NHL playoff bracket locked

The Stanley Cup bracket is set, and all 16 playoff teams now have first-round opponents and start dates. (nhl.com) The first round opens Saturday, April 18, with Carolina hosting Ottawa at 3 p.m. Eastern, Dallas hosting Minnesota at 5:30 p.m., and Pittsburgh hosting Philadelphia at 8 p.m. Four more series start Sunday, April 19, and Edmonton opens against Anaheim on Monday, April 20. (nhl.com) The eight matchups are Boston-Buffalo, Montreal-Tampa Bay, Ottawa-Carolina, Philadelphia-Pittsburgh, Los Angeles-Colorado, Minnesota-Dallas, Utah-Vegas, and Anaheim-Edmonton. The National Hockey League bracket lists Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado and Vegas as division winners, with Colorado entering as the Presidents’ Trophy team. (nhl.com) In the Eastern Conference, Carolina finished first in the conference at 53-22-7 for 113 points, Buffalo won the Atlantic at 50-23-9 for 109 points, and Tampa Bay and Montreal both finished with 106 points before being separated by tiebreakers. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia also tied at 98 points, with Pittsburgh slotted second in the Metropolitan and Philadelphia third. (cbssports.com) In the Western Conference, the bracket format rewards division placement as much as total points: division winners draw wild cards, while the second- and third-place teams in each division meet each other. That is why Los Angeles avoided another first-round series with Edmonton and instead drew Colorado, while Edmonton got Anaheim after the Pacific standings settled. (cbssports.com) Two of the first-round series revive familiar rivalries. Tampa Bay and Montreal meet in a rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, and Pittsburgh and Philadelphia renew the Battle of Pennsylvania. (cbssports.com) The opening weekend schedule is split across ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, truTV and HBO Max in the United States, with Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports carrying games in Canada. The league said all listed times are Eastern and remaining TBD start times for later games will be announced if those games are necessary. (nhl.com) Each first-round matchup is a best-of-seven series, with Game 7s, if needed, running as late as May 3 on the league’s published schedule. Boston-Buffalo, for example, is scheduled for a possible Game 7 on May 3, and later-round paths are already fixed in the bracket. (nhl.com) So the regular season is over, the seedings are no longer moving, and the postseason begins with three games on Saturday and a full bracket already in place. (nhl.com)