Stanley Cup Qualifiers preview: East round-robin

The Stanley Cup Qualifiers will use eight best-of-5 series and two four-team round-robins to determine the field and seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

NHL.com will preview every series and every team in the round-robin prior to the start of play Aug. 1.

Today, a look at the four teams in the Eastern Conference round-robin: the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. The teams will play each other once to determine the order of the top four seeds for the first round of the playoffs. All games will be played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto using regular-season overtime rules.

Boston Bruins

2019-20 season: 44-14-12, .714 points percentage

Season series: TBL 1-2-1; WSH 1-1-1; PHI 1-0-2

Game breaker

Forward Brad Marchand tied St. Louis Blues center Ryan O'Reilly for the NHL lead with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His 87 points (29 goals, 58 assists) in 70 games before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus were the second most in his NHL career, behind the 100 (36 goals, 64 assists) he scored in 79 games last season.

Goaltending

Tuukka Rask was 26-8-6 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .929 save percentage, and is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL. There's a chance backup Jaroslav Halak (18-6-6, 2.39, .919) gets some starts during the round-robin. Rask and Halak combined to win the William M. Jennings Trophy because Boston allowed the fewest goals in the NHL during the regular season (167).

Numbers to know

If the Bruins reach the Stanley Cup Final, they would become the fifth team in 21 seasons to get there in back-to-back seasons, after the Pittsburgh Penguins (2016 and 2017; 2008 and 2009), Detroit Red Wings (2008 and 2009), New Jersey Devils (2000 and 2001) and Dallas Stars (1999 and 2000).

They said it

"There's a mission here. There's a mission for us to win the Stanley Cup and finish the job." -- forward Jake DeBrusk

Projected lineup

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak

Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Jack Studnicka

Sean Kuraly - Charlie Coyle - Anders Bjork

Joakim Nordstrom - Par Lindholm - Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy

Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo

Matt Grzelcyk - Jeremy Lauzon

Tuukka Rask

Jaroslav Halak

Scratched:Trent Frederic, Karson Kuhlman, Zach Senyshyn, Connor Clifton, John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Maxime Lagace, Dan Vladar

Unfit to play:Ondrej Kase, Nick Ritchie

Tampa Bay Lightning

2019-20 season: 43-21-6, .657 points percentage

Season series: BOS 3-1-0; WSH 0-2-1; PHI 2-0-0

Game breaker

Forward Nikita Kucherov can be among the best players in the NHL when he's on; he won the Hart Trophy voted as League MVP last season with 128 points (41 goals, 87 assists). He scored 85 points (33 goals, 52 assists) in 68 games before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. With Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point, Kucherov is part of a top line that can be hard to stop. He's a threat because of his abilities as a scorer and playmaker, and his creativity is one of the keys to the Lightning's fortunes.

Goaltending

Andrei Vasilevskiy was voted winner of the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL last season and is a finalist for the award this season. He had a 2.88 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in his first 25 starts this season but finished with a 2.56 GAA and .917 save percentage. Vasilevskiy had a 3.82 GAA and .856 save percentage in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference First Round.

Numbers to know

The Lightning finished first in the NHL in goals (243) and goals per game (3.47) this season. It was the third consecutive season that they finished first in the League in scoring. The Toronto Maple Leafs were second in goals (237), and the Washington Capitals were second in goals per game (3.42).

They said it

"I don't think I'm going to be on my own. We have a great group of guys here, and I think if I don't have a good game, I know guys are going to pick me up. We're going to be helping each other to get through this. It's going to be a fun experience." --forward Yanni Gourde

Projected lineup

Steven Stamkos -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Ondrej Palat

Blake Coleman -- Tyler Johnson -- Barclay Goodrow

Pat Maroon -- Cedric Paquette -- Yanni Gourde

Victor Hedman -- Jan Rutta

Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak

Mikhail Sergachev -- Kevin Shattenkirk

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched:Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Mitchell Stephens, Carter Verhaeghe, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Zach Bogosian, Braydon Coburn, Luke Schenn, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel

Unfit to play:None

Washington Capitals

2019-20 season: 41-20-8, .652 points percentage

Season series: BOS 2-1-0; TBL 3-0-0; PHI 1-3-0

Game breaker

In his 15th NHL season, left wing Alex Ovechkin tied Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak for the NHL lead with 48 goals in 68 games. It was his NHL-record ninth time leading the League in goals. He's eighth in NHL history with 706.

