Last season was a championship three-peat for the eastern conference. The Carolina Hurricanes became the first eastern conference team to end the Sunshine State’s six year monopoly of the Stanley Cup finals. This year, they will face a fully healthy Panthers and a reinvigorated Lightning. Outside of Florida and Carolina, other teams will challenge for the championship. Washington and Montreal will be two top teams many think will push back. Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will take the next steps and be closer to the championship round than they were last year. Teams like the Bruins, Sabres and Rangers will have a lot to say too.
The conference is again loaded with the deepest and most dangerous teams in the NHL. It’s time to break down which eight eastern teams will make the 2026-27 playoffs.
Atlantic: Florida Panthers
Florida didn’t have a chance to defend their reigning champion season last year because of the amount of serious injuries that piled up. The Panthers finished their 2025-26 season without their captain, their best playmaker and veteran enforcer, and still finished with more than 80 points.
Now they get everyone back to start the season Tuesday in Carolina. Florida also added former captains Radko Gudas and Brady Tkachuk, and goaltender depth with Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. The Panthers will be the favorites to win the championship all year for good reasons.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay could have gone to the eastern conference finals had Montreal not gotten lucky in their game seven matchup. While there’s a debate that could have been the Lightning’s last chance to win a Stanley Cup without the rival Panthers being in the way, Tampa Bay still boasts an elite roster. Jon Cooper is still one of the NHL’s best coaches and Andrei Vasilevskiy remains the world’s best goaltender. The defensive additions in the offseason should help the Lightning go further in the playoffs this year.
Ottawa Senators
This is a big season for Ottawa. Gone are the days when their young core could play however they wanted to and make mistakes with little blowback. The Senators have a lot of pressure this year to at least win a playoff series and finish as a top six team in the east. Linus Ullmark stunned viewers last season when he had the best playoff series of his career against reigning Cup champion Carolina. Despite a sweep, the defense proved it can hang with the NHL’s best. The offense has a lot of playmakers and remains a force on the power-play. No pressure on coach Travis Green.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal rounds out a crowded Atlantic that will do a lot of damage in the playoffs. The Canadiens dazzled many with their long playoff run last year. Cole Caufield continues to stay under the radar among top NHL scorers. Lane Hutson has some of the best eyes and skills for any current young player. Jakub Dobes will continue to gain interest from many who love watching goaltenders play. Montreal might not replicate last year’s stellar success, but they will remain one of the most dangerous teams in the east.
Metropolitan: Carolina Hurricanes
The reigning Cup champions return with a mostly intact, deep roster. If Florida or Tampa Bay don’t reach the finals, it will be Carolina.
Washington Capitals
Coach Spencer Carberry has made Washington one of the top teams again in the Metropolitan. While the roster is still known for its scoring prowess, there is better defensive depth and more goaltenders Carberry can turn to should injuries/slumps arrive. The Capitals should be one of the best teams in the conference not found in Florida or North Carolina.
Philadelphia Flyers
Not only did Philadelphia impress in the playoffs but they got better in the offseason. Rick Tocchet showed viewers why he is one of the best NHL coaches. The Flyers defense and continued offensive progress could make them one of the top two teams in the metropolitan and a true threat to atlantic division opponents.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It’s hard to pick what fourth team could make the playoffs from this division. Columbus could be one of the NHL’s worst teams this season. New Jersey will have issues with their defense and goaltenders again, and both New York teams will face a lot of drama from coaching to more roster trades before March. None of these four look like stable options that could come close to making the playoffs.
That leaves Pittsburgh as the lone choice. The Penguins should build off last season’s progress, do better on offense and solidify their goaltending options. Arturs Silovs is a good choice to name as starter. Now Pittsburgh needs to improve on special teams, especially the power-play. While a lot of people aren’t happy the Penguins haven’t won a series in almost a decade, there will be plenty of time to work on and figure that out in a long season. At least this is a Pittsburgh team most people can stomach to watch.
Regular season eastern conference playoffs prediction record: 3-5
