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The only hope of the Stanley Cup returning to Canada rests on the shoulders of the Montreal Canadiens, but they have to get past the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round before even thinking about that.

Judging by the regular season the Lightning may have the edge in the series. In four regular season matchups the Lightning picked up three wins, including a 3-1 victory a few weeks ago on April 1.

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The Blue Jackets make only their second playoff appearance in franchise history against the Penguins. Will their playoff run be longer than their first appearance when they were quickly bounced in the opening round?

Pittsburgh didn’t have much trouble with the Blue Jackets during the regular season. Pittsburgh was a perfect 5-0 versus Columbus this season, but there’s one catch that Columbus can take some comfort in – the Jackets’ Vezina-winning goalie Sergei Bobrovsky started only one of those games.

Last season the Sharks had their playoff run cut short by the Kings. A year later they will to try to return the favor when the battle of California gets reignited in the opening round.

The Kings won the season series taking three of five matchups with the Sharks. That included a pair of wins at home and overall Los Angeles has won four straight at home versus San Jose. It’s been a much different story for the Kings on the road. In their last nine games at San Jose the Kings have recorded only one victory.

A miserable slump down the stretch could be the Blues’ downfall, as it has caused them to open the postseason with a tough matchup against the defending Cup champion Blackhawks.

The Blue won the season series against Chicago with three wins in five games, but Chicago took the last two matchups. Looking back further the home team has typically had the advantage when the Blues and Hawks clash. St. Louis has won their last three at home versus Chicago, while the Blackhawks are 8-2 in their last 10 home games against the Blues.

The Avalanche may be the biggest surprise this season, going from the first overall pick in the draft to Central Division champs. Drawing the Wild in the first round may continue their good fortune.

Colorado owned this matchup during the regular season. The Avalanche faced the Wild five times this season and won four of those games. The Avs also own a solid 5-2 record in their last seven games in Minnesota and a 7-3 mark in their last 10 home game against the Wild.