NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2012: Teams Who Are Guaranteed to Be One-and-Done

Every postseason, we get a few teams who we expect to fold in the first round and some we didn't expect, which is what makes the NHL playoffs the best postseason in all sports.

Unfortunately for eight teams, the postseason is over after a mere seven games and all the effort ends up being for little more than a plane ride home. 

Washington Capitals

Unfortunately for the Capitals, they are playing one of the best teams in the league in the Boston Bruins.

The Caps had a rough regular season and struggled at times.

Goaltending was inconsistent often enough for it to be an issue with Vokoun not being the star goalie the team had hoped for night in and out.

The Bruins will take this series. 

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators have had an outstanding regular season that earned the team a ticket into the postseason this year.

The Rangers have had an even better season and are a much more complete team with more depth.

Beyond the first line, the Sens don't have the best scoring ability needed to make it deep into the playoffs, especially against a hard forechecking team like the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury are nothing short of excellent.

The question is can they take the physical play that Philly brings every night?

Not likely.

Wednesday night, Philly excelled later in the game as their grinding style took its toll on the Penguins before scoring in overtime to take the win.

Philly will take this series solely based on grinding out the Pens. 

Florida Panthers

The Panthers surprised all who would've thought a team formed basically over the offseason with a first-year coach would make it to the postseason with quite a bit of success.

Unfortunately, this may also be a pitfall for the Panthers as well. They have little playoff experience and are a new squad under a new coach.

The Devils on the other hand, while having a new coach, are not a new squad. They will take this series based on experience alone. 

Los Angeles Kings

This series is a bit of a toss up.

The Kings are huge underdogs with their lack of scoring during the regular season, but Game 1 saw them take advantage of the Canucks' lack of discipline.

That being said, if the Canucks can keep their play from being reckless, they should be able to rebound into the next few games and take the series. 

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks had a rough regular season as their playoff hopes, for a while, were not promising, but salvaged the end of the season and made a run into the playoffs.

This series isn't so much of the Sharks being a lesser team, its just the Blues have played much more consistently.

The Blues will take this one based on their defense and excellent goaltending against the Sharks. 

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago is always a formidable team.

Last year, the Hawks almost beat the Canucks coming in at the eighth seed. This year has been much better, except a few times where the team was stone cold but made up for it by going on an excellent hot streak.

The Coyotes have done almost exactly the same, but their goaltender Mike Smith has been far more consistent than Corey Crawford. The Coyotes will have to exploit this and put as many shots on Crawford as possible.

The Coyotes will take this series and make their first postseason appearance beyond the first round. 

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit has had a nearly perfect season—except on the road. They have what can be said as some of the best in every department.

Great defense, offense and goaltending.

Nashville has one of the most solid defenses and one of the best goaltenders in the league. It's Detroit's play on the road that will cost them this series.

The size of Nashville's defense is going to prove a huge challenge for Detroit and, unless they bring their best every night on the road, it will be all for nothing.