It can take years for the NHL's balance of power to shift, but the stagnant salary cap has thinned out some of the established powers, thus resulting in significant postseason turnover this year. With every playoff contender besides the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders down to their final game, it's become clear that we'll see some new faces in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins have combined to reach the Stanley Cup Final each of the past four seasons, but there's a high probability that both will miss the postseason this year, with the defending champs having already been ousted after dropping a must-win contest to the Calgary Flames Thursday night.
In their place, surprise runs from the likes of the Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and Flames should bring a lot of uncertainty (and drama) to the two-month playoff stretch.
Fourteen of the 16 playoff berths have already been clinched, but just four teams are locked into their current seedings. Taking a look at the up-to-date playoff standings and current first-round matchups, let's highlight the remaining regula ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Sterling Xie
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