Golden Knights title defense, Lindgren brothers facing off, rematches among things to keep eye on
The 16-team field is set, the matchups and schedules are official, the rinks are ready and the fun is about to begin.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Saturday with two Game 1s; the New York Islanders visit the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena (5 p.m. ET; TBS, truTV, MAX, SNE, SNW, SNP, SN360, TVAS, MSGSN, BSSO), and the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Boston Bruins at TD Garden (8 p.m. ET; TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS).
There are four Game 1s on Sunday.
It starts with an Eastern Conference afternoon doubleheader; the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers play at Amerant Bank Arena (12:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, BSSUN, BSFL), followed by the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, MNMT, MSG).
The Western Conference gets underway with the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre (7 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVAS) followed by the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS).
The remaining two Game 1s are Monday, with the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, FX-CA, TVAS) and the Los Angeles Kings against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place (10 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVAS).
The best time of the hockey season is here, and the first round is sure to be frantic.
Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round arrives Saturday
Here are 16 storylines to follow:
Redemption round
The first round features three rematches from the playoffs last season, including two that took place in the first round.
The Oilers knocked out the Kings in six games and the Hurricanes needed six games to get past the Islanders in the first round.
The Oilers and Kings finished the same this season as they did last season, with Edmonton second in the Pacific Division and Los Angeles third. The main difference is who is behind the bench; Kris Knoblauch for the Oilers and Jim Hiller for the Kings.
Knoblauch was coaching in Hartford of the American Hockey League last season and this season until taking over for Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 12. Hiller was an assistant in L.A. under Todd McLellan last season and this season until he was named the interim coach on Feb. 2.
The Golden Knights defeated the Stars in the Western Conference Final last year, needing six games to get past them and into the Stanley Cup Final, where they won in five against the Panthers.
Golden Knights begin repeat bid, likely without Stone
Mark Stone’s availability will be a daily question for the Golden Knights in their first-round series against the Stars.
The forward and Vegas’ captain, hasn’t played since Feb. 20 because of a lacerated spleen. He returned to practice April 12 in a noncontact jersey but there remains no timetable for his return.
With or without Stone, the Golden Knights championship defense begins with a first-round series against a team they eliminated on their path to winning the Stanley Cup last season.
Red-hot riding into the playoffs
The Jets have the NHL’s longest active winning streak at eight in a row, which helped them secure second in the Central Division.
The Stars won eight of their last 10 regular season games and 17 of their last 21 to lock up first in the Central.
The Islanders went 8-0-1 to close the season and get into the playoffs as the third-place finisher in the Metropolitan Division.
The Panthers, last season’s Eastern Conference champion, have won four in a row, good enough to leap the Bruins and finish first in the Atlantic Division.
Do the hot finishes make the Jets, Stars, Islanders and Panthers primed for first-round success?
It doesn’t always work that way, but it’s worth watching to see if how they finished the regular season will translate to how they start the playoffs.
Leafs looking for different result against Boston
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly and the Maple Leafs can’t hide from their recent history with the Bruins in the playoffs as much as they might want to.
They came back from down 3-1 in the first round in 2018; lost in seven.
They had a 3-2 lead after five games in the first round in 2019; lost in seven.
It’s grim and it’s a story in Toronto because the same core five players from 2019 are still the Maple Leafs’ core five now. It’s on Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and Rielly to change the narrative when they play the Bruins this time around.
They did it last year against the Lightning, defeating them in six games one year after losing to them in seven. But the Bruins have been the Maple Leafs biggest playoff nemesis in the past six years, which only adds fuel to this first-round matchup.
Sunshine State rivalry, Part 3
To win the Stanley Cup, the Panthers and Lightning will first have to win their own state.
The Lightning did that in 2021. They nearly did it again in 2022.
The NHL’s Florida-based teams are meeting in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. They didn’t play against each other in the playoffs in the first 26 seasons that both were NHL teams, starting in 1993-94, the Panthers’ inaugural season.
Tampa Bay defeated Florida in six games in the first round in 2021, the start of its run at a repeat Stanley Cup championship. The Lightning swept the Panthers in the second round in 2022 before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Panthers went to the Stanley Cup Final last season, but avoided facing the Lightning, who were eliminated in the first round by Toronto.
For years, the Sunshine State Rivalry was just an idea. It’s real now, and we’re about to get the third iteration of it.
Laviolette to face former team
Peter Laviolette will do something for the first time in the NHL, no small feat for the Rangers coach who has been coaching in the League every season since 2001-02.
Laviolette will face one of his former teams in a playoff series, and it just so happens to be the most recent team he coached, the Capitals.
The Rangers are the fifth Metropolitan Division team that Laviolette has coached after the Islanders (2001-03), Hurricanes (2003-09), Philadelphia Flyers (2009-14) and Capitals (2020-23).
