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Playoff Preview 2021
In our 100-page Playoff Preview, we have full-page breakdowns on each team with analysis, depth charts, fantasy rankings and more. Also, we've got features on Patrick Marleau, Darnell Nurse, the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and 15-year-old sensation Connor Bedard, plus a roundtable discussion on which Canadian team has the best Cup hopes.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
MUCH LIKE RIVAL Washington, Pittsburgh is a rollercoaster of a team this year. The Penguins score a ton, while also giving up a ton – so it’s going to be interesting to see if this team can actually lock it down in the playoffs. When it comes to offense, Pittsburgh still has the vaunted 1-2 punch of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to build around, and having two elite centers in the post-season is always an advantage. Add in Jake Guentzel, who often turns into a goal-scoring superhero in the playoffs, and you’ve got a great base when it comes to offense. While the Penguins aren’t as fast as they used to be, they’ve still got some burners in wingers Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen. Likewise, they’re not the dominant possession…
BLOOMING BELARUSIANS
STAYING ALIVE IN THE top ranks of international hockey isn’t easy, especially in a country with fewer than 10 million people. And though Belarus is passionate about hockey, developing talent at home is crucial when you’re trying to keep up with other European programs. From RuslanSalei to the Kos-titsyn brothers to Mikhail Grabovski to New Jersey Devils rookie Yegor Sharangovich, Belarus has produced notable talent over the years. But the key to surviving on the international stage may be its Team Belarus program. Much like USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, the Team Belarus initiative brings together the best teenagers in the land. And like the Americans, the Belarusians boast both an under-17 team and an under-18 squad. Originally formed for the 2011-12 season and the 1994 birth year, that first hothouse project…
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
WHEN THE CAPITALS are on the ice, goals will be scored – at both ends. Washington has long been marked by offense during the Alex Ovechkin/Nicklas Backstrom era, and that has continued in 2020-21, where the Caps have ranked near the top of the NHL in goals and goals against. Part of that has been due to unexpected absences in net, from Henrik Lundqvist (heart) and, for a time, Ilya Samsonov (COVID-19), but another part is just the way Washington is built. The player perhaps most endemic of this idea is John Carlson, the star blueliner who racks up points while struggling defensively at times. Having said that, the Caps are far from an easy out. Washington is a big, heavy team up front thanks to the likes of Ovechkin, Tom…
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
THE 2019-20 LIGHTNING evolved and learned how to win ugly without sacrificing their unparalleled skill. The 2020-21 Lightning have the championship formula and, even without superstar Nikita Kucherov, play like a team hungry to repeat. With players on Hall of Fame trajectories at every position, the Bolts have dynasty potential. Relative to age, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, 26, is accomplishing things only legends have done. With a Stanley Cup, a Vezina Trophy and possibly a second Vezina coming, his career to date compares with the likes of Patrick Roy, Grant Fuhr and Terry Sawchuk at 26. Wow. Whereas the analytics in previous seasons suggested ‘Vasy’ got a lot of help from his defense, he grades out as legitimately elite this year. It helps that Vasilevskiy has a Norris Trophy frontrunner in Victor Hedman…
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