Frederik Andersen made 22 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes opened the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 2–0 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Logan Stankoven, who was under the weather the last few days, was obviously feeling much better on Saturday afternoon, leading the way with a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes.
The game started with some early excitement, as for the third time in less than a month, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk squared off in a fight before the opening faceoff against the opposing captain.
After brawling with Anders Lee in a pair of games against the Islanders down the stretch, Tkachuk and Jordan Staal went at it to try and set the tone.
After a tight, defensive struggle in a scoreless first period, Stankoven opened the scoring on what seemed like a harmless shot from the slot that was partially blocked by the stick of Shane Pinto. The deflection slowly dribbled through Linus Ullmark’s legs for the game’s opening goal.
The Senators appeared to tie the game when Andersen made a glove save, and it looked like his trapper may have gone into his own net with the puck. However, replays showed that was not the case.
Carolina got another break on their second goal, credited to Taylor Hall. A shot from the point deflected over top of Ullmark, landing near his skate while he was on his knees, and Hall jammed in the loose puck to make it 2–0.
The Senators caught a break with about 2:30 left in the game. With their goalie pulled, Jalen Chatfield was called for delay of game after sending the puck over the glass, setting up a 6 on 4. The Sens unleashed plenty of shots, but Carolina's D held strong to preserve the win.
"We had a couple of close ones that almost went in and Ully played great," Sens winger Drake Batherson said. "Obviously, anytime you give a team two 5-on-3's you've got to make some saves. Yeah, I just thought we didn't get any breaks, but I thought we played pretty well."
Both teams played well defensively and shorthanded, combining to go 9-0 on the penalty kill.
"I didn't mind our game," head coach Travis Green said. "Pretty tight-checking game. Not a lot of space really for either team. Probably if you look at the numbers, I haven't seen them yet, but they probably deserved to win analytically, and they did."
The style of game and the tight checking was no surprise to Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour.
"Everybody out there was giving it all they had," Brind'Amour said. "And that was what you saw. You explained it perfectly. I mean, there was not a lot of room and everybody was fighting for everything."
Meanwhile, there seems to be no end to the injury troubles on Ottawa's blue line. After a big hit on Seth Jarvis, Artem Zub left the game and did not return. Prior to that, Dennis Gilbert suffered what appeared to be a left shoulder injury after a hit from behind but gutted it out and stayed in the game.
So Carolina leads the best-of-seven 1-0, with Game 2 is Monday night in Raleigh.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brianne Jenner had a goal and two assists and Jocelyne Larocque had goal and an assist to lead the Ottawa Charge past the New York Sirens 5-1 on Saturday.
Ronja Savolainen, Peyton Hemp and Rebecca Leslie also scored and Gwyneth Phillips stopped 23 shots for the Charge (8-7-1-12). They took a five-point lead on the Sirens and Toronto Sceptres for the fourth and final playoff spot with two games remaining.
Paetyn Levis scored for the Sirens (9-2-3-1) and Kayle Osborne made 24 saves.
New York, which is 0-0-1-7 in its last eight road games, opened the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the first period when Levis took a pass in the slot and beat Philips on the stick side.
With 61 seconds remaining in the period, Jenner attempted to find Leslie in front, but the puck was redirected and went in off Leslie’s shoulder. The play underwent a lengthy review before the call was upheld.
The Charge took the lead at 7:54 of the second period.
Larocque blocked a shot to spark a short-handed rush as Jenner picked up the puck and broke in on Osborne. She gave up a big rebound that Larocque buried for her first of the season.
Just over six minutes later, Hemp won a race for the puck and knocked it free. That allowed Alexa Vasko to take possession and she sent it back to Hemp, who gave the Charge a 3-1 lead.
Ottawa scored a pair of goals in the third to put the game out of reach.
Savolainen scored from just inside the blue line through traffic. Larocque had a shot ring off the crossbar and Jenner buried the rebound.
