The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tomorrow, Monday, April 17th. Sixteen NHL, National Hockey League, teams will fight and claw their way to hopefully be playing for and winning the Stanley Cup. The champions from last year, Colorado Avalanche, will be looking to repeat their recent success. They will begin the first round against the Seattle Kraken, who are playing in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. It is so hard to say who is the favorite, as there are so many balanced and deserving teams in the running.
The New York Islanders will be playing against the Carolina Hurricanes. Each has won the Stanley Cup before, with the Islanders winning four in a row from 1980-1983. The Hurricanes won their only one in 2006.
The Boston Bruins will be facing off versus the Florida Panthers. The Bruins won sixty-five games this year which is an all-time record. Their last championship was in 2011. The Panthers have never won a championship but have played in it once.
The Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars will be the next matchup in round one. The Wild have never played in the finals and Dallas won their only Stanley Cup in 1999.
The Los Angeles Kings are matching up against the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers have two of the highest scoring leaders in the NHL. Connor McDavid scored a whopping one hundred and fifty-three points and teammate Leon Draisaitl scored another one hundred and twenty-eight. Since 2017, Edmonton has won three total playoff series while being the favorite nearly every year. They have won five Stanley Cups, all coming in a seven year span in the 1980s and 1990s. The Kings have two championships, which came in 2012 and 2014.
The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils will battle in round one. The Rangers have four championships with their most recent coming in 1994. The Devils have three and their latest came in 2004.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Lightning have won three championships and went back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. The Maple Leafs have won an astounding thirteen championships but have not won a playoff series since 2004! They have been knocked out of the first round each of the last six seasons.
The Winnipeg Jets and Las Vegas Knights are both looking for their first ever Stanley Cup. The Knights played in the Cup Finals in 2018 and lost to the Washington Capitals.
The Seattle Kraken will face off against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche. This season was just the second ever for the Kraken. They made huge strides from last year where they only won twenty-seven games. The Avalanche will be looking to win back-to-back cups.
There are certainly many storylines and a lot of diversity in the playoffs. Playoff hockey is definitely much more exciting on television than in the regular season, so I would recommend tuning in to a game to take in the excitement.
Hey Cade! I think that this years Stanley cup playoffs are going to be wild! There are a couple of teams that are dominate but this year any of those teams could get knocked off! Looking forward to watching these games.
ReplyDeleteChase Coburn: I truly believe this Stanley Cup, you will see some crazy upsets. The Bruins are going down. Avs won't repeat. I can't wait.
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