Eastern Conference Hockey Playoff Preview:

The NHL hits the postseason with 16 teams in the running to lift the Stanley Cup. The action gets underway Saturday with the Eastern Conference kicking things off. Here is a look at the series in the East.

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals:

The Capitals come into their first-round series as heavy underdogs after they made the playoffs in strange fashion, scoring an empty-net goal against the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2-1 victory. Will Washington have a case of just happy to be here? The Caps have been getting clutch goaltending down the stretch for Charlie Lindgren, who will be facing his brother, Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren.

Washington was expected to be in rebuilding with core pieces like Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, John Carlson and TJ Oshie are all in their 30s. But, Ovechkin recovered from a slow start to record 31 goals on the season and Dylan Strome posted a career year with 67 points.

But, the Rangers are expected to be Stanley Cup contenders and this will be the first step. They are solid at both ends of the ice. Artemi Panarin put up a 120-point regular season. Adam Fox is a Norris Trophy candidate on the back end. Goalie Igor Shesterkin has been flashing the form that has made him one of the league’s best. The Blue Shirts hold a decisive advantage in the special teams.

Prediction: Rangers in five

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs:

The Bruins are hoping to erase last year’s bitter first-round playoff loss to Florida. The two teams meet for the fifth time in the past 12 years. Boston stumbled to the finish, losing three of its last four. Brad Marchand and David Pasternak are the offensive leaders. Pasternak was fifth in the league in scoring with 110 points. Charlie McAvoy has stamped himself as one of the better young defenseman this season. The Bruins need the goalie duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman to come through.

The Leafs’ playoff troubles are a sore subject to players and fans. Toronto’s proficient offense will be on full display, including Auston Matthews, who fell one goal short of reaching the 70-goal scorer since 1993. The biggest question mark for them will be in net where Ilya Samsonov will get the start over Joseph Woll. If Toronto’s offense clicks, they could keep the fans from having the feeling of doom come over them.

Prediction: Maple Leafs in seven

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers:

The two teams meet in the ‘Battle of Florida’ for the third time. The Panthers, coming off last season’s surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final, drew Tampa Bay after leapfrogging the Bruins for the Atlantic Division title in their final game. This could be a star-making postseason for Florida’s Sam Reinhart, who had a breakout season with 57 goals. Reinhart can also contribute defensively along with do-everything center Aleksander Barkov. Matthew Tkachuk will be counted on to score goals and get under the skins of the Tampa Bay players. Sergei Bobrovsky has regained the crease after experiencing some bumps during the season.

The spotlight will be on Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov coming off a Hart Trophy-like season with 44 goals and 100 assists. He joined Edmonton’s Connor McDavid to be the rare player to hit the 100-assist mark. There hasn’t been many better postseason goalie than Andrei Vasilevskiy. In 110 postseason games, he’s 65-42 with a 2.27 GAA, .921 save percentage and seven shutouts. This series should be a long and nasty one.

Prediction: Lightning in seven

New York Islanders vs. Carolina Hurricanes:

They meet in the playoffs for the second consecutive season after the Hurricanes dispatched the Islanders in six games last year. Islanders fans were looking more toward the draft than the playoffs in late, but then they caught fire under coach Patrick Roy, who took over in midseason. The main obstacle for the Isles are their special teams. Their power play was 19th in the league and the penalty kill was last. Scoring hasn’t been much of an issue this year with Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat going over the 30-goal mark. One key will be the health of defenseman Noah Dobson, who was having a breakthrough year before missing the last four games due to injury. Roy has a decision to make a goal -- start the hot hand in Seymon Varlamov or go with the incumbent Ilya Sorokin who has struggled most of the season.

The Hurricanes have been benefitting from the trade deadline pickup of Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh. He has been better than advertised, solidifying his spot on the top line with eight goals and 17 assists in 17 games. He’s also helped center Sebastian Aho reach a higher level. Whether it will be Fredrik Anderson or Pyotr Kochetkov in goal, they will be backstopping one of the better defensive teams in the league.

Prediction: Hurricanes in six