Four Teams To Watch Out For In The NHL Postseason

Washington Capitals

Alex Ovechkin
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The Alexander Ovechkin led Capitals are known for their postseason struggles and falling short of expectations. This years team is looking to loose that label. Ovechkin, who struggled in the last few seasons, has been on fire of late. He is the regular season league-leader in goals with 32, goals created with 23, and was third in points with 56. In April, Ovechkin had fourteen goals and eighth assists while the Caps went 11-1-1. Their March and April hot streak clinched the division and the three spot in the playoffs. Niklas Backstrom may have not scored many goals, but he had 40 assists on the season. One of their best qualities is their success on the power play. They are first in the league in power-play goals and power play percentage with 44 and 26.8% respectively. 

Ottawa Senators

Ottawa has been great on D this season. The Senators are outstanding on the penalty kill. Their penalty kill percentage is 88.5%, which is number one in the league. Netminder Craig Anderson is number one in the league in Goals Against Average with 1.69 and a save percentage of .941. He has been great this year. While the goaltending and defense has been great, the offense has struggled. They only average 2.3 goals per game, which was 27th in the league. They will need to get more goals to try to upset the powerful.

Los Angeles Kings

The defending champs are back in the playoffs and are ready to bring the cup back to Hollywood. Like last year, they are a lower seed in the first round.  This time, they are a five seed against the fourth seed St. Louis Blues. The King's offense is led by center Anze Kopitar, who had 32 assists and ten goals on the season. Jeff Carter led the team in goals with 26. Goalie Jonathan Quick has been good, but not great. They need him to be great to advance in the playoffs. They have done a very good job on the penalty kill, which was a success in their playoff run last season. The key will be the production of their top front line and if Quick can be the star he was last season.

Antti Niemi
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San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are a good team that has the potential to go far in the playoffs. Captain Joe Thornton led the Sharks in points with 40, 33 of them assists. Center Logan Couture had 21 goals and 16 assists. Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski both had 31 points on the season. Goalie Antti Neimi has been excellent this season. He has a record of 24-12-6 with a 2.16 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. Neimi also had four shutouts. Their special teams are also good. San Jose is 20.1% on the power play and 85% on the penalty kill. The Sharks have a tough first round match-up against Vancouver, but they have a good chance of making a good run.