After the NHL’s began with an infusion of new teams that hadn’t experienced postseason hockey in a long time, with , the third round is here with some of the usual suspects left standing.
in the Eastern Conference final for a third time in four years and fifth time during the Hurricanes’ streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances under coach Rod Brind’Amour. Next up is Buffalo or Montreal.
in the West final for a fourth time in the franchise鈥檚 not-even-decade-long existence. Starting Wednesday, the Golden Knights face Colorado, with the for the first time since their Cup run in 2022.
and no three-peat after were derailed by injuries following three consecutive trips to the final. Both finalists will be new after Edmonton got .
What鈥檚 happened so far
The Presidents鈥� Trophy-winning Avalanche and in five games, while Vegas got through by beating Utah in six.
Ottawa and is the only undefeated team left. Buffalo beat Boston and Montreal defeated Tampa Bay, with the Sabres and Canadiens then putting on .
The matchups
The top three teams in each of the four divisions make the playoffs. The other four spots go to the next two highest-placed teams in each conference, regardless of division.
The teams with the best record in each conference open against the wild-card team with the worst record; the other wild card plays the other division winner. Teams that finish second and third in their division play each other in the bracket headed by their respective division winner, so had some rivalry-style games. The second round thus carries an even higher prospect of division opponents matching up ahead of the conference finals.
All four rounds of the playoffs are best-of-seven; the first team to 16 victories wins the Stanley Cup.
East
鈥� vs. Buffalo or Montreal, Game 1 Tuesday or Thursday night
West
鈥� vs. Vegas, Game 1 Wednesday night
The favorites
Colorado is the favorite at a little over even money, followed by Carolina.
How to watch
Every playoff game will be nationally televised in the U.S on an ESPN or Turner network. The NHL schedule is and a streaming guide Much of TNT鈥檚 coverage, which includes the Stanley Cup Final, will be simulcast on truTV and available on Max鈥檚 B/R Sports Add-On. In Canada, games will be showcased on Sportsnet and CBC.
After three rounds of best-of-seven series, the final starts in early June. If the final goes the distance, Game 7 could go as late as June 21.
What to know
WEST: The Colorado Avalanche , after being the league’s best team since October. Nathan MacKinnon has been a man on a mission, especially after missing a wide-open net in the Olympic gold-medal game when he and Canada in overtime. He’s surrounded by talent, including all-world defenseman Cale Makar, and in net, .
Grizzled, old-school, no-nonsense John Tortorella the Vegas Golden Knights in late March, and since. Mitch Marner, who was maligned for a lack of playoff success during his lengthy time in Toronto, has been arguably the best player around.
EAST: The Carolina Hurricanes are 8-0, getting and do-it-all play from 2018 league MVP Taylor Hall. They now hope to break through after so many disappointing playoff exits.
After at 14 years in style, the Sabres handled the Bruins in a back-and-forth series to set up a matchup with Montreal. The Canadiens are Canada’s last hope to end the dating to them winning it in 1993.
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