Hello all, this is a playoff preview if the playoffs started today for the eastern conference, I didn't do extensive research on this so if I say anything you disagree with, just tell Sheds to fuck off, thanks and enjoy :)

Bruins vs Red Wings 

Holy Christ what a matchup this would be, both teams with plenty of stars and both have the depth to go on a long playoff run. I think this would be a long series, at least 6 or 7 games. I would give Greg the edge up front, if the lines viewed on the site are correct, Nolan definitely needs an upgrade on LW as I don’t see Kase with 72 passing and 81 scoring being good enough to matchup against the Marchand- Bergergon- Pastrnak line. Greg’s bottom 6 also has the advantage considering Backstrom is his 3^rdline centre with 91 passing and 77 scoring and JT Miller along side him with 81 passing and 79 scoring. 

I would give the Red Wings the advantage on the back end. I’d have to double check this but I believe that Detroit has the best defense core in the league, with Subban, Weber, Barrie, Slavin and Keith back there, I would be shocked if I found a better defense core than that. 

For goaltending it’s pretty much a toss-up, both goalies had unbelievable years last year in the NHL so I’m sure their ratings are close. To pick one side or the other would be impossible to do, but both teams have elite goaltending so it adds another aspect to what would already be an unbelievable series. 

Picking this series is a nightmare, but based on the fact that Greg would likely have home ice advantage I’ll give him the nod, but I wouldn’t be surprised and it’s definitely possible that Detroit pulls off the upset. 

Pens vs Lightning

Toby’s first playoff series and I believe that I would win in 6. Slow down, before you all call me a biased little shit let me explain myself. I have the best top line in the league, or at least one of them with Benn- Mcdavid- Tarasenko. I think they would have some fun with Tampa Bay in this series. Tampa Bay likely has better depth on forward but I believe that the star stacked Penguino’s would be alright. The defensive side of the matchup is close, Giordano, Trouba, and Faulk matches up alright against Tampa’s top 3 in Burns, Dumba, and Pesce. 

The penguins (I would say) have the advantage in the net. Corey Crawford has picked up his play for me recently as I’ve picked up 3 straight W’s. Mike Smith’s ratings are decent enough that the Lightning are in a playoff spot, but don’t think he’s good enough to get the Lightning passed the Pens ;). 

In the most recent game between the Penguins and lightning the Penguins dominated pay out-shooting the Lightning 43-24 without the best player in the league (and all-time, Mcdavid). In this game, Tommy Wingel’s centred my top line between Benn, and Tarasenko (yea what the fuck) and yet the penguins still absolutely carried the play in the 1^st, and 3^rdperiod, with a close 2^ndperiod shots wise. In the 2^ndmost recent meeting between the 2 teams Crawford stopped 22/23 lifting the penguins over the lightning in a 3-1 win. This game, when I did have Mcdavid, was a little closer, with the shots on goal 30-23 in favour of the Penguins. I obviously understand that the regular season isn’t always a good indicator of what would happen in the playoffs, but with home ice advantage and the best player in the world, I think that would be enough to get Toby his first playoff series win. 

Habs vs Sens 

I think in this series I’d give the advantage to the Sens, and here’s why. The sens have been insanely hot with just one regulation loss in their last 10. Maybe Steph’s all in now plan will work! 

Up front I’d definitely give the advantage to Steph solely based on his star power up front. Crosby- Giroux- Seguin could even be better than the penguins top line (ha just kidding) I have the goat on my team but anyway. Steph and his Sens have some good depth up front with an unreal and very inexpensive 2^ndline in Johnson, Marchessault, and Zucker, and then Backes and Pearson on the 3^rdline. 

On the defensive side of the puck, I would also give the sens the advantage. OEL, Ekholm, and vlasic are all great defenseman, where on the Habs fowler and Brodie are their top 2. It just doesn’t matchup well for the Habs when they don’t have the depth on D to defend against the stacked Sens forwards. 

In goal, I would give the Habs the advantage, at least stats wise. The ratings are likely in favour of Bobrovsky, and the stats reflect that. On the year Bobrovsky has a .922 save % where as Quick’s is only .913. Bobrovsky is definitely the reason the Habs will have home ice in the series. Quick has a great record for the Sens so there can be no complaints on Steph’s end, but Bobrovsky has a good shot at the vezina with a .922 save %, a 2.13 GAA and a record of 40-10-2. 

Overall I think this series could be a long one, but ultimately I would take the Sens in 6 games or less. 

Islanders vs Jackets 

Yikes this is tough. I think this would be an amazing series that would go the distance. I think on forward I would give the advantage to the Islanders. They’ve just got that one extra high end forward that puts them over the top and in all honestly give them the advantage in the series. The Islanders have great depth on their team so overall I’d give them the edge. 

On the other side of the puck I would say this is very even. I think I’m a bigger fan of the Jackets defense though personally. I think that Big Buff id the best d man on either team. I think the Jackets defense are slightly deeper than the Isles, at least in real life that is. I think both teams could use an improvement on the back end, but as of right now I guess I’ll give a slight edge to the Jackets.

Both goalies are amazing and have had good seasons. Ben Bishop has been solid all year long with a .915 save% and a 2.45 goals against average. He also has a record of 19-10-1 which is pretty decent. In the other net we have Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has a .919 save% and a 2.49 goals against average. He has a record of 26-15-5 and has been slightly better than Bishop this season. I would give the edge in goal to the Islanders. 

I think this series will go to 6 or 7 games but when it comes down to it I think the Islanders will come out on top. 

Thank you to all for reading this article, I realize that this article is totally pointless because the matchups will in all likelihood change but hopefully I gave you something to do on this horrible night of lackluster hockey games. Oh and also, fuck you Greg.