Carey Price are absolutely necessary if the Habs plan to make any noise against the Penguins. Also crucial: Phillip Danault's line, which features Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar on the wings, must bury its scoring chances. Can the trio, which threw everything but the kitchen sink at opposing netminders every night in the regular season, capitalize on its possession and turn more shot attempts into goals in a best-of-five series?
Player to watch: Max Domi, a Type 1 diabetic, is going to play in the restart, though it's possible his underlying health condition could become a psychological distraction within the tightly secured Toronto bubble.
New York Islanders
Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock combine to make the best defense pairing many NHL fans have never heard of. Based on certain metrics, they form one of the league's best pairings, period. Pelech, a 6-foot-3, no-frills left-hander who excels at the subtitles of the position, was initially ruled out for the playoffs after tearing his Achilles tendon in January. Then the hiatus dragged on. His return is welcome news to coach Barry Trotz, considering the Isles were 10-13-7 without Pelech in the lineup, losing 11 of their final 13 regular-season games. Pelech and his partner will be essential to minimizing Barkov's impact in the qualifying round against the Panthers.
Player to watch: Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The two-way center signed a six-year deal immediately after the Senators traded him to the Isles. However, because of the NHL's pause, he's dressed for just seven games with his new squad.
New York Rangers
So, about that elephant in the Rangers' dressing room. Yeah, it didn't leave during the hiatus. What happens in the crease, with Igor Shesterkin, Henrik Lundqvist, and Alexandar Georgiev all capable of tending an NHL net? The smart money is on Shesterkin starting and Lundqvist backing up throughout the qualifying round, but there are no guarantees. It will be extra important for the Rangers, seeing as they aren't great defensively and the Hurricanes finished the regular season with the NHL's 12th-ranked offense. Being included in this restart is found money for the organization. The Rangers' rebuild - which started with a letter to the fan base in February 2018 - remains incomplete. Stanley Cup aspirations can wait.
Player to watch: Reports out of Rangers camp suggest Kaapo Kakko, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft, is sharper and operating with "more swagger." The raw rookie totaled just 10 goals and 23 points in 66 regular-season games.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers will be an intriguing group to monitor when action resumes. No team was hotter when the NHL paused March 12; Philadelphia had won 10 of 11 and boasted a sparkling 19-7 record since Jan. 8. The Flyers have earned their top-four spot in the Eastern Conference, but following an almost five-month break, will head coach Alain Vigneault's squad be able to recapture its pre-hiatus form? Carter Hart, the organization's 21-year-old savior in the crease, will experience NHL playoff hockey for the first time. Having the runway of the round robin could come in handy for Hart and his teammates.
Player to watch: Oskar Lindblom continues to add chapters to his inspiring story and could potentially return to practice after undergoing treatment for bone cancer. He and the club agreed to a three-contract extension last week following the July 2 announcement that he was cancer-free.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It seems odd to say this about the three-time Stanley Cup champs during the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era, but the Penguins are a sleeping giant. Pittsburgh ranked seventh in points percentage in the NHL prior to the pause. Yet, because of the unique restart format, they're competing in the play-in round as the Eastern Conference's fifth seed. The club's calling card is its enviable top six of Crosby, Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Jason Zucker, and Conor Sheary, and we haven't seen those six at full force for any meaningful stretch. Crosby and Guentzel combined to miss 58 regular-season games, Malkin and Rust were out for 14 contests each, while Zucker and Sheary appeared in only 15 and eight games, respectively, after being acquired midseason. The goaltending battle - Matt Murray versus Tristan Jarry for the starter's job - is important, of course, but the Pens' offense will carry this team.
Player to watch: Forty-year-old Patrick Marleau continues to chase that elusive Stanley Cup. The second-oldest player in the postseason came over from San Jose at the trade deadline, averaging 15:25 across eight games for Pittsburgh.
Tampa Bay Lightning
At every turn prior to the break, Lightning coach Jon Cooper fielded questions about the in-house impact of his team's first-round loss to the Blue Jackets last spring. When you tie an NHL record for regular-season victories but don't win a single game in the first round, there's no escaping external doubt. However, it might be time to recalibrate our attention. Already the league's best team on paper, the Lightning acquired Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at the trade deadline. A deep team at every position got deeper. Can the new, jack-of-all-trades forwards add yet another layer of hell for opposing coaches and players?
Player to watch: Anthony Cirelli is a brilliant two-way center. The 2015 third-rounder's profile was raised in the regular season thanks to a Selke Trophy-caliber body of work. A strong postseason would be the cherry on top.
Toronto Maple Leafs
For a franchise with playoff demons in desperate need of slaying, just getting past the qualifying round would be considered an accomplishment. The 36-25-4 Maple Leafs, who have made the postseason in each of Auston Matthews' four NHL seasons, haven't advanced beyond the first round since 2004. Former head coach Mike Babcock was criticized for not making necessary in-game adjustments against the Bruins last season. This year, rookie bench boss Sheldon Keefe has shown over a 47-game sample that he won't hesitate to mix and match his lines if necessary. In training camp, Keefe has debuted what's being called Toronto's "nuclear option" - Matthews alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner. The Leafs rival any club in high-end talent, living and dying by the collective performance of their stars. We're about to see how the players and coaches react to a defensive juggernaut like the Blue Jackets in a short series.
Player to watch: Frederik Andersen. The Leafs' starting goalie is coming off his worst regular season (.909 save percentage in 52 starts). The big Dane will be asked, as usual, to plug holes in Toronto's defense.
Washington Capitals
The average age of the Capitals' roster is 29.2 years old, tying them with Dallas for the oldest team in the restart, according to CapFriendly. That gray-beard label can be viewed as both a positive and a negative, though the age ranking mainly reminds us that the core behind the most successful period in Capitals history won't be together forever. While plenty of guys are locked up, starting goalie Braden Holtby might leave via free agency this fall, and superstar Alex Ovechkin is unrestricted next summer. For now, the Metropolitan Division champions are as big a threat as ever following a 41-20-8 regular season, and the pressure is off thanks to the 2018 Stanley Cup win.
Player to watch: Ilya Kovalchuk is on his third team of the 2019-20 season. After being bought out by L.A. and signing in Montreal, the 37-year-old landed in D.C. at the trade deadline. He's pitched in four points in seven games.
John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.