With the NHL regular-season coming to an end it’s time to focus on the common goal, Lord Stanley’s Cup. 

This year’s playoffs are stacked. Each conference consists of talented clubs that all wish to achieve the title of 2015 Stanley Cup champions. But only one team can become the champion. 

The New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, and Pittsburgh Penguins will represent the eight seeds in the Eastern conference. 

The Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames will be the eight seeds from the Western conference. 

The defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings will not have the chance to make a back to back run this year, they were knocked out of the playoff race with a loss to the Calgary Flames on April 9th. 

This year wasn’t an easy one for the Kings. They had a roller coaster of a season; losing many games at a time. Being the defending champs teams around the league had their number, in the hopes of knocking them out of the playoffs. 

In the East, the Pittsburgh Penguins barely made the playoffs this year. Their chances came down to the wire, the last game of the season. Luckily for them they won and the Boston Bruins lost in overtime, securing the final spot for them in the East on April 11th. 

On Monday good news for the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Kane was cleared by the Hawks medical staff on April 13th. Team doctor Michael Terry released a statement on clearing Patrick Kane,“Patrick Kane suffered a broken left clavicle on February 24, and underwent successful surgery to repair the fracture on February 25. Patrick has been working extremely diligently with his rehabilitation and has recently returned to full-contact practice without any difficulty. After discussions with Patrick and the team, and examining Patrick today, we collectively feel it is appropriate, with minimal risk, for him to return to full participation.” 

With the playoffs poised to begin on Wednesday, who do the fans think will go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals? 

“I’d say the Rangers are the favorite to represent the Eastern conference as they are a consistently strong team with a great record this year,” said Noah Mclaughlin, junior at Normal West, “and for the Western conference I would say it’s either going to be the Blues or Predators. The Blues have been a solid team for the past few seasons but the Predators have been on fire this year and they could go really far.” 

With all the playoff slots locked in place, it’s going to be a fight to the finish in the race to 16 wins and Lord Stanley’s Cup. 

See you April 15th when the craze of the Stanley Cup Playoffs begins.