Surviving a wild first round

The defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals were upset by the Carolina Hurricanes but they weren’t the only giants who fell in the first round. The No. 8 seed upset the No. 1 seed in both conferences, last year’s runner- up, the Vegas Golden Knights, lost to San Jose in overtime of Game 7, and all four division winners were eliminated. The Columbus Blue Jackets swept Tampa Bay, which finished first in the Atlantic Division and won the President’s Trophy for compiling the best regular- season record, and the Colorado Avalanche took five games to dismiss Calgary, which led the Pacific Division and had the NHL’s second- best record. West wild cards Dallas and Colorado advanced, as did East wild cards Columbus and Carolina. The exits of Winnipeg and Toronto guaranteed a 26- year Cup drought for Canadian teams. The last team based in Canada to win the Cup was Montreal in 1993.

Here’s a look at the second- round matchups: