The 2023 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs began on Monday as 16 teams begin what they hope will be their path to championship glory. Only one will survive the two-month, four-series journey to hoist The Cup.

On Sunday, we looked at the factors that would give each of this year's postseason teams a chance to win the Cup. Today, we'll examine the issues that could prevent them from going all the way.

A popgun offense, a porous defense or shaky goaltending could derail their championship dreams. Injuries could mount as the play becomes more defensive and physically demanding as the postseason goes along. A lack of playoff experience for young players can be a factor but the grind can also take its toll on older players.

NHL

Which player on each NHL playoff team has most to prove?

This listing is broken down by division based on where each team finished in the standings. Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts if you agree or disagree with our analysis.

 

Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins

The Bruins' power-play percentage slipped over the course of the regular season to 12th overall at 22.2 percent. Goaltenders Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have a combined eight games of playoff experience. Aging centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci could find the toll of a long playoff drive more taxing this year.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander have yet to deliver in elimination game situations. Starting goalie Matt Murray is recovering from a concussion while backup Ilya Samsonov has only eight playoff games under his belt. They once again face the mounting pressure to deliver their first playoff series win since 2004.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final could extract a physical toll on veteran core players Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy in this postseason. Their roster isn't as deep compared to the past three seasons and it showed at times during the season. Their penalty-killing percentage (79.7) was 15th overall this season.

Florida Panthers

Starting netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has a postseason record of 17 wins and 29 losses with a 3.13 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Their penalty-killing percentage this season (76.0) is the second-worst among the 16 playoff clubs while their faceoff win percentage (48.9) is the fourth-worst.