The Los Angeles Kings are in for a tall task as they're set to face the Presidents Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If the Kings want any chance to knock out the Avalanche, they will need every single player in their lineup to play the best hockey of their careers.
Obviously the star players like Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe will lead the way, the team needs solid production from depth players such as Trevor Moore and Joel Armia.
Drew Doughty will likely lead the Kings defensemen in ice-time but a player like Mikey Anderson must be ready for the task of shutting down Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas.
Trevor Moore, LW
If the Kings are going to stay competitive in this series, they need depth scoring more than just about anything. Trevor Moore seems like the perfect player to provide a clutch goal or two throughout a series.
Last postseason, the 31-year-old proved he has what it takes as he scored two goals, along with two assists for four points in the Kings six-game series against the Edmonton Oilers.
This season, Moore scored 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points in 69 games played.
Mikey Anderson might be the most underrated player on the Kings roster. The 26-year-old consistently plays over 20 minutes every night while playing alongside Drew Doughty on the Kings top pair.
In his seven-year career, the 26-year-old has never finished a season with a +/- rating over lower than zero. This season, he managed to finish with a +8 rating while playing on a team that has a hard time scoring, as well as facing the opponents top lines night in and night out.
However, his postseason numbers have not been as compelling. in 24 career postseason games Anderson is a -14. It should be taken into consideration that every game he's played in late spring has been against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
The Kings need Anderson to build off of his past playoff woes in order to shutdown the high flying Avalanche.
Joel Armia's first season as a Los Angeles Kings should be described as a success. He has provided exactly what he was brought in to do. Score 10+ goals and 25+ points while bringing a solid two-way play style to the lineup. In 67 games, the 32-year-old scored 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points.
While Armia has shown he's a terrific third line winger, he has also proved that he can step up when it matters most. In the 2026 Olympics in February, Armia was arguably Team Finland's best player. In six games in Italy, the Finnish veteran scored three goals and five assists for eight points, while also having a +7 rating.
The winger also brings crucial playoff experience, having played in 49 career postseason games prior to this series. 21 of those 49 games came when Armia and the Montreal Canadiens made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
Armia and his experience in big moments should prove to be crucial if the Kings are to have any success against the Avalanche.
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DALLAS (AP) — Key defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Quinn Hughes were active for Game 1 of the Western Conference playoff series between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild on Saturday after both had missed the end of the regular season for different reasons.
Heiskanen didn't play the last three regular-season games for the Stars because of a lower-body injury in a 5-4 win over Minnesota on April 9.
Hughes, acquired by the Wild from Vancouver in December, missed their last two games dealing with an illness since playing a week ago at Nashville. He didn't travel with the team to Dallas on Thursday, and instead flew on his own Friday.
Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said before Saturday's game that some extra days of rest helped Heiskanen, who skated on his own Thursday before practicing Friday. The coach said the defenseman with 63 points (nine goals, 54 assists) would be a full-go for however many minutes.
“It's the time of year he can go,” Gulutzan said.
Hughes, who has 76 points (seven goals, 69 assists) in 74 games overall, also plays a big role for Minnesota.
“I just expect him to come in and do what he does,” Wild coach John Hynes said.
The Golden Knights have the edge in certain areas, but this won’t be an easy matchup. The Mammoth are fast, young, and potent offensively. If the Golden Knights want to avoid a first-round exit, they’ll have to be cautious of these three challenges.
Power Play
The Mammoth struggled on the man advantage to begin the season. At the Olympic Break, their power play ranked 31st in the league, ahead of only the Colorado Avalanche. Since returning from break, however, they boast the 3rd-ranked power play in the league with a 30.0% success rate.
All five players on the top unit— Nick Schmaltz, Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, and Mikhail Sergachev— are dangerous in their own right. Schmaltz and Guenther are the main trigger men with 11 and nine power play goals, respectively. Keller is an elite playmaker, with 27 of his 62 assists coming on the man advantage. And Sergachev recorded 26 of his 49 assists on the power play.
