“The Silver Shield” is a column by Kasey Kazliner about the National Hockey League.

The best time of the year is here. Eight teams from each respective conference are set to duke it out for the hardest trophy to win in sports, the Stanley Cup. While some squads have known for weeks that they’d make it to the postseason, others just narrowly eked out wins down the stretch to secure their spots.

Eastern Conference

Florida Panthers (Atlantic 1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Wild Card 1)

Another playoff battle for Sunshine State supremacy: the Florida Panthers (52-24-6) narrowly snagged the Atlantic Division crown by one point, setting them up for home-ice advantage against their upstate rival Tampa Bay Lightning (45-29-8). Florida and Tampa Bay previously squared off in the 2021 and 2022 playoffs, with the Bolts winning both series.

This matchup could truly go either way. The Panthers took the season series two games to one, including one win that ended with a dominant 9-2 score, but the Lightning are always a championship-level team come the postseason.

Having the league’s points leader in winger Nikita Kucherov — who tallied a whopping 144 during the regular season — will put Florida on its toes. However, the Panthers are simply a scoring machine with an NHL-best plus-68 goal differential. Center Sam Reinhart’s 57 goals led that effort.

The starting goaltender matchup between Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky will be a classic, though Bobrovsky had a clear head-to-head advantage in the regular season.

Florida will probably win the series, but it won’t come easy; it’ll likely take at least six games to finish.

Boston Bruins (Atlantic 2) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Atlantic 3)

The Boston Bruins (47-20-15) have a chip on their shoulders after last year’s first-round blunder against the Panthers. This season, they were also contenders for a second consecutive Presidents’ Trophy with 109 points, good enough for second in the Atlantic.

The Bruins should be licking their chops at the idea of facing the Maple Leafs (46-26-10) in round one. Boston went 4-0 against Toronto this season and has won its last six playoff series against the Leafs. The Bruins’ goaltending tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman against Toronto’s high-powered offense consisting of forwards Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner will be a battle for the ages. But again, Boston’s defense has shown this year that it can easily handle what the Leafs have to offer.

We might be in luck for some down-to-the-wire matchups in this series, as the first two head-to-head games this season went past regulation. The Bruins dominated the next two, though taking both in 4-1 finishes.

Boston will win this series. It won’t be a sweep by any means, but a five- or six-game run feels fair.

New York Rangers (Metropolitan 1) vs. Washington Capitals (Wild Card 2)

The curse of the Presidents’ Trophy is real, but the New York Rangers (55-23-4) are hoping to make a push for their first Stanley Cup in 30 years. This Rangers squad is arguably the most complete in the franchise’s 98-year history. Winger Artemi Panarin had the best season of his career with 120 points and Adam Fox is playing like one of the best scoring defensemen in the league.

The fact that the Washington Capitals (40-31-11) are even in the playoffs is a miracle. Alex Ovechkin’s team just barely edged out other Eastern hopefuls, winning its last three games to snag the second wild-card spot. The Caps’ minus-37 goal differential is by far the worst among playoff teams.

The intriguing and surprising part of this matchup is the fact that the teams split the season series. Washington also took the final two games, including a 4-0 shutout. Rangers fans shouldn’t worry, but they also shouldn’t be shocked if the Capitals steal a game or two in round one.

New York will take this series, probably in five games.

Carolina Hurricanes (Metropolitan 2) vs. New York Islanders (Metropolitan 3)

The Carolina Hurricanes (52-23-7) finished with the East’s second-best record and made a splash at the trade deadline by acquiring winger Jake Guentzel, who has 25 points in 17 games since the blockbuster trade.

Carolina doesn’t have a superstar roster but has the tools to be one of the league’s best on both sides of the ice. Netminder Frederik Andersen missed significant time this year but has been a gem when he’s played, posting a 1.84 goals-against average. Pyotr Kochetkov has been the main goalie all year, and he’s been consistent, making for a really solid tandem.

The Hurricanes will try to force pucks past Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov, who has won his last five games and aims to take the starting job from Ilya Sorokin.

New York (39-27-16) had an improbable run to the playoffs in the wake of a coaching change. Both teams each took two games from each other during the regular season, with three of them decided by one goal. The Isles have generally struggled to secure close games, though, co-leading the league with 16 overtime losses.

Still, the Islanders have proven it can win when it matters, finishing 8-1-1 down the stretch to secure the third spot in the Metropolitan. This series’ direction could really come down to who gets hot at the right time.

