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The Stanley Cup Playoffs start Wednesday night and the Bruins open their series against the Maple Leafs Thursday at TD Garden. Who has the best chance to win it all? Let's rank the 16 contenders.1. Tampa Bay LightningThe Lightning have been the best team in the NHL all season and finished with 21 more points than any other team. There's no reason not to have him No. 1 here. Led by Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point, Tampa Bay scored a league-best 3.89 goals per game this season and have shown no signs of slowing down. Lockdown defenseman Victor Hedman, who has been out with an injury, is reportedly expected to play in Game 1 against the Blue Jackets.2. Calgary FlamesThe Flames finished with the best record in the Western Conference and will take on the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. Johnny Gaudreau (36 goals and 63 assists) is an MVP candidate, but what makes this team so dangerous is how deep the Flames’ offense is, with 11 different double-digit goal scorers on the season. Defensive leader and Norris Trophy contender Mark Giordano has had arguably his best season yet, offensively and defensively, and will be a force to be reckoned with deep into the playoffs.3. Washington CapitalsAlex Ovechkin once again led the NHL in goals with 51, and he has six other 20-goal scorers behind him to power the offense. The defending Stanley Cup champs suffered a blow late in the regular season when top-four defenseman Michal Kempny went down with a season-ending torn hamstring, but they still have Norris candidate John Carlson anchoring the unit along with Matt Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov.4. Boston BruinsIn a close matchup, the Bruins will take on the Maple Leafs in the first round. The Bruins have arguably the best line in the NHL in the trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. Captain Zdeno Chara holds a tight defensive line with help from Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo. The Bruins are dangerous, deep and play with a physical, fast-paced edge that will make it difficult for the Maple Leafs, or any team, to stop them. 5. Vegas Golden KnightsThe Knights will match up against the San Jose Sharks in the first round, and this is going to be a close one. The Golden Knights’ offense has had a strong uptick in the past few months. The line to watch is Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith, who will pose a threat for the San Jose defense. Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt are key defensemen for the Knights, and have had their fair share of offensive contributions.6. Toronto Maple LeafsWith a career-high 47 goals, new addition John Tavares has been an offensive threat throughout the regular season and will give the Bruins’ defense a good run. Add in Mitch Marner (94 points), Auston Matthews (37 goals) and Morgan Rielly (72 points from the blue line), and it's clear the Leafs are a dangerous offensive team. Their defense is still a bit of a work in progress, although midseason acquisition Jake Muzzin has certainly helped.7. Winnipeg JetsCaptain Blake Wheeler is coming off the regular season with 91 points and a career-high 71 assists. But he wasn’t alone offensively. Mark Scheifele recorded 38 goals and 46 assists, Patrik Laine logged 30 goals and 20 assists, and Kyle Connor had 34 goals and 32 assists. Defensively, The Jets struggled towards the end of the season, which could be a threat as they take on St. Louis in the first round. However, Josh Morrissey, who has missed the tail end of the regular season, is looking to hopefully return for the playoffs, which could be a huge asset for the Jets’ defense. 8. New York IslandersThe Islanders struggled offensively during the regular season coming in at 22nd in the NHL for goals scored. Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee have been the top scorers for this team and are looking to turn it up a notch. As a defensive unit, the Islanders have been one of the most organized teams in the league with Johnny Boychuck, Ryan Pulock and Nick Leddy leading the line. Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss both had great seasons splitting time in net, as they put up .930 and .927 save percentages, respectively.9. San Jose SharksThe San Jose Sharks are one of two teams in the NHL with five players that have scored 25 or more goals in the regular season. Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl combined for 73 goals and Timo Meier hit a career high 30 goals on the season. Defenseman Brent Burns (16 goals, 67 assists) remains a dangerous weapon from the back and Erik Karlsson returned to the lineup for the regular-season finale after missing more than a month and looks ready to provide a major boost.10. Nashville Predators Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg led the offense in goals (34 and 28, respectively) despite chunks of games due to injuries. Nine players netted 10 or more goals this season, making the Predators a deep, if not all that explosive, offensive team. The Predators’ defense is headed by Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis and P.K. Subban, and combined with Pekka Rinne in net they make up one of the league's best defensive units.11. Pittsburgh PenguinsWith an average of 3.30 goals per game, the Penguins’ offense is the opposite of their first-round opponent, the New York Islanders. The offense is led by four 20-plus goal forwards including Jake Guentzel (40), Sidney Crosby (35), Phil Kessel (27) and Evgeni Malkin (21). On defense, Pittsburgh is hoping Brian Dumoulin will make his return for the postseason after suffering a lower body injury and missing the last four games. The Islanders’ defense has been consistently solid throughout the regular season and will make it difficult for the Penguins offense.12. St. Louis BluesThe Blues hit a turning point halfway through the season, going from a non-playoff team to one that looks like it could make some noise. With an offense led by Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn, St. Louis moved up from 27th in the NHL in goals scored to 15th by the end of the regular season. Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko and Jay Bouwmeester lead a defense that ended up allowing the fourth-fewest shots in the league. And let’s not forget about Jordan Binnington, the rookie netminder who has helped lead the turnaround with a 24-5-1 record and .927 save percentage.13. Dallas StarsAfter averaging just 2.55 goals per game in the regular season (third-worst in the league), the Stars will need score more in the playoffs. Tyler Seguin led the Stars with 33 goals and 47 assists, right in front of Alexander Radulov (29 goals) and Jamie Benn (27). The team's strength all season has been its goaltending, as Ben Bishop set franchise records with a .934 save percentage and 1.98 goals against average. Backup and former Bruin Anton Khudobin was very good as well (.923 save percentage). That should help as the Stars' young back line gets tested in the first playoff go-round for some of them.14. Carolina HurricanesThe Hurricanes get a tough first-round test in the Capitals, but don't rule out an upset. Sebastian Aho has been the offensive catalyst for this team, putting up 30 goals and 83 points. Recently traded from the Wild, Nino Niederreiter has had a large offensive presence in the short amount of time he has been with Carolina. On the blue line, Dougie Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin, Justin Faulk and Brett Pesce have been reliable defensemen all season and could disrupt the Capitals’ slick offense.15. Columbus Blue JacketsTaking on Tampa Bay in the first round, Columbus is going to really need that extra push to win the series. Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson and Matt Duchene make for solid offensive leaders, but they'll need some help from the likes of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson, Oliver Bjorkstrand and others if they're going to keep up with the Lightning. Zach Werenski and Seth Jones lead a solid defense and contribute on offense as well.16. Colorado Avalanche As the last team to clinch a playoff spot, the Avalanche have their work cut out for them. The one thing they do have is a trio of elite offensive players in Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog, who can make any team pay. The Avs will likely need Semyon Varlamov or Philipp Grubauer to get hot in net if they're going to pull off an upset against the Flames.
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