The AAtJ Preview and Open Post for the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Preview

The Eastern Conference Matchups

**Buffalo Sabres (A1/2) vs. the (WC1/**5) The Buffalo Sabres, guided behind the bench by Lindy Ruff, have had an excellent season, finishing just four points back of the Conference lead with a 50-23-9 record. With a top-5 ranked offense and top-10 defense, the Buffalo Sabres have a deep scoring attack with 14 players scoring 25 or more points this season and 13 of those players having 10 or more goals. Led on the ice by (40G, 41A, Gold Medal in February), (19G, 55A), and (33G, 33A), the Sabres also have the top-end players to keep up with the best in the league. We will see how they split the goaltending between Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (22-9-3, .909 SV%) and (8-4-2, .903 SV%), but they did not have a clear number one in goal when (20-10-4, .906 SV%) The Boston Bruins are a more traditional hockey group. Backed by first-year head coach Marco Sturm, the 45-27-10 Bruins are driven by (29G, 71A), (39G, 29 A), (30G, 35A), and (11G, 50A). In net, they have a true number one in , who went 31-18-4 with a .907 save percentage this season. The depth of Boston is still strong, but not quite as high-scoring as the Sabres. Only 10 Bruins hit the 10-goal mark this season, but they are a rather tough team. Between the solid defense of and the forechecking of and , the Bruins have that secondary element backing their more skilled players that makes them tough to play against. **Tampa Bay Canadiens (A2/3) vs. the (A3/4)** Jon Cooper might never oversee a bad team. The 50-26-6 are as good a bet for the Stanley Cup as any this season despite difficult seasons for veteran defensemen Ryan McDonagh (21 points in 48 games) and (17 points in 33 games). Filling the void has been 30-year old , who had 70 points in 73 games, which is remarkable for a guy who only played his first full NHL season at age 27 in the 2023-24 season. The usual suspects are still up to their scoring up front, though, with reaching 130 points for the second time in his career. (38G, 50A), (36G, 38A), and (52 points, Selke-level defense) have been outstanding. However, (50 points in 63 games) seems to have slowed down a bit with a career-low shooting percentage of 14.0. The Lightning are not a very deep team beyond their seocnd and third lines, though, and they will need to continue relying on their scorers and , who went 39-15-4 with a .911 save percentage this season. The Montreal Canadiens have taken their first leap. Attention will surely be on , who had a 101-point season for them, though he was certainly boosted along the way by a ridiculous season by , who had 51 goals. Those two took a lot of pressure off of the even-younger trio of (12G, 66A), (30G, 43A), and (19G, 43A), allowing them to have excellent seasons as well. Thanks to some malpractice on Long Island by Mathieu Darche, the Canadiens have also been stabilized by (12G, 35A), who eats a ton of minutes (22:29) alongside Hutson (23:46) and (7G, 30A, 24:10). Like the Lightning, this is a team driven by the top players. I would hope that the 21-year old gets the nod in net, given his .908 save percentage down the stretch after replacing (.873 SV%), but it is certainly possible that the Canadiens lean on the somewhat and his .901 save percentage in this series. ** (M1/1) vs. the (WC2/6)** The Devils’ bane will look for a different victim this playoff series, and this time they have to deal with an Atlantic Division opponent. In five of the last seven years, the Hurricanes have been eliminated by Atlantic opponents, beating only the Bruins in the 2022 First Round during that time. But the Hurricanes are good. With the 2nd-ranked offense and 5th-ranked defense in the league by total goals, their 53-22-7 record was no accident. Their weakness, though, is goaltending. Despite few goals against, their team save percentage was .886 this season. The forwards are very solid, though. Seven players hit the 20-goal mark, and was just behind at 18. On the blueline, is a monster (13G, 37A in 55 games) when he is actually ion the ice, and rookie has fit in well in Rod Brind’amour’s system alongside fellow Carolina newcomer K’Andre Miller, who reached 35 points (37) for the first time since the 2022-23 season. The Ottawa Senators have had a roller coaster season. From wild, slanderous rumors about the locker room to borderline slanderous AI use after won a Gold Medal with Team USA, they should be applauded for staying together this long. But they are a talented team with a mix of young stars and still-productive veterans. led them with 83 points, while hit the 70-mark for the first time in his career. With Gold Medal winners Brady Tkachuk (59P in 60GP) and (54P in 67GP), alongside veteran scorers (14G, 35A) and (25P in 49GP), the Senators have a rather interesting mix. As long as they can get some vintage (.891 SV%, 28-12-8), they will be a threat to Carolina. ** (M2/7) vs. the (M3/8)** After years of coaching malpractice, first-year Head Coach Dan Muse has turned the Pittsburgh Penguins around. And, yes, some will complain that the Penguins got in with a lot of loser points at 41-25-16. However, they are dangerous. They went 34-25-23 in regulation this season, going just 7-16 in three-on-three and shootouts. However, the playoffs should be expected to reward better regulation teams, and the Penguins would have finished even better had not been hit in the knee in the Olympics Semi-Final game, which caused him to miss a couple weeks. But Crosby (29G, 45A in 68GP), along with (15G, 51A), (29G, 36A in 72GP), and (19G, 42A in 59GP) are all still excellent players. Even , with 34 points in 74 games while playing nearly 22 minutes a game, is still a player to watch. But now, the Penguins have reinforcements. , a buy-low shot by Kyle Dubas, scored 33 goals and 64 points for them. , the 10th overall pick in 2025, had 35 points in his rookie season. , who fell out of favor in Columbus, was traded for relative peanuts and put up 36 points in 43 games with the team. The big mistake for them was likely trading for , as Skinner put up an .885 save percentage in 27 games with the team, meaning that (.887 SV% in 39 games) might get more play. The Philadelphia Flyers, I would argue, deserve much less to be in the Playoffs than Pittsburgh. With the 21st-ranked offense and a 27-27-28 regulation record, the Flyers are the only Eastern Conference playoff team to go to overtime more often than they won in regulation. The roster, too, is much weaker. With only two 60-point scorers in and , the Flyers hope for more from , , and on the big stage, as they all finished with 51 points. With solid defense from former Brad Shaw and John Tortorella protegees and Rasmus Ristolainen, though, they can slow the game down and make scoring difficult. , who had a good season in his first year as an NHL starter at 29-14-7 with a .906 save percentage, will play a big part in whether they can hold up to Pittsburgh without three-on-three available.