West best Dallas vs. defending champ Vegas headlines 1st-round matchups
All eight first-round matchups in the NHL playoffs are set after the last day of the regular season flipped two of the biggest series in the West.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will open against West top seed Dallas. Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings, a team they've defeated each of the past two years in the same round.
In the East, the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers begin their championship pursuit against Washington. Cup favorite Carolina faces the New York Islanders in the first round, but any of nearly a dozen teams could win it all.
Rangers vs. Capitals
Game 1: Sunday at New York, 12 p.m.
New York was the best team in the league. Washington needed to win its regular-season finale to get into the playoffs, doing so with an unusual empty-net goal.
The Rangers are heavily favored, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Hurricanes vs. Islanders
Game 1: Saturday at Carolina, 2 p.m.
This is a rematch from last year, when the Hurricanes beat the Islanders in six games. It's also another series pitting Carolina's Sebastian Aho (a Finnish forward) against New York's Sebastian Aho (a Swedish defenseman), no relation.
Panthers vs. Lightning
Game 1: Sunday at Florida, 9:30 a.m.
Defending Eastern Conference champion Florida looked on track to play Toronto in the first round until the Panthers came back to beat the Maple Leafs on Tuesday while Boston lost to Ottawa. So now they will face cross-state rival Tampa Bay.
The Lightning have 2019 Vezina Trophy winner and 2021 playoff MVP Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, while Florida has two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky. The play of the Russian goalies could decide the series.
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs Game 1: Saturday at Boston, 5 p.m.
A year removed from setting NHL records for the most wins and point in a season and losing in the first round, coach Jim Montgomery hopes the Bruins learned “how to handle adversity when it smacks you in the face.” That could come in the form of 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews or any of the Leafs' other elite offensive players.
Facing Boston is a chance for Toronto, which has one playoff series victory with its current core, to slay a dragon that has tormented the team.
Stars vs. Golden Knights
Game 1: Monday at Dallas, 6:30 p.m.
Congratulations on clinching the top seed in the Western Conference, Dallas. Your reward is the reigning champs getting captain Mark Stone back from a lacerated spleen just in time to make another run.
Jets vs. Avalanche
Game 1: Sunday at Winnipeg, 4 p.m.
The first matchup to get locked in was Winnipeg vs. Colorado, a classic clash in styles. The high-octane Avalanche tend to overwhelm opponents but went 0-3 against the Jets this season, outscored 17-4 and never putting up more than two goals in any game and looking absolutely smothered by the best defensive team in the league in terms of goals allowed.
Canucks vs. Predators
Game 1: Sunday at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Rick Tocchet-coached Vancouver was one of the biggest surprises of the season. In October, making the playoffs would have made it a good year for the Canucks, but now they're Pacific Division champions and have their sights set on making it through the West.
Nashville stands in the way of that after a late-season 16-0-2 surge propelled the Predators into a wild-card spot in their first year under coach Andrew Brunette.
Oilers vs. Kings
Game 1: Monday at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Here we go again. This is the third consecutive year Edmonton and Los Angeles have played in the first round. The Oilers won each of those series and are favored to advance to face either Vancouver or Nashville after winning 46 of 69 games since the coaching change from Jay Woodcroft to Kris Knoblauch.