Well, folks, we’re here!

The regular season’s ending, and the beautiful annual madness known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs is all set. The matchups are locked in, as is the overall schedule, which is flat out nuts this year. Of the eight series, two of them start on Saturday, three start on Sunday, two start on Monday, and one actually starts on Tuesday. And the one that starts on Tuesday isn’t the one you’d think. The opening round of any sport’s playoffs is always magical. Whether it’s this, the Conference Quarterfinals in the NBA, Wild Card Weekend in the NFL, or (since 2022) the Wild Card Series in MLB, Round 1 is always just amazing, because from the moment the first game begins, the atmosphere and aura let fans know that this is a whole new game.

This year is the 12th year of the current set bracket format, though it’s the 10th year that it’s being utilized. It’s mostly similar to the old divisional format from the 80s and early 90s, though that format saw the top four teams in each division advance, and the first two rounds were purely divisional. In this format, the top three teams in each division advance, and the remaining two spots in each conference are determined via a Wild Card format regardless of division. As a result, we are guaranteed to have four purely divisional opening round series, with all of them featuring the 2nd and 3rd place teams in each division facing each other. The division winners face the respective Wild Cards, but it’s not always guaranteed to be purely divisional, as a WC team could crossover to the other division’s bracket, or both WCs could end up swapping division brackets.

The eight Division Semifinal series have been set with plenty of time before the real fun begins, and they are as follows:

Atlantic DivisionThis is the fifth playoff meeting between these two provincial rivals

Oh baby! The Battle of Ontario has returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs! The Toronto Maple Leafs have always been interesting, but this year, they really turned it up. This is the team’s first season under head coach Craig Berube, and while I definitely don’t think much of him as a person, he does have the magic touch. Just ask St. Louis. We knew Toronto would be playoff bound. But would they actually finish first in the division? It seemed to be a stretch, but they did it. First division title since 2021, and first in a full season since 2000.

As for the Ottawa Senators, what a story. The hopes were there for the last few seasons. That Duchene trade shattered this team to no end. They would get closer in recent years, but finally, the Sens had the right stuff and got it together. First playoff appearance since double OT in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final in 2017. And Brady Tkachuk will be back for Game One. Whatever happens from here on out, Sens fans have to be elated.

This is the fifth time that the Sens and Leafs will face each other in the playoffs, and the first time since 2004. As we all know good and well, the Leafs own Ottawa. Four past meetings–all won by the Leafs.

The Lightning and Panthers have played in every Cup Final in the 2020s

I absolutely love the symmetry in the Atlantic Division’s bracket. We have the Battle of Ontario in one series, and in the other, we have the Battle of Florida. While the Battle of Ontario is the first in over two decades, the Battle of Florida has been a near regular thing lately. Florida has become what the province of Alberta was back in the 80s. For eight straight years, Alberta was represented in the Stanley Cup Final, winning six of those years. Every Cup Final in the 2020s has featured either the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Florida Panthers, with the Bolts being in the first three (and winning two) and the Panthers being in the last two (and winning last year).

The Lightning’s window was thought to be closing very fast, but all of a sudden, the Bolts won games left and right and managed to move up in to second place in the Atlantic Division, passing a Panthers team who has been banged up lately while defending their title. If you ask casual Bolts fans, it’s Nikita Kucherov carrying the team on his own, but it’s not. This was a complete team effort, and that team is much stronger than Florida.

This is the fourth meeting between these two in-state rivals in the last five seasons. The Bolts ousted the Panthers in 2021 and 2022, but the last meeting was won by the Panthers last year.

Metropolitan DivisionThe Canadiens upset the Capitals in the first round in 2010

We all know what the story with the Washington Capitals was: “The Gr8 Chase.” This year saw Alex Ovechkin on the home stretch of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s milestone goals total, and it was on April 6, 2025 that #895 was put in. Ovi would add one more to put him at 896, and he says he’ll be back next season, so he’ll definitely become the first to reach 900 goals. In all of that, the Capitals also vastly improved from last year and actually contended for the Presidents’ Trophy, which they did not win, but they are #1 in the East.

And from the first team to clinch, to the last: the Montréal Canadiens. The Habs fell off following their miraculous run to the Cup Final in 2021, and it looked like this year would be a continuation of that, but the young guns rallied for months and got the wins they needed to get, including the last one in Game #82 to get in. With both Eastern Wild Cards coming from the Atlantic, the Habs crossover to the Metro bracket for this go-around.

This is only the second playoff meeting between the two teams, and the first was quite memorable. In 2010, the Habs upset the Presidents’ Trophy winning Caps in Round 1, which kicked off a surprisingly long run to the Eastern Conference Final. Habs have been known for long runs a lot lately.

The Hurricanes and Devils last met in the Metropolitan Final in 2023

This series was basically the first to become official, or at least a foregone conclusion. The Carolina Hurricanes have had an interesting season. They traded for Mikko Rantanen, and then they traded Rantanen to Dallas after just under two months. They’ve had a few question marks along the way, but the reality is that the Caps were on a whole other level, and the Canes did well enough just to finish in second place in that division, which is not bad. Not bad at all.

And then there’s the New Jersey Devils. An argument could be made that the Devils finished third for the same reason why the New York Islanders finished third last year: someone in that Metro had to. The Devils had been up and down for most of the year, and this was before they lost Jack Hughes for the season. The only team who was a somewhat legit threat to third place was the Columbus Blue Jackets, but they ran out of gas at the wrong time. So the Devils are here.

These two teams last met in the playoffs back in 2023, and it was a second round series that Carolina won.

Central DivisionThe Blues upset the Jets in Round 1 in 2019

The Western half of the opening round is really inviting. So the Winnipeg Jets ended up winning the Presidents’ Trophy. Or should I say that the Atlanta Thrashers won the Presidents’ Trophy? In any event, the Jets exploded this year, getting contributions from Kyle Connor, Mark Schiefele, Josh Morrissey, and the usual contribution from Connor Hellebuyck, who won the Jennings Trophy again. Winnipeg looks like a very strong force, but strangely, so do the St. Louis Blues.

Nobody had the Blues in the Sweet 16. Nobody. They tore it down, or nearly did, two years ago. I know some rebuilds and resurgences can be quick, but not this quick. The Blues were nearly stripped bare. Yet here they are, in this year’s playoffs, because Jordan Binnington turned back the clock to 2019. Yikes.

Speaking of 2019, that was the only other time these two met in the playoffs. Blues beat them out and never looked back. Plus, the Jets and home-ice advantage have never gone well, and they hold the ultimate home-ice advantage, which just happens to be cursed. Oh boy.

The Stars ousted the Avalanche in last year’s Central Final

This has the makings of being a very emotional postseason for us Avs fans. For one, he’s back, folks. Our Captain is back! It may not be for Game One, but he’ll be in this series somehow. If I had to guess, Game Three should be the evening that Gabriel Landeskog takes the ice for the very first time since June 26, 2022, when he lifted Lord Stanley above his head. Also, the rest of our big boys will be back for the first time in a while: MacKinnon, Makar, Lehkonen, Nichushkin (who better get his head together this time)–all of them back in action.

The other part of this emotional saga involves the Dallas Stars. Well, one player in particular: Mikko Rantanen. The Moose will be going up against his longtime former team when it counts, and from what I’ve read, he won’t have too much help with him. Miro Heiskanen may not be back as soon as expected, and now, there’s the new wrinkle of Jason Robertson being badly injured during Dallas’ regular season finale. Oh man. Dallas is also entering the playoffs on a seven game losing streak. Yeah, it doesn’t look good for Dallas.

This will be the seventh playoff meeting between those two teams, and unfortunately, Dallas won four of the previous six meetings–including last year in Round 2.

Pacific DivisionThe Golden Knights and Wild last met in the playoffs in 2021

I hate both of these teams, but I’m very excited for this series. For one, this begins Marc-André Fleury’s final playoff appearance. Fleury’s retirement was an emotional centerpiece of this Minnesota Wild season, which saw them have to battle against the injury bug nearly all year. Players like Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek were out for a good bit of the year, and while it resulted in the team being knocked out of the division’s Top 3, they still stayed above ground and managed to get in, and they crossover into the Pacific bracket for this go-around.

And then there’s Vegas. Well, at least they didn’t do the LTIR bullshit this time. Vegas did look vulnerable but they still managed to finish first in the Pacific–barely, but they did. The Golden Knights are coming of a first round exit following their Stanley Cup run, and they are looking to get that magic back that they had back in 2023.

This is the second playoff meeting between the clubs. The first time was in the 2021 playoffs, which saw the Knights win a seven game thriller in Round 1. That’s actually why I’m excited about this series, because 2021 was quite a fun postseason.

This is the fourth straight playoff meeting between the Kings and Oilers

I’ve been hearing it for the last month. “Not Kings/Oilers again!” “We’re getting this series again?!” “Change the playoff format!” I said this before and I’ll say it again: the people spouting this would not have survived hockey in the 80s. They thought four years straight was too much? Try about six, seven, or eight! Back in the 80s and early 90s, the first two playoff rounds were divisional. That format existed for 12 seasons. The Kings and Oilers met in the playoffs seven of those 12 years, including four straight from 1989-1992. The Oilers had more playoff meetings with LA than they did against their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, during that stretch.

The current format is a modified throwback to those days, and Kings/Oilers is a huge throwback. This is a heated rivalry that goes back to when the two teams shared Gretzky. It’s been one-sided for the most part. This is the 11th playoff meeting between the clubs, and Edmonton’s won eight of the previous 10 meetings–including the last six meetings. The goal for LA in this current iteration of the rivalry was to get home ice. They didn’t have that in the last three meetings. This year, they have it. I’ve said that if LA has home ice, they beat the Oilers. Well, they have it this year, and the Oilers look very shaky.

Schedule and Telecasts

I mentioned the scheduling. In recent years, the scheduling for Round 1 had been quite symmetrical. Usually, it would be four series starting on the first day, and the other four the next day, and that format would mostly continue until all eight are done. This year, the start dates for the Division Semifinals are all spread out. Saturday will see both Central series start. On Sunday, Metro 2 (Devils/Canes), the Battle of Ontario, and Pacific 1 (Wild/Knights) start. Metro 1 (Habs/Caps) and Pacific 2 (Oilers/Kings) start on Monday, and Tuesday begins the Battle of Florida. A wild theory I do have is that the NHL didn’t want too much in the way of WrestleMania on Saturday and Sunday, yet you would think that the Vegas series would get the Tuesday start. After all, WrestleMania is also in Vegas, and chances are, the first period will clash with the Cody/Cena main event on Sunday. Why the hell is any series starting that late anyway? Yikes.

Regarding telecasts, ESPN and Turner Sports will have it covered in the U.S. for the fourth year of their current seven-year deal with the NHL. For Round 1 only, the Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) get involved in regards to the 11 American teams in the playoffs. In Canada, Sportsnet will have Round 1 in its entirety. As I said before, we are here. The most exciting two month sprint in the sports calendar is here, and as usual, I am all in!