The NHL Playoffs are underway, and the first round has recently finished. The eight remaining teams will continue to compete for the Stanley Cup.

In the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers will be facing off against the Boston Bruins, and the New York Rangers will be facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.

The first team that has been very noticeable during the series is the Florida Panthers. The team faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in he first round, and it was not an easy fire to put down. Florida’s goal production has been the third-best in the playoffs so far according to thehockeynews.com, with Matthew Tkachuk, Alexander Barkov, Carter Verhage, and Sam Reinhart. The Florida Panther’s lineup has been making good contributions on offense and defense. Florida’s offense has been able to take pressure off of veteran goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, this playoff series. The New York Rangers easily swept the Washington Capitals and suppressed superstar, Alex Ovechkin. He only had five shots and zero points on net in the series. New York Rangers goalie, Igor Shesterkin, was the show off of the entire first round, by only surrendering one goal in two of the Rangers’ wins, and two goals in one of the other wins. The Rangers prepare to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, as the Blueshirts have demonstrated they are a steady team. The current players for the team are talented enough to make it to the cup final this year. The Blueshirts show they are very dangerous with the puck and take care of their own end.

The Carolina Hurricanes’ quick sweep against the New York Islanders in the first round has set them up to be ready for round two. As the thirty-five year old captain, Jordan Staal, center Sebastian Aho, and others get ready for round two, they have progressively shown dominance in their offense by completely shutting down New York Islanders in game five with the islanders starting their summer early, and the hurricanes progressing to the next round. Overall, Carolina is a cup contender and an exciting team to watch play.

Boston Bruins star players including David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Brad Marchand, Morgan Geekie, and others are at the top of their game. Their goaltenders and goaltending too is as good as it gets this playoff series. Unfortunately for Toronto and fans of the team, the Maple Leafs have not been able to beat the Bruins in the postseason since 1959. Even with their dynamic playmakers like William Nylander and Mitch Marner, it was not enough to handle the Bruins during the first round. The Bruins finally end Toronto’s time in the playoffs in game seven sending the Leafs back to their home in Toronto, as the Bruins move on.

In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche will play against the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers will play against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Colorado Avalanche stumbled at first, losing game one to Winnipeg by a score of 7-6. From there, the Avalanche ruled exactly two goals in their next four games, which would send the Jets home for the summer. Whether they play the Dallas Stars in
round two, Colorado has an excellent opportunity to make it to the western conference final at most. If they keep their goaltending up and Mackinnon continues to play at his best, then the Avalanche might be challenging to defeat. Dallas Stars are by far the deepest team in the NHL with them working very hard to be at the top of their division. The hard work paid off, earning them a date against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. As of this year, the Stars have made some big improvements with a new roster that will surely help them for the next round against the Avalanche.

The Edmonton Oilers go on to beat and break the Los Angeles Kings in game five. The Kings were able to do an average job holding onto the oilers early, but broke eventually leading to the Oilers to progress. Star players Quinn Hughes and Roman Josi have already settled it on ice with Vancouver winning against the Nashville Predators in six games the final score was 1-0 indicating it was a tight, rough night.

As teams battle it out throughout the playoffs, the last game of each series (if needed) for the second round will be on the 18th, 19th, and 20th. Make sure to tune in to the playoff madness and the race to the Stanley Cup.