Eastern Conference Playoffs: Upsets and Rivalries

0:00It's April 17th. This is NHL News Today, powered by AI Everything Happening With Your Team. I'm Cory with the story. The Eastern Conference first round Stanley Cup playoff matchups are locked in for the 2025-26 season, kicking off this Saturday. We've got Buffalo Sabers taking on the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning versus Montreal Canadians, Pittsburgh Penguins facing Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina Hurricanes Against Ottawa Senators. Exper Adam Proto has bold predictions on who advances, shaking up the bracket with some upsets. Earlier this week, the league dropped the full schedule, highlighting wild storylines like Buffalo ending a 14-year playoff drought to snag the Atlantic Top Seed while Ottawa clawed into the second wildcard on a hot streak. Tampa and Montreal rematched their 2021 Cup Final Vives, and Pennsylvania rivals Pittsburgh and Philly renew their grudge. These are buzzing over these picks, especially with vets like Sydney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin, possibly in their last dance for Pittsburgh, fueling, emotional overachieving.

1:04Buffalo's depth and home dominance give them edge over playoff Sabby Boston, and Philly's late surge in style defense could stifle the penguins, firewagon offense. Digging deeper, goalie still the show, Ottawa's Linus Oldmark outshines Carolina's duo with playoff grit, flipping the script on the hurricanes. Regular season dominance. Teppas Andre Vasilevsky remains a wall against Montreal's young guns while Buffalo grinds out a seven-game driller over Boston. These calls set up fireworks, with underdogs like the Senators and savers crashing the party, promising chaos before the conference semis even hit. Strap in, the puck drops soon.