Goaltending

Although Braden Holtby (25-14-6) had the worst goals-against average (3.11) and save percentage (.897) of his 10-season NHL career, the 30-year-old played well in his final 11 games, going 5-3-2 with a 2.75 GAA and .911 save percentage. Holtby's 2.09 GAA and .928 save percentage in the playoffs rank first among active goalies (minimum 50 games). Rookie backup Ilya Samsonov sustained a season-ending injury prior to training camp, leaving either Pheonix Copley or Vitek Vanecek to back up Holtby. Copley, who was the Capitals backup last season, went 17-8-6 with a 2.46 GAA, .905 save percentage and two shutouts with Hershey in the American Hockey League this season. Vanecek, who has yet to play an NHL game, went 19-10-1 with a 2.26 GAA, .917 save percentage and two shutouts with Hershey.
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Numbers to know

Washington's power play was fifth in the NHL at 25.3 percent (22-for-87) through 28 games but was 30th in the NHL at 15.5 percent (20-for-129) in 41 games after that. ... The Capitals had the best winning percentage in the NHL when trailing after two periods (.321; 9-17-2).

They said it

"We're playing for a championship here. A little different circumstances, but at the same time, we're playing for the same thing. Whatever team is going to prepare themselves the best, that's the team that's going to win." -- center Nicklas Backstrom

Projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie

Carl Hagelin -- Lars Eller -- Ilya Kovalchuk

Richard Panik -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway

Michal Kempny -- John Carlson

Brenden Dillon -- Dmitry Orlov

Jonas Siegenthaler -- Nick Jensen

Braden Holtby

Pheonix Copley

Scratched:Alexander Alexeyev, Travis Boyd, Martin Fehervary, Radko Gudas, Tyler Lewington, Philippe Maillet, Beck Malenstyn, Connor McMichael, Brian Pinho, Daniel Sprong, Vitek Vanecek

Unfit to play:Ilya Samsonov

Philadelphia Flyers

2019-20 season: 41-21-7, .645 points percentage

Season series: BOS 2-1-0; TBL 0-2-0; WSH 3-0-1

Game breaker

Sean Couturier, the center on Philadelphia's top line, was third on the Flyers in goals (22) and second in points (59). A finalist for the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL, he won a League-best 59.6 percent of his face-offs (minimum 500 taken), including 59.5 percent of defensive-zone face-offs, third best in the NHL behind teammate Claude Giroux (65.8 percent) and Jay Beagle of the Vancouver Canucks (61.0 percent). Coach Alain Vigneault will utilize Couturier in every important situation at 5-on-5 and on special teams.

Goaltending

Carter Hart, in his first full NHL season, won 24 games, had a .914 save percentage and was eighth in the NHL with a 2.42 goals-against average in 43 games before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. The 21-year-old was the youngest goalie in the NHL to play at least 20 games this season, and his teammates have shown an abundance of confidence in him.

Numbers to know

The Flyers allowed an NHL-low 28.7 shots on goal per game. That includes limiting the Boston Bruins to an average of 29.3 shots on goal in three games, below Boston's season average of 32.1; the Tampa Bay Lightning to 26.0 in two games, below Tampa Bay's average of 31.1; and the Washington Capitals to 29.5 in four games, below Washington's average of 32.0.

They said it

"I think no matter who we play, this team has a ton of confidence. We had a great season. ... We're a very tight team, we're all pulling the same rope, whether it's the top guys getting all the points and the third- and fourth-line guys doing their job, it's a full team effort every night. It's been fun all year. I know the so-called best teams that had the best seasons are in the round-robin. I think no matter who we're playing, our coaches and our players have a lot of confidence playing against anyone." -- center Kevin Hayes

Projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek

Joel Farabee -- Kevin Hayes -- Travis Konecny

James van Riemsdyk -- Derek Grant -- Tyler Pitlick

Scott Laughton -- Nate Thompson -- Michael Raffl

Ivan Provorov -- Matt Niskanen

Travis Sanheim -- Philippe Myers

Robert Hagg -- Justin Braun

Carter Hart

Brian Elliott

Scratched:Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Oskar Lindblom,Shayne Gostisbehere, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel, Video: Boston Bruins Highlight Reel

Unfit to play:None

NHL.com staff writers Amalie Benjamin, Tom Gulitti and Adam Kimelman contributed to this report