Dylan Guenther
On a team rich with talent, no one is better than Dylan Guenther at putting the puck in the back of the net. He’s the best scorer in this series, and it’s not particularly close. With 40 goals and 73 points in 79 games this season, Guenther has proved to be equally talented as a puck distributor as he is as a shooter.
Guenther can score from anywhere on the ice— he can rip it from distance or bang in a rebound. He’s especially dangerous on the power play, where he scored nine goals and recorded 24 points.
There’s no reason to believe that Guenther’s success is unsustainable— he’s shooting 16.5%, but that’s not terribly higher than his normal shooting percentage. The Golden Knights will need to be very conscious of when and where the young sniper is on the ice.
Depth Scoring
Dylan Guenther is far from the only dangerous player on this Mammoth roster. They, like the Golden Knights, have ten players on their roster with at least 10 goals. Their forwards are fast and skilled, and their defensemen are all capable puck movers.
The Mammoth have a dangerous top line with 83 goals between the three forwards. Apart from the obvious threat of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz is particularly dangerous this season, with a career-high 33 goals. But they’ve also spread the wealth around, with 77 goals on their second line. Logan Cooley scored 24 goals in 54 games this season. And with 48 goals and one JJ Peterka on the third line, the Mammoth have no weak links offensively.
The Golden Knights certainly have their fair share of depth scoring, as well. But Tomáš Hertl, who is the fourth-highest goalscorer on the team, hasn’t scored since March 4th. He has just one goal and six assists in his last 23 games. And on their top line, despite ending the season on a high note, Jack Eichel is still less than two weeks removed from a 13-game stretch where he scored just once.
Juraj Slafkovsky enjoyed a massive breakout season with Montreal, blowing past previous highs while producing 73 points over 82 games.
He enjoyed a lot of success against Tampa Bay, and my Canadiens vs. Lightning predictions expect that to continue in the series opener.
Let’s dive into my NHL picks for Sunday, April 19.
Canadiens vs Lightning Game 1 prediction
Who will win Canadiens vs Lightning Game 1?
Lightning: Despite dealing with a ton of injuries all season long, they still won 50 games and finished 32 goals above Montreal in goal differential. They have a better underlying profile, a battle-tested roster, and an advantage in goal. That should shine through.
Canadiens vs Lightning best bet: Juraj Slafkovsky Over 0.5 points (-145)
Juraj Slafkovsky had an excellent campaign altogether but was especially effective down the stretch, producing 28 points over 25 games following the Olympics.
It wasn’t as if Slafkovsky had a couple of ceiling performances exaggerate his numbers. He was remarkably consistent, hitting the scoresheet at least once in 18 games — good for a 74% clip.
Slafkovsky faced the Tampa Bay Lightning twice during that stretch and produced multiple points in both meetings. That is nothing new for Slafkovsky, who has points in five of his last six against the Bolts.
Look for Slafkovsky to make an impact in Game 1.
Canadiens vs Lightning Game 1 same-game parlay
Mike Matheson blocked multiple shots in 60% of his games this season, including the only game played without Noah Dobson. The Montreal Canadiens are likely to be even more reliant on the veteran defenseman with Dobson sidelined.
More usage means more opportunities to block shots, especially against a strong shot-generation team like Tampa Bay.
Jake Guentzel has 43 goals and 73 points through 74 games, always rising to the occasion when the games matter most. He also has points in eight of his last 10 against Montreal, making him a prime target in this matchup.
Canadiens vs Lightning SGP
Juraj Slafkovsky Over 0.5 points
Mike Matheson Over 1.5 blocked shots
Jake Guentzel Over 0.5 points
Canadiens vs Lightning Game 1 goal scorer pick
Nikita Kucherov (+130)
Nikita Kucherov hasn’t scored in back-to-back playoff series, but a steady dose of Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling certainly had a lot to do with it.
The Canadiens don’t have true shutdown personnel — particularly on the backend — of that level, and head coach Jon Cooper also controls the matchups. That should result in less time against Selke candidate Nick Suzuki, which would help Kucherov’s cause.
