Stanley Cup Game 1s set
The NHL’s 16‑team Stanley Cup playoff field is locked and Game 1s are scheduled from April 18 through April 20 (nhl.com). AP data notes that four of the 16 teams in the field have never won the Stanley Cup, which highlights several franchises chasing a first title this spring (apnews.com).
The Stanley Cup playoffs open Saturday, April 18, with Carolina hosting Ottawa, Dallas hosting Minnesota, and Pittsburgh hosting Philadelphia. (nhl.com) The National Hockey League set the first three Game 1s for Saturday, then four more for Sunday, April 19, before Edmonton hosts Anaheim on Monday, April 20. Sunday’s openers are Los Angeles at Colorado, Montreal at Tampa Bay, Boston at Buffalo, and Utah at Vegas. (nhl.com) The 16-team field is now locked. In the East, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Carolina and Pittsburgh have home ice in the first round; in the West, Colorado, Dallas, Vegas and Edmonton open at home. (nhl.com) This bracket looks different from a year ago. Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Utah all missed the 2025 playoffs and are back this spring, a six-team turnover that the league said is the second-highest in National Hockey League history. (nhl.com) The race for a first championship is part of the draw. Buffalo, Minnesota, Ottawa and Utah are the four playoff teams that have never won the Stanley Cup, according to Associated Press playoff data published April 17. (newsday.com) Buffalo’s return stands out on its own. The Sabres ended a 14-season playoff absence, the longest drought in National Hockey League history, and now open at home against Boston as the Atlantic Division winner. (newsday.com) (nhl.com) Utah is in a different kind of first. The franchise reached the postseason within its first two National Hockey League seasons in Utah, and the league said the state will host Stanley Cup playoff hockey for the first time. (nhl.com) There is also no defending champion in the bracket. Florida, which won the Cup the past two years, did not qualify, and Colorado enters as the Presidents’ Trophy winner after posting the league’s best regular-season record. (newsday.com) (nhl.com) Edmonton brings a different kind of unfinished business. Connor McDavid’s Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons, lost to Florida both times, and start this run Monday night against Anaheim. (newsday.com) (nhl.com) By Monday night, every first-round series will be underway. The bracket is set, the opening windows are fixed from April 18 through April 20, and four clubs will start chasing the first Cup in franchise history. (nhl.com) (newsday.com)
