Rivalries & rematches

The Eastern bracket opens with three familiar matchups: Tampa Bay draws Montreal again, Pittsburgh gets Philadelphia again, and Buffalo’s return starts against Boston. (nhl.com) The National Hockey League’s official bracket lists Buffalo as the Atlantic Division winner, Tampa Bay second and Montreal third, setting Sabres-Bruins and Lightning-Canadiens in the Atlantic. It also slots Pittsburgh second in the Metropolitan Division and Philadelphia third, reviving the in-state series on the other side of the East. (nhl.com) CBS Sports’ April 17 bracket update put Buffalo at 50-23-9 with 109 points, Tampa Bay at 50-26-6 with 106, Montreal at 48-24-10 with 106, Boston at 45-27-10 with 100, Pittsburgh at 41-25-16 with 98, and Philadelphia at 43-27-12 with 98. ESPN’s first-round schedule has Penguins-Flyers opening April 18, Lightning-Canadiens on April 19, and Bruins-Sabres on April 19. (cbssports.com) (espn.com) Tampa Bay and Montreal have the cleanest callback: they met in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, and the Lightning closed that series in five games on July 7, 2021. Five years later, the rematch lands in Round 1 instead of the Final because both clubs finished behind Buffalo in the Atlantic. (nhl.com) (cbssports.com) Buffalo’s matchup carries the biggest change from recent seasons. The Sabres clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 on April 4, ending a 14-season drought that NHL.com called the longest in league history, and they finished the job by winning the Atlantic Division. (nhl.com) (cbssports.com) ESPN’s playoff page lists Buffalo forward Tage Thompson with 40 goals and 41 assists, Boston’s David Pastrnak with 29 goals and 71 assists, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov with 44 goals and 86 assists, Montreal’s Nick Suzuki with 29 goals and 72 assists, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby with 29 goals and 45 assists, and Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny with 27 goals and 41 assists. Those are the headline names in three series built on division familiarity rather than cross-conference novelty. (espn.com) The Penguins and Flyers series also comes with immediate playoff urgency on the calendar. Pittsburgh’s team schedule has Game 1 on Saturday, April 18 at 8 p.m. Eastern at PPG Paints Arena, Game 2 on April 20, and Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia on April 22 and April 25. (nhl.com) Buffalo and Tampa Bay both open at home because of the standings tiebreak built into the bracket. CBS Sports noted the league uses regulation wins as the first tiebreaker and regulation-plus-overtime wins as the second, which left the Lightning in second and Canadiens in third despite both finishing with 106 points. (cbssports.com) So the first weekend is not just the start of the postseason calendar. It is Buffalo back in the bracket, Tampa Bay and Montreal back across from each other, and Pittsburgh and Philadelphia back in a series that needed only the standings to revive it. (nhl.com)