Look for Kucherov to put his recent postseason struggles behind him.
Canadiens vs Lightning odds for Game 1
Moneyline: Montreal +155 | Tampa Bay -180
Puck line: Montreal +1.5 (-155) | Tampa Bay -1.5 (+135)
Over/Under: Over 6.5 (+115) | Under 6.5 (-135)
Canadiens vs Lightning trend
Juraj Slafkovsky has produced nine points over his last six games against Tampa Bay. Find more NHL betting trends for Canadiens vs. Lightning.
How to watch Canadiens vs Lightning Game 1
Location
Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
Date
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Puck drop
5:45 p.m. ET
TV
TNT, truTV, CBC
Canadiens vs Lightning latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Stanley Cup playoffs had barely begun when Staal and Tkachuk went at it, much to the delight of the crowd at the Lenovo Center. While Tkachuk threw some early punches during the brief bout, it was Staal who dragged Tkachuk to the ice.
Both players were assessed major penalties for fighting, leaving the teams without their respective captains to open the postseason just three seconds in.
The Colorado Avalanche swept three head-to-head matchups with the Los Angeles Kings this season, allowing just five goals along the way.
My Kings vs. Avalanche predictions expect the home team to win in convincing fashion again in the series opener.
Let’s dive into my NHL picks for Sunday, April 19.
Kings vs Avalanche Game 1 prediction
Kings vs Avalanche best bet: Avalanche -1.5 (+105)
The Colorado Avalanche ran over the Los Angeles Kings in the regular season, winning all three meetings by multiple goals while beating them 13-5 in aggregate.
That was par for the course for Los Angeles when facing high-end teams, especially defensively.
Los Angeles lost seven of its last 10 games against Top-10 defensive teams, averaging 1.8 goals and 24.9 shots per game. Generating offense was a massive challenge.
It won’t get any easier for them against the Avalanche, who went 15-3-1 with a net goal differential of +1.79 per game following 2+ days of rest.
Kings vs Avalanche Game 1 same-game parlay
Artturi Lehkonen has a strong track record of playoff success, piling up 17 points over his last 20 games. He has a great nose for the net and will go to the dirty areas to produce. That’s especially important when the ice is more contested at this time of year.
On the other side, I’m zeroing in on defenseman Brandt Clarke. He has blocked an average of 3.8 shots over his past 10 games and is facing an Avalanche squad that ranked first in shot attempt rate at home this season.
Kings vs Avalanche SGP
Avalanche -1.5
Artturi Lehkonen Over 0.5 points
Brandt Clarke Over 2.5 blocked shots
Kings vs Avalanche Game 1 goal scorer pick
Nathan MacKinnon (-125)
Nathan MacKinnon led the NHL in goals, shot attempts, and shots on target during the regular season. He was especially productive when well-rested.
He has scored 10 goals over his last nine games working on two days of rest, and five goals spanning four games after having 3+ days of rest.
MacKinnon also found the net in 64% of Colorado’s home wins, and I expect the Avalanche to win decisively here.
Kings vs Avalanche odds for Game 1
Moneyline: Los Angeles +190 | Colorado -230
Puck line: Los Angeles +1.5 (-130) | Colorado -1.5 (+110)
Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-120) | Under 5.5 (+100)
Kings vs Avalanche trend
The Avalanche have covered the puck line in five of their last eight games (+4.50 Units / 55% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Kings vs. Avalanche.
How to watch Kings vs Avalanche Game 1
Location
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Date
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Puck drop
3:00 p.m. ET
TV
TNT, truTV
Kings vs Avalanche latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
We usually do a phase-by-phase preview, but since we had to wait till game 82 to figure out Colorado’s first-round matchup, we decided to do all three phases of this glorious game and matchup in one fell swoop.
For starters, this matchup definitely has David vs. Goliath vibes, but LA looks like a better team (on paper) than its regular-season result suggests.
We’ve seen eight Presidents’ Trophy-winning teams be eliminated in the first round dating all the way back to 1991, but should the Avalanche and their fans be worried this time around?