He led the Islanders to the playoffs in both of his seasons with them, but it was his first NHL coaching gig so there were no former teams on his resume to face.
The Hurricanes reached the playoffs in just one of his four full seasons. It was 2006, when they won the Stanley Cup, but they did not play the Islanders in that run.
The Flyers went to the playoffs three times under Laviolette, including going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010, but didn’t at any point face the Islanders or Hurricanes.
The Capitals reached the playoffs twice, but lost in the first round both times, to the Boston Bruins in 2021 and the Florida Panthers in 2022.
Roy’s return to playoffs
Patrick Roy will get his chance to make a mark in the playoffs again, his 19th time competing in the NHL’s postseason but first in a decade.
Roy replaced Lane Lambert as the Islanders coach on Jan. 20 with the intent of turning their season around and getting them into the playoffs. It wasn’t a build for next season move; it was a move to save this season.
The Islanders went 20-12-5 in their last 37 games under Roy after going 19-15-11 under Lambert. They went 8-0-1 to close the regular season, finishing third in the Metropolitan Division and getting the Hurricanes in the first round for a second straight season.
It all means that Roy, a four-time Stanley Cup champion goalie, twice with the Montreal Canadiens (1986, 1993) and twice with the Avalanche (1996, 2001), is back in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
Roy played in the playoffs in 17 of his 18 seasons as an NHL goalie, missing only in 1994-95. He coached the Avalanche to the playoffs in 2013-14, his first season as an NHL coach. They lost in the first round to the Minnesota Wild in seven games.
Panarin’s confidence key
Artemi Panarin had a season for the ages, setting personal NHL bests with 49 goals and 120 points, playing in 82 games, getting at least one point in 67 of them, including in each of the last 13 games, to help the Rangers set team records with 55 wins and 114 points, and win the President’s Trophy.
But that’s yesterday’s news.
Panarin was excellent last season too, with 92 points (29 goals, 63 assists) in 82 games. He followed it up with a forgettable first-round series against the New Jersey Devils.
He had two assists in Game 1, a 5-1 win, and did not get another point as the Rangers lost four of the last five games to fall in seven.
His performance against the Devils might have been a driving force behind his motivation this season. As good as the Rangers were this season, it was Panarin pushing them every game, and that can’t change. He has to produce.
Demko’s health key for Canucks
Thatcher Demko is back for the Canucks, and that’s huge for the top team in the Pacific Division.
Demko returned Tuesday with 39 saves in a 4-1 win against the Calgary Flames, the goalie’s first game since sustaining a knee injury March 9, missing 14 straight games. He also made 25 saves in a 4-2 loss to the Jets on Thursday.
Now he has to hold up in the first round against the Predators for the Canucks to have a chance to advance.
Demko should be rested, which is good news for the Canucks. He showed against the Flames that there is no rust on him, another piece of good news. But that was against a non-playoff team, so perspective might be needed.
The Predators, on the other hand, have been the best team in the NHL for two months, going 20-5-3 in 28 games since Feb. 17, good for a League-best .768 points percentage in that time.
Demko and the Canucks will have their hands full.
See Canucks compete in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Goalie carousel in Islanders-Hurricanes series
Varlamov may have wrestled the No. 1 job away from Sorokin late in the season with Roy, who coached him in Colorado, leaning on him when the Islanders needed wins to clinch a playoff spot.
He started eight of the Islanders last 13 games, including six of eight from March 28-April 11. He was 7-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in his eight starts. Sorokin was 3-1-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .926 save percentage in his five starts.
Andersen and Kochetkov alternated starts for the last six weeks of the regular season when the Hurricanes never started the same goalie two games in a row. Each got 10 starts before Spencer Martin started the regular-season finale Tuesday.
Andersen, who returned March 7 from missing time for a blood clotting issue, may have earned the Game 1 start, going 9-1-0 with a 1.30 GAA, .951 save percentage and three shutouts. Kochetkov was 7-2-1 with a 2.09 GAA and .915 save percentage.
Ovechkin is back
Alex Ovechkin is back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. Will this be the last time we see the Washington Capitals star in the postseason?
Ovechkin, the Capitals captain, will be participating in his 15th NHL postseason in the past 17 years. He and the Capitals missed in 2014 and 2023. The barely made it this season, finishing with 91 points after being a seller in advance of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.
Among active players career stats in the playoffs, Ovechkin is 10th in games played (147), second in goals (72), ninth in assists (69), fourth in points (141), tied for second in power play goals (28), tied for seventh in game-winning goals (10) and first in shots on goal (637).
The Capitals are 71-75 in playoff games with Ovechkin, who is 38 years old. They won the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Swayman, Ullmark or both in Boston
If we’re going by the late season indications, Linus Ullmark will be in the Bruins net to start Game 1 against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, but only because his numbers were slightly better than Jeremy Swayman’s down the stretch.