Carolina is a fantastic team and will presumably win the series. But the Islanders could make things interesting, possibly forcing it to go to six or seven games.

Western Conference

Dallas Stars (Central 1) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (Wild Card 2)

This matchup could be a great one. The Vegas Golden Knights (45-29-8) took all three head-to-head games against Dallas (52-21-9) this year, but the Stars — the West’s best team — have been absolutely on fire for the past two months.

The Golden Knights have undergone a bit of Stanley Cup hangover since hoisting the trophy last June, but they’re never a team to count out in the postseason. Even for how young of a franchise Vegas is, it has played Dallas twice in the playoffs, losing in 2020 (the Stars’ Cup appearance run) and defeating it last season en route to the title.

Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood have been lights out in net for Dallas and the Stars have been the deepest, most complete team in the conference. The Knights will hope for consistency in goal and big impacts from their notable deadline acquisitions: forwards Tomas Hertl and Anthony Mantha, plus blueliner Noah Hanifin.

The Stars should win this series, but a wild upset shouldn’t phase anybody. It could very well go to seven games, and the Golden Knights are about as qualified as anyone to pull off something crazy.

Winnipeg Jets (Central 2) vs. Colorado Avalanche (Central 3)

The Central Division race was the most exciting in the NHL with how close to each other its top three teams finished. The Stars ultimately won it, but the Winnipeg Jets (52-24-6) and Colorado Avalanche (50-25-7) both very well could’ve.

These teams most recently squared off on April 13, when Winnipeg demolished Colorado in a 7-0 finish. The final score was alarming, but it shouldn’t overshadow the upcoming clash between elite goaltender Connor Hellbuyck and the league’s No. 2 point scorer and Hart Trophy contender Nathan MacKinnon.

The Avalanche’s main liability is goaltending, which hasn’t been nearly as stout as Winnipeg’s. But Colorado has plenty more playoff experience than the Jets and knows what it takes to hoist the Cup. The Avs own more star power, as Winnipeg’s leader in points, Mark Scheifele, only has 72. Don’t let the lower total fool you — the Jets are very deep.

Despite the lower seeding, Colorado will take the series in seven games. You just can’t count out the championship pedigree of this team on top of its pure scoring ability. Winnipeg is also very inconsistent; while it is currently riding a seven-game win streak, that success follows a six-game skid.

Vancouver Canucks (Pacific 1) vs. Nashville Predators (Wild Card 1)

The Vancouver Canucks (50-22-9) have been great all year but have dipped a bit recently, while the Nashville Predators’ (47-30-5) story is basically the complete opposite.

The X factor for Vancouver is that star backstop Thatcher Demko has returned from injury, giving the Canucks insurance between the pipes in the wake of a rough end to the season. Add in top blueliner Quinn Hughes and some strong center depth, and Vancouver is a scary team for any opponent.

The Preds were the hottest team from mid-February until the end of March, which gave them the momentum to secure a playoff spot. But since then, Nashville hasn’t been nearly as successful and doesn’t have the depth that Vancouver has. However, the Predators have seen immense success from forward Filip Forsberg, blueliner Roman Josi and goaltender Juuse Saros.

An upset isn’t out of the question, but Vancouver has been the more consistent squad this year. Expect a five- or six-game series that sees the Canucks stay alive.

Edmonton Oilers (Pacific 2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (Pacific 3)

An Edmonton Oilers (49-27-6) matchup against the LA Kings (44-27-11) in the first round for a third straight year? Count me in. Los Angeles will aim to defy history and finally beat its older brother in the Pacific.

The Kings have been the better team lately, but still needed to give it all they could to avoid playing the Stars instead, which would’ve been a nightmare. Los Angeles’ big weakness is inconsistency on the road — that could be a problem when it goes up north.

Center Connor McDavid recently broke the 100-assist mark, and the Oilers seem desperate to make a real Stanley Cup push. Edmonton went 3-1 against the Kings during the regular season, scoring at least three goals in every win.

If LA wants to avoid a hat trick of series losses against its Canadian foe, it’ll need goalies Cam Talbot and David Rittich to stay resilient, and bottom-six players to step up immensely. Winger Adrian Kempe has been electric since returning from injury, so he’ll look to be a catalyst too.

A five-game finish in favor of the Oilers feels like an accurate prediction.

“The Silver Shield” runs every Thursday.