Well, the regular season has concluded and we are now going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And is this the year where a Canadian team will finally end its Stanley Cup drought? We shall see, but here is the first round matchup:
Eastern:
(A1) Tampa Bay vs. Columbus (WC2)
(A2) Boston vs. Toronto (A3)
(M1) Washington vs. Carolina (WC1)
(M2) NY Islanders vs. Pittsburgh (M3)
Western:
(C1) Nashville vs. Dallas (WC1)
(C2) Winnipeg vs. St. Louis (C3)
(P1) Calgary vs. Colorado (WC2)
(P2) San Jose vs. Vegas (P3)
I also do think the playoff system has been broken given that Montreal had 96 points and didn't make it, yet three teams below (Vegas, Dallas, and Colorado) had fewer points and made it. While they will use the current format again for another year, it's prediction time to determine which teams should move on to round 2 (and in how many).