Friday Four: Eastern Conference Qualifying Round

With the NHL season having been paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, Kevin Weekes will continue his Friday Four. The former goalie and current NHL Network analyst will be blogging about four of his favorite or memorable items on a certain topic. Today, he analyzes the four Eastern Conference Qualifying Round series.

RELATED: [Weekes: Western Conference Qualifying Round]

Pittsburgh Penguins-Montreal Canadiens

I think this could be a better matchup than people recognize. Coach Mike Sullivan has done a great job with the Penguins, but don't count out the Canadiens, especially with a goalie like Carey Price.

The Penguins had a great regular season, were very consistent and have gotten healthy. The extended time off gives center Sidney Crosby, defenseman Kris Letang and company more time to rest; it also means forward Jake Guentzel, who had shoulder surgery on Dec. 31, is likely to be back. Plus, the Penguins have two great goalie options in Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry.

The Canadiens do have to defend better in front of Price, but the time off will be great for them as well -- particularly for defenseman Shea Weber, who missed time this season because of injury. Rookie forward Nick Suzuki, who had 13 goals and 41 points, and forward Tomas Tatar, who led them with 61 points, including 22 goals, could be big factors.

Carolina Hurricanes-New York Rangers

Carolina has the best young group of defensemen in the League with guys like Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei. Also, the Hurricanes will be getting veterans Dougie Hamilton and Sami Vatanen back from injury, making the back end even stronger. Carolina's forwards, led by Sebastian Aho (38 goals, 66 points), Teuvo Teravainen (15 goals, 63 points) and Andrei Svechnikov (24 goals, 61 points), are capable of taking over games.

The biggest question for the Rangers is what they'll do with their goalies. Given Henrik Lundqvist's playoff pedigree and experience, will he get the nod over rookie Igor Shesterkin or Alexandar Georgiev? Lundqvist started two of the Rangers' final 20 games prior to the pause but has been skating in Sweden.

Offensively, Artemi Panarin (32 goals, 95 points) for me is a Hart Trophy candidate. He was the best free agent signing in New York sports in years. Mika Zibanejad (41 goals, 75 points), and Ryan Strome (18 goals, 59 points) complement him nicely, and the young defense with Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox has been really good.

Toronto Maple Leafs-Columbus Blue Jackets

This is a very intriguing matchup for me because Toronto has offensive firepower and Columbus is excellent defensively. Zach Werenski and Seth Jones, who was recovering from an ankle injury, are one of the best pairs of defensemen in the game. Goalie coach Manny Legace has done a great job with Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins this season. The Blue Jackets force opponents to play a hard game, and the Maple Leafs won't be able to go East-West as much as they like to.

Although every team will benefit because the time off allows players to heal from injuries, perhaps no team will get a bigger boost than Columbus. Besides Jones, defensemen Dean Kukan (knee) and Ryan Murray (undisclosed), and forwards Cam Atkinson (ankle), Alexandre Texier (back), Oliver Bjorkstrand (ankle) and Nathan Gerbe (groin) likely will be ready to return.

The Maple Leafs have game-breaking forwards in John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but it's likely they'll have to play a different style in this series. They likely will get defenseman Jake Muzzin (hand) and forward Ilya Mikheyev (wrist) back, which will help. Toronto also could have forward Nick Robertson in the lineup. The 18-year-old led the Ontario Hockey League in goals this season with 55.

New York Islanders-Florida Panthers

The break couldn't have come at a better time for the Islanders, who were winless in seven games (0-3-4) and trending in the wrong direction. Now they get a chance to reset. It's a Barry Trotz-coached team, so we know they will be solid defensively. Getting defenseman Adam Pelech back will help there, but will they have enough offense behind centers Mathew Barzal (19 goals, 60 points) and Brock Nelson (26 goals, 54 points)?

The Panthers played better down the stretch. Forwards Jonathan Huberdeau (23 goals, 78 points), Aleksander Barkov (20 goals, 62 points) and Mike Hoffman (29 goals, 59 points) have been excellent. Florida is by far the better offensive team, with five 20-goal scorers. The question for the Panthers will be in goal. Sergei Bobrovsky (23-19-6, 3.23 goals-against average, .900 save percentage) hasn't played consistently well this season, but he proved he was capable of performing in the playoffs last year when he allowed eight goals in four games during a first-round sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning.