Hockey is perhaps the most physically demanding sport to win a championship in, and that may be why the NHL championship trophy — the Stanley Cup — is known as the Holy Grail.

“[The Stanley Cup playoffs] are fun to watch,” third-year marketing student Cory Brewer said. “It’s one of the most physical tournaments to watch. People are fighting for their spots. I just think it’s the most physical finale in any of the sports that I watch.”

The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight, April 11, at 7 p.m. on CNBC. As the Minnesota Wild take on the Winnipeg Jets, NBC Sports Network will feature a doubleheader. An interstate battle is poised between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, followed by the Los Angeles Kings hitting the Sin City to toe with the Vegas Golden Knights.

While there are postseason perennials — including the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals — participating in this year’s playoffs, these games will also showcase some newcomers, including the Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils.

With nine of 16 playoff teams finishing the regular season with 100-plus points, the parity in the NHL is record-breaking, making it even harder for any team to hoist the 35-pound trophy.

Legendary Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, also known as “The Great One,” called the Stanley Cup “the greatest trophy in all of sport” in a September 2016 interview with nhl.com.

“As you see today, the parity with these 30 teams … it is really difficult [to win it],” Gretzky said. “So, when you get to lift it, it’s really worth it.”

Since September 2016, an expansion team — the Vegas Golden Knights — has been added to the league.

It didn’t take long before the Knights made their presence known, finishing their inaugural season with 109 points — the most ever for a first-year franchise — earning them the Pacific Division title and home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds.

“I’d actually like to see them go far,” third-year health sciences student Daniel Schibe said. “That’s a pretty unique happening.”

While the parity in this year’s playoffs makes it anyone’s cup for the taking, reigning two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins can’t be denied the possibility of winning a third consecutive title.

Pittsburgh was twice taken to a game seven — and nearly a third time during last year’s Stanley Cup Final — but repeatedly staved off elimination en route to winning their fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

“I really hope the Penguins don’t win, because that would mean they would beat the Caps in the second round again,” second-year classical civilizations student Casey Barnett said. “But they always show up for playoff time, so I regretfully say that I think they could win a third [Stanley Cup].”

The Capitals have only missed the postseason once since the start of the 2007-08 season. They have captured three President’s Trophies along the way, courtesy of tallying the highest point total during the regular season, but have yet to make their first conference finals appearance since 1998 when they won the Eastern Conference.

This year’s President’s Trophy winners — the Nashville Predators — hope to build off their Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final last year by potentially winning their first-ever Stanley Cup, bringing the Music City its first-ever major professional sports championship.

The full first-round schedule can be viewed on nhl.com.