The opening round of the NHL postseason will feature a matchup between two franchises that haven't won a single playoff series since 1996, as the Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers take on the New York Islanders.

Florida took the first two meetings between the squads this season, but the Islanders won their most recent game less than a month ago.

A battle between Jaromir Jagr and John Tavares should make for an entertaining series.

Tale of the tape

Key Players

Roberto Luongo

One of the biggest keys to the young Panthers' rise this season has been the presence of their veteran goaltender - who, in his first-ever playoff series in Florida, will face the team that drafted him fourth overall in 1997.

After being traded by the Islanders, Luongo rose to stardom from 2000-06 in his first stint with the Panthers, but was never able to reach the postseason until moving to Vancouver.

Now with a Stanley Cup Final run under his belt, the 37-year-old will be leaned on heavily, but Florida should feel good about the veteran's .931 save percentage against the Islanders this season.

Brian Campbell

While appearing in his 1,000th NHL game earlier this week, the 36-year-old defenseman also set a franchise record by playing his 375th consecutive game with the Panthers.

Campbell, who led his team in ice time this season, will skate beside 20-year-old Aaron Ekblad through the first playoff series of his career, while anchoring their power-play unit against one of the league's top penalty-killing teams.

"He's reliable every night," head coach Gerard Gallant raved prior to game No. 1,000 and his consistency will be key on a blue line where every other defenseman - outside injured captain Willie Mitchell - is under 30.

John Tavares

A first-round series victory may not mean more to a single player on either team than the 25-year-old center.

Set to make his third Stanley Cup playoffs appearance, Tavares has been productive with 11 points in 13 career postseason games, but a series win may be enough to convince Kyle Okposo - arguably the most talented linemate he's ever had - to remain in Brooklyn with his unrestricted free agency pending.

He's entering the playoffs in incredible form with nine points in his past four games and 12 in his last seven, and no player can make more of a difference at the offensive end than the Islanders captain.

Schedule

*If necessary

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The Washington Capitals stormed out of the gate this season and never looked back, collecting their sixth division title in the last nine years.

With the regular season behind them they now take their fight to the postseason. A first-place finish in the Eastern Conference has pinned them against the Philadelphia Flyers an opponent that got the upper-hand in their last postseason meeting in 2008.

The Flyers will be no pushover this time around either, as the team managed to split the season series against the Capitals.

Alex Ovechkin continues to score at will and Braden Holtby just tied an NHL record, Flyers will need to push back and push back hard if they stand a fighting chance against the beast of the East.

Tale of the Tape

Key Players

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Ovechkin will enter the postseason with a near point per game resume in playoff games and we shouldn't expect much less from the team's captain this time around.

So what will be key for the Capitals - as they look to prove this season's monstrous regular season was no fluke - is secondary scoring.

Though Evgeny Kuznetsov's production was far from secondary this season -leading the team with 57 assists and 77 points - the 23-year-old still largely occupies the team's second line.

Kuznetsov really began to turn heads last season once the playoffs began. After a mediocre regular season saw him amass just 11 goals and 37 points, he shared the team lead with five goals in the postseason.

He finished behind only Oveckin and Nicklas Backstrom on the team with 18 power play points and tied for the most overtime markers this season. He is young, but if he can once again elevate his game like he did last playoffs, he could be what makes the Capitals offense too much to handle.

Steve Mason

Steve Mason's playoff resume is short.

While the 27-year-old has 405 regular season games to his credit, his playoff workload includes just nine games.

In his two separate postseason appearances, Mason has failed to make it out of the first round. His first taste coming with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009 saw him rack up a dismal .878 save percentage and a 4.27 goals-against average.

However, turn the clocks ahead five years and his second instalment fared much better. In five games with the Flyers in 2014 Mason did all he could constructing a .939 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average.

The Flyers managed just the 24th most goals for this season so simply put, the pressure will be on for the team to keep the puck out.

The key will be what kind of Steve Mason will we see in the postseason, the 2009 edition or the much more impressive 2014 version.

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After the two franchises teamed up for an alumni game against the Chicago Blackhawks in February, the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild will be playoff opponents for the first time in the opening round of the postseason.

The Western Conference champion Stars took four of five regular-season meetings against the Wild, but three of those wins came in overtime.

The Wild are entering the playoffs winless in their past five games, with three of those losses coming against non-playoff teams.

Tale of the Tape

Key Players

Jamie Benn

With Tyler Seguin's status for Game 1 still unknown, the Stars captain will have even more pressure on him to score.

Thankfully for Dallas, it just so happens the 26-year-old has more points against the Wild this season than against any other team, recording three goals, six assists, and a plus-6 rating over five games against the division rival.

The Stars don't lack for offensive depth with Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, and even defenseman John Klingberg - but Benn will be the key in powering the Stars through to the second round.

Kari Lehtonen/Antti Niemi

The biggest question mark surrounding the Central Division champs is goaltending, with the Stars allowing more goals this season than any other playoff team.

But both netminders finished their seasons with confidence as Lehtonen has won nine of his last 12 starts, while 2010 Cup winner Niemi has an impressive .942 save percentage in his last four.

They may not be too concerned as the Wild have scored just four times across four games since April 1, but whichever goalie is handed the No. 1 job will need to be sharp against Zach Parise and company.

Ryan Suter

Since signing with the Wild prior to the 2012-13 season, the veteran defenseman has averaged 28:43 of ice time per game - a full minute more than his nearest competitor, Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators.

Expect more of the same in the first round, as Suter averaged 31 minutes per game in five games against the Stars.

After matching or setting new career highs in goals (8), assists (43), and shots on goal (188) this season, it will be Suter's defensive play - tasked with shutting down the Stars' high-powered offense - that will be critical if the Wild hope to pull off the upset.

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Started from the bottom, now they're here. (Sorry.)

The Anaheim Ducks are Pacific Division champions. Again. The club locked up its fourth straight division crown - and fifth in franchise history - after beating the Washington Capitals 2-0 on Sunday. The Ducks finish with 103 points to the Los Angeles Kings' 102, a remarkable turn of events considering Anaheim's early-season struggles.

The Ducks lost only 10 of their final 49 games in regulation.

Anaheim will face the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs.

The Ducks also clinched the William Jennings Trophy on Sunday, finishing with 192 goals against. By scoring twice on the Capitals, Washington finished with 193 goals against.

The division title is Bruce Boudreau's eighth as a head coach.

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