The Avalanche swept the season series (3-0) with MacKenzie Blackwood securing two of the three victories, with Scott Wedgewood having one.
Let’s take a deeper look and see what may be cause for concern, or ammo for confidence in round one!
Forwards
The Colorado Avalanche might not have “five, six, seven of the best players in the world,” as LA Kings head coach DJ Smith put it, but I’d wager they have three in Nathan MacKinnon, Marty Necas, and Cale Makar.
The first two listed should give the Colorado Avalanche a decided advantage, although the Kings do have some top-end talent to be aware of.
It’s Anze Kopitar’s last ride, so he and his talent represent a bit of a wild card in this series. Artemis Panarin, or “the bread-man,” is also among the more skilled players in the league.
The overall theme of this group is a capable top line, with some grit and pesky vibes from the rest of the group. LA’s second line is decent, but up against Colorado’s, they may be in over their head.
Be prepared to be frustrated by Joel Armia and Scott Laughton’s physicality and tendency to toe the line of what’s allowed in the playoffs.
Scott Laughton first fight as a Toronto Maple Leaf vs Ridly Greig. Slight edge Laughton I think.
Sidenote. Absolutely embarrassing crowd reaction in Toronto for the fight. Par for the course I guess#GoSensGo#LeafsForever
Speaking of, I imagine the approach will be to be as close to that line as possible, all series as an attempt to slow Colorado’s transition and attack.
It’s a strategy that’s worked in the past, but you have to have the horses to pull it off.
Kings Projected Forwards:
Artemi Panarin — Anze Kopitar — Adrian Kempe| Trevor Moore — Quinton Byfield — Alex Laferriere Joel Armia — Scott Laughton — Jared Wright Mathieu Joseph — Samuel Helenius — Taylor Ward
Avalanche Projected Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin Ross Colton — Nazem Kadri — Nicholas Roy Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
When you put the two forward groups up next to each other, a couple of things stand out.
My first takeaway is that this healthy version of the Avalanche is super deep, boasts elite talent, and offers plenty of options.
I have no issue with starting with Landeskog on the second line with Nelson and Nichushkin, as he was a great playoff performer last season, even without a full training camp and with limited confidence. This time around, he’s got the legs of a seasoned player again, and every playoff game is one more than most thought Landy would get.
If you do want to inject more scoring into the top six, you can easily swap Kadri, Roy, or Colton with any of the three ahead of them to mix things up.
I’d imagine we see these lines take a different shape when contextualized by each game’s flow.
Colorado’s bottom six could prove the competitive advantage in this one, as the big guns can’t always go, and the Avalanche have plenty of talent on lines three and four.
In fact, the third line of Kelly, Kadri, and Roy has combined for 45 goals this season.
Defenders
The real question with a defensive comparison is how each side will hold up (match-up-wise) against their opposition’s top forwards?
Can Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty hold up against one of the fastest and best lines in hockey in Colorado’s top group?
Will Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci be sheltered effectively, avoid being matched up against Colorado’s top skill, and hold up against the Avalanche’s bottom six I described earlier?
If they try to play a shutdown style, expect a muddy neutral zone and a lot of chip and chase from both sides.
That approach is a slippery slope against a team like the Avalanche, which can establish an early lead and never look back.
I should also mention that Brandt Clarke is bound to be at the top of the list of players Avs fans grow tired of.
Projected Kings Defenders:
Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty Joel Edmundson — Brandt Clarke Brian Dumoulin — Cody Ceci
Projected Avalanche Defenders:
Brett Kulak — Cale Makar Devon Toews — Sam Malinski Josh Manson — Brent Burns
The Avalanche have mixed and matched this D core over the last month or so, and while Cale Makar was on the mend, we saw the re-emergence of Devon Toews offensive touch, and the arrival of Sam Malinski’s as well.
Malinski has as many goals since March 24, 2026, as he had in all of his 2024-25 campaign with the Avalanche.
