NHL playoff preview: are the Lightning still great or just good?

The NHL playoffs begin Monday evening after the first complete season since 2018-19. What stories will unfold over the coming weeks?

In the NHL’s post-lockout era, the Presidents’ Trophy winner – the best team through the regular season – has rarely gone on to win the Stanley Cup. It’s happened just twice – to the 2008 Detroit Red Wings and the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, both of which were arguably near or at the height of their powers when they did it. The Florida Panthers, this year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners, are a very good team. But they’re not the ’08 Wings or the ’13 Blackhawks. On paper, the Panthers cruised through the season – their longest losing streak was just four games – not just routinely out-scoring other teams, but trouncing them. But all that hid some issues. They leave seams defensively. They’re middling on the penalty kill. They get scored on short-handed. As for goaltending? Sergei Bobrovsky can shine, but his season goals-against average (GAA) was a 2.67, putting him behind some of his playoff peers. And he’s struggled in previous postseasons, posting a 3.24 GAA and just a .899 save percentage over his playoff career. The Panthers can be beaten.

The Leafs dropped out of the playoffs in the first round last year in brutal fashion, losing four 4-3 to the Montreal Canadiens after fumbling a 3-1 series lead. The embarrassing finish was made worse by the fact that the Canadiens solved Auston Matthews and his line-mate Mitch Marner, holding them both to only one goal and nine points total over seven games. Things feel different this regular season, but will there be a different outcome? Matthews made Leaf history by becoming the first to notch 60 goals in a season, all while improving his play at both