All you need to know for Stanley Cup playoffs

With the Stanley Cup playoffs set to begin on Wednesday, we broke down each of the eight first round matchups and added a few features that you cannot afford to miss.

Below you can find a complete guide of all of our first round previews, along with full breakdowns of each of the 16 teams, predictions, and analysis from Hockey Central experts.

You can find the entire first round schedule here.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings

Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild

St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks

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PLAYOFF FEATURES

16 thoughts on the NHL playoffs (Ryan Dixon). On the eve of the NHL playoffs, here are some final thoughts on each of the 16 teams.

How does the NHL playoff format work? (Jeff Simmons) The NHL changed its entire playoff format for 2013-14. Here’s a full primer.

Blue Jays make first round picks (Shi Davidi) A handful of Blue Jays chime in to offer their playoff picks for the opening round of the NHL playoffs.

Video game simulates NHL playoffs (Luke Fox) See who EA Sports predicted to land in the Cup final after simulating the entire post-season.

Bruins open playoffs as Stanley Cup favourites (Oddsmakers) After falling just short last year, Zdeno Chara and the Bruins are favoured to win the Stanley Cup.

Strategy Room: Can anyone stop the Bruins? Marty McSorley, Brad May, Brian Lawton and Denis Potvin join Jeff Marek in the Strategy Room to discuss whether any team in the East can take down the Bruins.

Pacioretty the pivotal piece for Habs The Canadiens forward sits down with Arash Madani to discuss his team’s opening round matchup against Tampa Bay.

Roy turns Avalanche into contenders Christine Simpson explains how Roy took Colorado from worst to first.

Eastern Conference playoff sleepers (Mike Johnston) Taking a look at eight players who could break out during the post-season.

Western Conference playoff sleepers (Mike Johnston) The West is wide open so here’s a look at who could shine for their teams in the playoffs.

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