Brent Burns is looking at his best chance to hoist since his time in San Jose with this Avalanche team, so expect his best and brightest.
Josh Manson didn’t play to end the season, so let’s keep an eye on how he looks early in this series.
Brett Kulak will face the Kings in the first round for the third consecutive postseason, and pairing him up with Cale seems smart considering how calm and cool Kulak is.
He can stay home while Cale struts his stuff.
Goaltenders
Interestingly enough, both LA and Colorado will start goalies who have been regarded as back-ups for most of their careers.
There’s no doubt who the fans want between the pipes for Colorado: Scott Wedgewood, who leads the league in SV% (.921) and GAA (2.02) and ranks 4th in wins this season.
Colorado can go with a tandem approach and potentially start Blackwood in game two, but if Wedgewood shows out and bails his team out with a game one win, largely in part to his performance, the Avalanche will ride the hot hand.
It looks like Anton Forsberg will get the net to start things for LA.
Forsberg coincidentally was one of Jared Bednar’s netminders during his time as a head coach and Calder Cup winner with the Lake Erie Monsters (now Cleveland Monsters).
If things don’t go well for Anton, Darcy Kuemper is waiting in the wings.
I don’t think I need to talk Avalanche fans into respecting Darcy Kuemper.
We know more than most how good Darcy can be when he’s really on his game.
It’s 1A/1A vs. 1A/1B as I see it.
Shocker: Advantage Avalanche
I’m not exactly going out on a limb here, but the Colorado Avalanche have an advantage on all three fronts of this first-round matchup with the LA Kings.
Rocket Richard, Hart Stanley Cup winning pedigree, the likes of Nathan MacKinnon don’t exactly grow on trees, and it also hardly goes unnoticed. Advantage Avalanche in the forward group because they have the best forward in the world, and he likely wants to get right after the Olympics.
NATHAN MACKINNON IS A ROCKET RICHARD TROPHY WINNER! 🚨
OTTAWA AT CAROLINA: That's easy. Free and Easy Travis Green leads his underdog Sens over uptight and annoying Rod Brind'Amour's Canes. Write this down, please. Carolina will never win a Cup as long as annoying Brindy is coaching! SENS IN 6.
BOSTON AT BUFFALO: The Sabres – from Lucky Lindy down to the stickboy – are possessed. Beantowners are okay and I love Jewish goalie Jeremy Swayman out of Alaska as a Huge plus but Buffalo's Alex, is a Tuch better. How can you beat Tuchy from the fairy tale town of Syracuse, Arizona? BUFF IN 6.
CANADIENS AT TAMPA BAY: Montreal's Martin St. Louis is the sixth best coach in the NHL. Trouble is for the Habs is that The Lightning's Jon Cooper is the best. Period! Maven is a big Jake Guentzel fan, not to mention Braden – you get the POINT. Also, that ex-Rangers who the Blueshirts unloaded, Ryan McDonagh is playing ace hockey. BOLTS IN 6.
PITTSBURGH AT PHILADELPHIA: Now that Pitt's brass has unloaded bum coach Mike Sullivan to the Loserville-On-The-Hudson Rangers, Crosby-Malkin-Letang-Karlsson will put the Swiss Cheese sandwiched Flyers out of their misery, faster than you can say "Philly rhymes with SIlly which is the Broad Street goaltending! PITT IN 4.
The NHL has official announced the date, time and odds for the 2026 Draft Lottery.
This is relevant for the Florida Panthers due to them finishing as the eighth-worst team in the league this season thanks to an injury-filled campaign unlike any the franchise had seen before.
According to the league, the Draft Lottery is set for Tuesday, May 5. A start time has not been announced, but these are generally broadcast prior to the start of that evening’s Stanley Cup Playoff slate.
Once things get going, fans watching the broadcast will see the lottery balls drawn in real time.
There will be two draws held, one for the first overall pick and one for the second overall pick.
Teams can only move up 10 spots in the lottery, so only the eleven-worst teams in the standings have a chance at picking first.
