NHL playoffs begin Saturday

The National Hockey League playoffs open Saturday, April 18, with three Game 1s and all eight first-round matchups now set. (nhl.com) Saturday’s slate starts with Ottawa at Carolina at 3 p.m. Eastern, then Minnesota at Dallas at 5:30 p.m., and Philadelphia at Pittsburgh at 8 p.m. All three are scheduled for ESPN in the United States, with Sportsnet and TVA Sports carrying them in Canada. (nhl.com) Sunday adds four more openers: Los Angeles at Colorado at 3 p.m., Montreal at Tampa Bay at 5:45 p.m., Boston at Buffalo at 7:30 p.m., and Utah at Vegas at 10 p.m. The last first-round series, Anaheim at Edmonton, begins Monday, April 20, at 10 p.m. Eastern. (nhl.com) The bracket follows the league’s division-heavy format: the top three teams in each division qualify automatically, and two wild cards in each conference fill out the field. That setup produced Boston-Buffalo, Montreal-Tampa Bay, Ottawa-Carolina and Philadelphia-Pittsburgh in the East, plus Los Angeles-Colorado, Minnesota-Dallas, Utah-Vegas and Anaheim-Edmonton in the West. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) Colorado enters as the Presidents’ Trophy winner and the top seed in the West after finishing 55-16-11 for 121 points. Carolina led the East at 53-22-7 for 113 points, while Buffalo won the Atlantic with 109 points and Vegas took the Pacific with 95. (espn.com) (nhl.com) The field looks different from a year ago. The league said Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Utah all returned to the postseason after missing it in 2024-25, a six-team turnover that ranks as the second-highest in National Hockey League history. (nhl.com) Several series carry long-running or unusual storylines. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia renew their in-state rivalry in the first round, Buffalo is back in as the Atlantic winner, and Utah is in the playoffs in the franchise’s second National Hockey League season and will become the 23rd state to host Stanley Cup Playoffs hockey. (nhl.com) National Hockey League media voters ranked Colorado No. 1, Carolina No. 2 and Dallas No. 3 in the final Super 16 power rankings released April 15. That same roundup flagged Colorado defenseman Cale Makar as back from a seven-game absence, while saying forward Nazem Kadri was still questionable near the start of the postseason. (nhl.com) The opening weekend now turns the regular season table into a fixed bracket. By Monday night, every series will have started, and the chase for the Stanley Cup will finally be on the ice instead of on the standings page. (nhl.com)