The series runs up to 3 wins (then in the usual format up to 4 wins)
EAST
Proceed to the next round automatically:
Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers.
Series No. 1. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (5) v MONTREAL CANADIENS (12)
Now it looks pretty disappointing, but before the break, Pittsburgh lacked just a couple of victories to oust the competitors from the top 4 in the east and do without a zero round test (0.623 versus 0.645 percent of Philadelphia’s wins, which allowed the Flyers to be immediately in the main draw).
Now the Penguins will have to play a relatively full-fledged elimination streak, having the best percentage of wins out of all the other 16 play-outs in the unfinished regular season.
Their rival will be Montreal, which, in turn, were the last to get into the playoffs in the east, and if the championship in March lasted a few more days, in their place, after a failed face-to-face meeting, they could well be Buffalo, who just lacked everything 1 wins to outflank your neighbors in the division.
It would be logical to call Pittsburgh the favorite of the series, but in this situation, the greatest role can be played not by the quality of the roster and the experience of the top players, but by the physical condition of the team and the general willingness to start the elimination matches.
Clubs are allowed not to comment in detail on the reasons for the absence (injury or illness) of players in the training camp. Nevertheless, the leader and captain of Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby, began training only last week, thereby calling into question his participation in the first match against Montreal (although he confidently declares his readiness to go on the ice).
