All eight first-round matchups in the NHL playoffs are determined after the final day of the regular season changed two of the biggest series in the West.
The Vegas Golden Knights, the defending Stanley Cup champions, will start against Dallas, the top seed in the West. The Edmonton Oilers, led by Connor McDavid, will play against the Los Angeles Kings, a team they have beaten in the same round for the past two years.
In the East, the New York Rangers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy, will begin their quest for the championship against Washington. The Carolina Hurricanes, a favorite for the Cup, will confront the New York Islanders in the first round, although nearly a dozen teams have a chance to win it all.
A look at the first-round series (times Eastern):
RANGERS vs. CAPITALS
Game 1: Sunday at New York, 3 p.m.
New York was the top team in the league. Washington had to win its last regular-season game to enter the playoffs, achieving this with an unusual empty-net goal.
The Rangers are heavily favored, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. However, Capitals center Dylan Strome pointed out that the teams not only split four games but each scored and allowed nine goals in the season series.
“Anything can happen in playoffs,” Strome said. “You saw what happened last year: The best team in regular-season history (Boston) loses to Florida because they had a good end of the season and they kind of carried it towards playoffs. We’ve won three in a row, we’re feeling good. The momentum’s kind of with us, and obviously we feel good.”
HURRICANES vs. ISLANDERS
Game 1: Saturday at Carolina, 5 p.m.
This is a rematch from last year, when the Hurricanes defeated the Islanders in six games. It’s also another series pitting Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, a Finnish forward, against New York’s Sebastian Aho, a Swedish defenseman, although they are not related.
What has changed: The Islanders improved with the hiring of Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy as a coach midway through the season, and won seven of eight games at the end to make a surprise run to the playoffs. As for goaltending, Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen has a 9-1-0 record with a 1.30 goals-against average and .951 save percentage since returning from blood-clotting issues.
PANTHERS vs. LIGHTNING
Game 1: Sunday at Florida, 12:30 p.m.
The defending Eastern Conference champions, Florida, initially seemed on track to face Toronto in the first round, but they came back to defeat the Maple Leafs on Tuesday while Boston lost to Ottawa. Consequently, they will now play cross-state rival Tampa Bay.
The Lightning have Andrei Vasilevskiy, the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner and 2021 playoff MVP, in goal, while Florida has two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky. The performance of these Russian goalies could determine the series.
BRUINS vs. MAPLE LEAFS
Game 1: Saturday at Boston, 8 p.m.
A year after setting NHL records for the most wins and points in a season and being eliminated in the first round, coach Jim Montgomery hopes the Bruins have learned “how to handle adversity when it smacks you in the face.” This could come in the form of 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews or any of the other elite offensive players from the Leafs.
Facing Boston is an opportunity for Toronto, which has only won one playoff series with its current core, to defeat a team that has troubled them. The Bruins eliminated the Leafs in 2018 and ‘19.
STARS versus GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The first game is on Monday at Dallas at 9:30 p.m.
Congratulations to Dallas for securing the top seed in the Western Conference. However, their challenge will be tougher as the reigning champs will have their captain Mark Stone back from a lacerated spleen just in time for the playoff run.
The Stars, who were defeated by the Golden Knights in the West final last year, have been performing very well recently, as stated by Colorado coach Jared Bednar. They have a strong roster and a great goalie in Jake Oettinger. Starting off against Vegas will be a tough challenge.
JETS versus AVALANCHE
The first game will be on Sunday at Winnipeg at 7 p.m.
The first matchup to be determined was Winnipeg versus Colorado, featuring contrasting styles. The high-scoring Avalanche usually dominate opponents but were unable to do so against the Jets this season, losing all three games, being outscored 17-4, and never scoring more than two goals in a game, showing that they struggled against the best defensive team in the league in terms of goals allowed.
The most recent game ended in a 7-0 win for the Jets in Denver, but the Avalanche, with most of their core players from their 2022 Cup run, know how to elevate their game in the playoffs. This starts with MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon, who finished second in the scoring race and is determined to win another championship.
Colorado’s biggest concern is in goal, where Alexandar Georgiev has been inconsistent. In contrast, the Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck has been outstanding.
CANUCKS versus PREDATORS
The first game will be on Sunday at Vancouver at 10 p.m.
Coached by Rick Tocchet, Vancouver has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Initially, making the playoffs would have been a success, but now they are the champions of the Pacific Division and are aiming to advance in the West.
Nashville, under coach Andrew Brunette and with Barry Trotz as general manager, has surged into a wild-card spot with a late-season 16-0-2 run.
OILERS versus KINGS
The first game will be on Monday at Edmonton at 10 p.m.
This marks the third consecutive year that Edmonton and Los Angeles have faced each other in the first round. Edmonton has won each of those series and is expected to advance to face either Vancouver or Nashville after a successful run of 46 wins in 69 games since the coaching change from Jay Woodcroft to Kris Knoblauch.
This could be three-time MVP Connor McDavid’s opportunity to lead the Oilers to their first title since 1990. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl resemble the combination of MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog before Colorado won the championship two years ago.
