The power play ranked 28th in the league with a 15.2 percent conversion rate and that's going to need to be much, much better if they're going to get another taste of postseason glory. 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS Here's how to watch the 2020 NHL Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final. Winnipeg vs. Calgary is one of four Western Conference qualifying series during the first round of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Stanley Cup Playoffs 2020: Burning questions for every team in the Western Conference There are plenty of questions that need to be answered in Edmonton 1 seed at the end of regular-season play. Vegas Golden Knights +750.
This is a team that's going to need to seize every opportunity given to them in order to move on.Images by Getty Images and US PresswireThe pandemic shutdown may ultimately benefit some players/teams that were dealing with injuries before the stoppage. Chicago announces headdresses at ‘team-sanctioned events’ will no longer be allowedBefore regular-season play ceased, the Bruins were well on their way to the Presidents' Trophy and the No. 1 seed in the West were the 2019 Stanley Cup champion Blues, with a conference-high 94 points. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid directly factored into 49 percent and 44 percent of the Oilers' total offense this year, respectively.
I'd wager that the latter is the more likely scenario.Lehner has been very strong this year, even behind a sketchy defense in Chicago. Click here to check out 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs results and highlights. 1 seed in the East, after becoming the first and only team to reach 100 points this season. All Rights Reserved.For the Jets to have any real chance of beating top competition and making a serious run, the defense will need to make significant improvements or Hellebuyck will have to continue to be all-world between the pipes.
In March, the Avs were devastated by injuries: Forward Colin Wilson, center Nazem Kadri, goaltender Philipp Grubauer, winger Matt Calvert, Rantanen and winger Andre Burakovsky were all out of the lineup.The remaining eight teams in each conference will play a win-or-go-home, best-of-five series to determine who advances to the first round. (The Preds' power play ranked 25th and their penalty kill ranked 29th this year. With that in mind, perhaps they're more dangerous than the total ranking would suggest, or maybe the long break will force them to reset and work through the same struggles they dealt with at the beginning of the season.But how effective will Tarasenko be after such a long gap between meaningful games? Will they get some surprise contributions on the back end? He's one of the most prolific scorers in the league when at his best but it's probably fair to expect some rust.The Stars had a bit of a tumultuous year and were sliding before the break, but It's easy to forget that Dallas was one double-overtime goal away from eliminating the eventual Stanley Cup champions last postseason. While anything can and often does happen in the Stanley Cup Final, it's a safe bet that whichever Eastern Conference team makes it all the way through will end up hoisting the trophy.Meanwhile, eyeing the No. The answer should scare the Blues and the other 10 clubs in the West.In the West, Blues fans are certainly scoffing that their squad has the sixth-highest odds of winning the Cup despite racing toward the No. Boston and Edmonton are the only teams to have two players in the top 10 in points this season.Their offense has been more productive than the Bruins' this season, with 245 goals in all. If thery're able to play to that style and dictate the cadence of games, they may be able to keep opponents quiet enough to find success.The Oilers had the two most productive players in the league this season in terms of point totals. He's got a save percentage of .920 over 36 games -- including a .940 mark in three starts with Vegas. If Zdeno Chara's squad doesn't hoist the Cup this year (the last, incidentally, that he is under contract), its chances of doing so with this core (or part of this core) will decrease in the coming seasons.It's no surprise to see the East's heavy hitters, the Bruins and the Lightning, atop the Vegas odds. After healing up during the long break, will he be able to add to a great year by establishing himself as a game-changing postseason presence?The Predators were one of the most frustrating teams in the league this season because their talent level and underlying stats suggest they should have been much more successful than they actually were. When they're at their best, the Wild are an annoying, pesky team that doesn't give up much in the danger areas. Winnipeg surrendered more high-danger chances than any other team in the league and Hellebuyck still managed to post a .922 save percentage with 22.4 GSAA.The Flames had the Western Conference's best offense a year ago but they struggled to find that same explosive spark for a significant portion of this season, finishing 20th in the league in scoring during the regular season. He was arguably the best goalie in the league this season despite playing behind one of the league's worst defenses. Colorado Avalanche +700. Get updated brackets, schedules, live streams, scores, highlights, video and analysis for every NHL playoffs matchup on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. )The Wild are in a bit of a weird situation in that they're rebuilding on the fly and probably didn't expect to be in the postseason this year.