Stanley Cup Playoffs 2016: Unheralded Teams Primed to Make Noise in Postseason

April 9th, 2016 by Andrew Gould Leave a reply »

The 2015-16 NHL season concludes this weekend, but few Stanley Cup playoff participants can book their postseason travel arrangements. 

While the Washington Capitals have coasted to the Eastern Conference's top spot, six other teams that clinched playoff bids are distanced by five points. Meanwhile, no Western Conference squad other than the bottom-seeded Minnesota Wild knows its playoff positioning. In fact, not a single first-round matchup is finalized, and the playoffs begin on Wednesday.

Few NHL postseasons ever go smoothly, so the road to the Stanley Cup looks especially unpredictable without many clear-cut favorites. Nobody can write off any of the 16 teams, but the following three squads—currently slated to pack their bags for a first-round series—have the goods to plot a deep run.

 

Anaheim Ducks



They won't claim the Western Conference's No. 1 seed like last year, and they'll need a fortuitous weekend to secure the Pacific Division and home-ice advantage in the opening round. This year's Anaheim Ducks, however, are arguably stronger.

After ...

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