Ullmark and Swayman alternated starts in Boston’s last 26 games of the season. Ullmark started 13, going 6-4-3 with a 2.28 GAA and .919 save percentage. Swayman started 13 and was 8-4-1 with a 2.83 GAA and .902 save percentage.
The Bruins could continue the goalie rotation in the first round against the Maple Leafs too, meaning whoever starts Game 1 becomes the backup for Game 2, regardless of the result.
It is unusual to see that, but it’s not without merit for Ullmark and Swayman considering it is something they’re used to.
The Bruins rotated Ullmark and Swayman throughout the regular season last year too, but didn’t make a goalie change until Game 7 of the first round against the Panthers, when Swayman started for Ullmark. It was too late, and they lost to the Panthers.
That could be the impetus for the Bruins to keep the goalie rotation going early in the series against Toronto.
A divided family
Charlie and Ryan Lindgren are brothers. They’re also opponents in the first round series between the Rangers and Capitals, which will create some tense moments for their parents, Bob and Jennifer Lindgren.
Charlie Lindgren, 30, is Washington’s No. 1 goalie. Ryan Lindgren, 26, is one of the Rangers’ top four defensemen.
Ryan has played in 27 playoff games with the Rangers, including 17 in their run to the Eastern Conference Final two years ago.
Charlie will be making his NHL playoff debut in Game 1 on Sunday. Before this season, he had played in only 60 regular season games.
The brothers have agreed not to talk until after the series is over.
Stankoven getting his playoff shot
Logan Stankoven has certainly done a lot since he was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Feb. 20.
The forward made his debut with the Stars on Feb. 24. He scored his first goal on Feb. 26, his 21st birthday. He had a four-point game on March 5. In 24 games, he had 14 points (six goals, eight assists).
And on Monday, he will make his NHL postseason debut, skating on the third line with Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn against the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights.
Stankoven has a chance to be a difference maker for the Stars in the playoffs two months into his NHL career. He’s certainly a player to watch.
Concerns in Colorado
The Avalanche had a feel-good, potentially get-right win Thursday, defeating the Oilers 5-1 at Ball Arena to end the regular season on a high note.
But it was against a depleted Oilers lineup that was minus forwards Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane and Zach Hyman, and defensemen Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. So, as good as it felt to blow out a good team, it wasn’t exactly the Oilers putting their best team on the ice to win a game, but that shouldn’t matter.
The Avalanche need that feeling to carry over into Game 1 against the Jets or it could be another first-round exit.
The fact is despite the win against Edmonton, Colorado struggled down the stretch, particularly in keeping the puck out of its net. Its 7-0 loss to the Jets on April 13 was alarming, especially since that’s who the Avalanche are playing in the first round.
They also lost 4-3 in overtime against the Golden Knights on April 14, 7-4 to the Stars on April 7, 6-2 to the Oilers on April 5 and 4-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 1.
Alexandar Georgiev allowed 26 goals in his last six starts, going 1-3-1 with a 5.69 GAA and .840 save percentage.
Worse yet, Winnipeg has gone 3-0-0 against Colorado this season, with wins of 7-0, 6-2 and 4-2.
Most notably, the Jets have done an admirable job limiting Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, holding him to four points (one goal, three assists) in three games. They blanked him and the Avalanche in the 7-0 win on April 13. The other two games were in December.
In fact, Winnipeg had the best 5-on-5 defense in the Western Conference with 121 goals against. The Panthers were No. 1 in the NHL with 120 against. The Jets and Panthers tied for first with 198 total goals against. Winnipeg went 3-0-0 with four goals against versus Colorado.
See Oilers compete in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Playoff experience could serve Predators well
The Predators, the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, are deservingly the underdogs against the Pacific Division-winning Canucks even though they had the best points percentage in the NHL (.768) from Feb. 17 through the end of the regular season.
But the Predators have an advantage on the Canucks that could play a role in this first-round series.
Nashville’s roster totals 19 players who have played in a combined 818 playoff games whereas Vancouver’s totals are 19 players and 482 games.
The Predators have a combined five Stanley Cup championship rings in their dressing room with Ryan McDonagh (two), Luke Schenn (two) and Ryan O’Reilly, who also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
The Canucks have three, two for Ian Cole and one for Teddy Blueger.
Nashville’s Roman Josi, Juuse Saros, Filip Forsberg and Colton Sissons played in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, when the Predators lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
Cole is the only Vancouver player who has appeared in a Cup Final. Blueger did not play in the Final with Vegas last season.
Saros, Nashville’s goalie, has appeared in 17 playoff games. Demko, the Canucks goalie, has appeared in four.
