The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Saturday : NPR

WASHINGTON — Hockey’s Stanley Cup Playoffs start Saturday.

It is a tall order to dwell as much as final 12 months’s dramatic seven-game final. However the items are in place for an entertaining playoffs, with contenders for first-time Stanley Cup winners and generational stars on the lookout for a final trophy to cap off their profession.

The puck drops on the first round with a pair of video games on Saturday and three extra to observe Sunday. And with no New York, no Boston and no Chicago within the combine, it is an opportunity for smaller(-ish) markets to shine — together with the NHL’s smallest market, Winnipeg, whose Jets completed with the best record in the league and head into the playoffs with a high seed.

Here is who to observe for:

The Washington Capitals 

Pre-season expectations had been low, low, low for the Washington Capitals final fall.

In October, the Athletic gave the Caps solely an 18% chance of making the playoffs — and fewer than a 1% probability of incomes greater than 110 factors. Franchise cornerstone Alex Ovechkin turned 39 and had simply posted the second-lowest goal-scoring season of his profession. The one two different remaining items of the roster that gained the Stanley Cup in 2018 — winger Tom Wilson and defenseman John Carlson — additionally appeared to be previous their primes.

As a substitute, Washington has blown these expectations out of the water.

The Capitals have one of the best file within the Japanese Convention. Ovechkin has the fourth-most objectives within the league, and his chase for Gretzky’s all-time career goals record energized the entire crew. Youthful gamers like Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas have all performed one of the best seasons of their careers.

Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scores a purpose towards the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday. Coming into the season, the expectations for the Capitals had been low. However the crew has one of the best file within the Japanese Convention.

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Justin Berl/Getty Pictures

But now that the Ovi-Gretzky chase is over and the playoffs are nigh, there may be trigger for concern. The Caps have slumped. Accidents and maybe a post-chase vitality comedown have contributed to losses in eight of their final 12 video games.

“It is like, has this chase drawn an excessive amount of out of them, or has this raised their recreation to a different stage they usually’re simply form of patiently ready now to start out enjoying playoffs and ramp it again up once more?” stated ESPN analyst P. Ok. Subban, who performed 13 seasons within the NHL.

No crew ever needs to enter the playoffs on a chilly streak, but that is precisely the place the Capitals are. Now they will look to shake it off in a first-round matchup towards the Montreal Canadiens.

The Tkachuks

Whether or not you see Tkachuks because the heroes or the villains would possibly rely in your nationwide allegiance … or your political persuasion. Nevertheless it’s plain that final February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, the NHL’s wildly profitable alternative for an All-Star Recreation, propelled the 2 brothers from hockey stars into precise stars.

Each Tkachuks — Matthew, of the Florida Panthers, and Brady, of the Ottawa Senators — had been already massive names within the hockey world. And as People with six NHL All-Star Recreation appearances between them, they had been locks for Workforce USA.

The 4 Nations Face-Off started only a couple weeks after President Trump’s inauguration. When Workforce USA traveled to Montreal to play Canada, the Canadian followers showered the arena with boos because the Star-Spangled Banner was sung. And Matthew Tkachuk “did not like” that, as he stated later, and the second the puck hit the ice, he dropped his gloves to combat a Canadian participant. Brady did the identical moments later. It was an electrical second for hockey. (The U.S. gained that recreation, which was the most-viewed non-Olympic hockey recreation ever within the U.S. However Canada bought the final chuckle when it gained the ultimate in time beyond regulation.)

Forward of the ultimate, Matthew Tkachuk advised ESPN that he seen 4 Nations as extra vital than the earlier 12 months’s Stanley Cup Last between his Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, which went to seven video games. “Even evaluating it to final 12 months’s recreation, this feels larger. It feels larger than Recreation 7,” he stated.

For each Tkachuk brothers, the spring has been a little bit of a comedown since then. Matthew sustained a lower-body damage in the course of the 4 Nations occasion that has sidelined him for the previous 25 video games. And Brady has handled an damage of his personal that has triggered him to overlook eight video games.

However each are set to return within the playoffs. Matthew’s Panthers open with a first-round matchup towards fellow Floridians, the Tampa Bay Lightning. And Brady’s Senators will tackle the Toronto Maple Leafs in a “battle for Ontario.”

Irrespective of the outcomes, get able to see them again with Workforce USA subsequent February within the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The Winnipeg Jets rejoice a win towards the New York Rangers final month. Winnipeg is a long-suffering hockey city. However this 12 months, the Jets completed 56-22-4, one of the best file in hockey. And the strain is on to ship.

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Winnipeg’s first Stanley Cup? 

Winnipeg is a long-suffering hockey city.

The primary iteration of its NHL crew, the Jets, performed on the town from 1979 to 1996 — and by no means gained a Stanley Cup, and even superior previous the second spherical of the playoffs. Then, the crew packed up and moved to Arizona, and Winnipeg went with out an NHL crew till 2011. When the brand new model of the Jets arrived on the town, native followers had been so hungry for an NHL crew that tickets to the house opener went for $1,000 or extra.

But this new model of the Jets hasn’t gained a Stanley Cup, both. And it isn’t as a result of the crew has been dangerous: They’ve reached the playoffs in seven of the previous eight seasons.

This 12 months, the Jets completed 56-22-4, one of the best file in hockey. And the strain is on to ship. A mere look within the Stanley Cup Last can be one of the best end in franchise historical past, new or outdated.

One participant to know: The Jets’ hopes relaxation, largely, on the shoulders of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who leads the NHL in each wins and save proportion. No crew allowed fewer objectives all season than the Jets. (Hellebuyck was one other star for Workforce USA within the 4 Nations Faceoff.)

“The form of 12 months that he is stitched collectively for himself this 12 months is actually, actually, actually spectacular,” stated Mark Messier, the six-time Stanley Cup champion who’s now an analyst for ESPN. “And it hasn’t been all Hellebuyck. They’ve performed wonderful structurally. They have nice scoring, well timed scoring, depth at place.”