The NHL playoffs began on Wednesday April 11, thus commencing the most exciting two months of playoff sports in America. The opening rounds feature intriguing matchups and storylines that will be sure to entertain, no matter the outcomes. In the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning locked up the top seed on the last night of the regular season, when the Boston Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers on a night they could have clinched the top seed. The Bruins and Lightning are on a collision course to meet in the second round if they can both outlast their first round opponents, the Maple Leafs and Flyers respectively.
This NHL season saw former powerhouses ousted from playoff contention. Teams in the East, like the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators, had down seasons. The Rangers traded away some key players for future considerations. The Senators, on the other hand, will need to swallow their pride this offseason and show star defenseman Erik Karlsson some money if they want him around next season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins look to win the championship for the third time in three seasons, a feat that has not been accomplished since the Islanders won four in a row from 1980 to 1983. The Washington Capitals hope to dispose of their playoff yips and make it past the conference semifinals for the first time since the 1997-1998 season.
The Nashville Predators ran away with the President’s Trophy as the team with the most points, finishing three points ahead of the Jets in the West and four points ahead of the Lightning in the East. The Vegas Golden Knights sit at the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, as they get set for a first round matchup with the Los Angeles Kings that begins on Wednesday.
The Knights boast the most wins by an NHL team in an inaugural season and are also the first to reach 100 points. Familiar faces in the playoffs, like the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues, will have to watch from the couch as the games get underway. The Blackhawks failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-2008 season, and the Blues failed to qualify for the first time since the 2010-2011 season. The Vancouver Canucks said goodbye to two franchise legends last week when twin brothers and long-time Canucks, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, retired after an 18-year career with Vancouver.
The NHL playoffs are considered some of the most exciting sports action available today. The arenas will be rowdy, the players will be intense, and the playoff beards will be full-grown soon enough. Young stars have performed well this regular season, but will the spotlights of the playoffs be too much for them to handle? Or, will they be able to adjust and keep showing the sports world what the future of the NHL looks like? The Stanley Cup Champion will be crowned in early June, but there is a lot to sort out before then, and the door for a new champion is wide open.