Cup playoffs move into next stage
Derek Stepan gave some advice to his Coyotes teammates not used to the bright lights of playoff hockey.
“It’s the best time be playing,” he said.
The time of year is different than usual, but the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs haven’t lost any of their luster or penchant for surprises.
After a qualifying round full of upsets, overtime heroics and comebacks, the traditional first round that starts Tuesday with 16 teams left is primed to feature even more entertainment and unpredictability.
“It’s wild,” said Barry Trotz, whose Islanders will next face the Capitals he coached to the title in 2018.
“It’s made for TV, really. We didn’t know what was going to happen. We knew that there was going to be some strange things happen in this strange, unusual time and format. But it’s captivating.”
The Blackhawks who ranked 23rd out of 31 teams in the regular season are still playing, along with the Canadiens, who were 24th and not given much hope of moving on.
The Blackhawks have a tough task against the Western Conference top-seed Golden Knights, and Carey Price’s Canadiens face the Flyers who earned top billing in the East by going 3-0 against the Bruins, Lightning and Caps.
In a very 2020 turn of events, the Bruins who won the Presidents’ Trophy as the top regular-season team went winless since the restart and now must take on the Hurricanes who swept their way to this point. It’s a rematch of the 2019 East final but with the Hurricanes looking more prepared for this showdown.
“They swept us last year, which definitely is going to be good opportunity for us to kind of give back what they gave us last year,” Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter said.
The Hurricanes, Islanders and Knights look scary, the Lightning could be without top players Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman for at least the start of their series, and the Bruins and Blues that met in last year’s Cup Final haven’t recaptured the dominance they showed until the season was halted in March.
“It doesn’t matter what seed you’re in because you’ve got to beat every team anyways if you want to advance,” Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask said. “It’s over now and start real hockey.”
Half of the remaining field has been playing real hockey for more than a week now. After knocking off the Predators, captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson said the Coyotes are “up for the challenge” of taking on the Avalanche. The Canucks and Flames should also be feeling good after emotional series victories.
It’s all best-of-seven until the Stanley Cup is handed out in late September or early October, though the prospect of playing in quarantined bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton could change the psychological dynamic of the playoffs. of the year to