NHL Playoffs 2016: Preview, predictions, TV schedule and odds
By Josh Hill
The NHL Playoffs are finally here, but who is going to emerge from the first-round of action?
It’s that time of year again — Playoff Hockey is back. No matter if you’re rooting for the best and hottest teams in the playoffs or the ones that just barely (or by a stroke of dumb luck) backed their way in, anyone can win the Stanley Cup and there’s rooting interest all over the place. It’s not an easy journey to win a Stanley Cup, but the teams that have punched their playoff tickets know that they’re within reach of the most prized trophy in all of sports.
You can make arguments for all championship trophies, but it seems that no trophy is earned in every sense of the way like a Stanley Cup is. But while we will only have one winner at the end of the year, there are 16 teams who believe they can make a run.
Chicago is back to defend their title while the Kings and Ducks look to battle things out in the West. Don’t sleep on the Penguins, who are primed to reestablish themselves as a force in the playoffs after years of disappointing finishes. Both New York teams are in the playoffs again, the Red Wings and Lightning are meeting up — again — and the Florida Panthers are looking to get back to the Cup Final for the first time since 1997.
Out west, Dallas seems to be poised for a return to the Stanley Cup but they’ll have potential challenges against Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Anaheim not to mention what could be a trap series against a dormant Wild team.
Who will emerge from the first-round of the NHL Playoffs? Our FanSided NHL Experts Josh Hill, Kaitlin McCabe, Jason Parker and Dave Stevenson breakdown their picks.
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