Officially, the Panthers have a 6.0% chance at obtaining the first overall pick.
Depending how the ping pong balls land, Florida will either move up for the first or second overall pick, keep the eighth pick, or get bumped back to ninth or tenth overall.
The consensus number one prospect this year is forward Gavin McKenna, and whoever wins the lottery will be landing a dynamic, NHL-ready star in the making.
For Florida, simply having a first-round pick, let alone one in the top 10, is a massive asset to work with.
Whether they use the pick to select a high-end prospect or entertain trade offers for players who can help at the NHL level immediately, it’s an unexpectedly positive potential boost for a team already expected to be among those competing for a Stanley Cup next season.
Remember, Florida initially traded this pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 Trade Deadline deal that brought Seth Jones to the Panthers, but the pick came with a provision of being protected if it ended up being in the top 10.
The 2026 NHL Draft is set for June 26 and 27 from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
In the days leading up to Game 1 of their first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins' head coach Dan Muse remained pretty coy about who would get the nod between the pipes to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs for his team.
And that finally became clear on gameday.
After Saturday's optional morning skate ahead of Game 1, Muse announced that Stuart Skinner would be the Penguins' starting goaltender for series opener in Pittsburgh at 8:00 p.m. ET later that evening. Skinner - like many others - did not take the ice for the optional skate, which was the initial indication that he would get the nod Saturday night.
"As I said [Friday], we have the benefit of two guys that have played great for us all year," Muse said. "So, we went through our process, and Skinner is starting."
There was a bit of uncertainty as to who would get the first nod between Skinner and Arturs Silovs, as both have fairly even in terms of sheer numbers. Skinner has an .888 save percentage on the season in comparison to Silovs's exact same .888, but since the Olympic break, Silovs owns an .871 save percentage in 13 appearances - well below his season percentage - while Skinner had a slightly better number at .884 over 14 appearances.
The Penguins have operated with a goaltender rotation all season long, and it surely isn't common practice to continue that into the postseason. However, Muse reiterated that they are taking things one day at a time when it comes to goaltending, lineups, and everything else in between.
"I've said it all year, [we] take things a game at a time. I think I'm not going to go anywhere past Game 1 on anything. That's not just in regards to [goaltending], that's into everything. We are focused solely on Game 1. That has been our focused as we've prepared. So, that's what I'll speak on here today."
In his career against the Flyers, Skinner is 5-1-2 with a 2.45 goals-against average to go along with a .913 save percentage, while Silovs - with more limited experience, as he is still a rookie - has posted a 1-0-1 record with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage versus Philadelphia.
Maybe someday we’ll have some meaningful time together. | Getty Images
Whenever the Islanders miss the postseason (which is a lot), on one level I’m able to enjoy the spectacle and intensity of the Stanley Cup playoffs in a different way, free of the exhausting emotional investment and baggage that comes with talking yourself into how they might go far while watching them ultimately get eliminated. Watching the playoffs without a rooting interest is like getting to watch the melodrama of Real Housewives of Whatever Shithole Plastic Surgery County instead of actually living it because you married poorly.
However, a postseason without the Islanders is not completely free of emotional investment. I’m never truly free until every team I hate is safely eliminated. This year, that’s a little easier since several franchises I loathe did not qualify.
But there are still teams to pull for, or root against. This post is mostly an excuse to ask the readership: Who are you pulling for in these playoffs? — so please let us know in comments, and feel free to skip the Player Haters Ball listing that follows, knowing that I just have to get it off my chest.
The Teams That Must Not Win (and won’t anyway)
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers made the playoffs?!? This really is humiliating. True, the Flyers’ Cup drought is even longer than…every other non-Leafs team that has ever won the Cup, but still…no.
Pittsburgh Penguins
They’ll never admit it, but the 1980s Penguins with Mario Lemieux were essentially seen the same way the 2009-12 Islanders with John Tavares were: “Oh, man, it’s such a shame that they’re so terrible and wasting his career for six seasons and counting.” In order to win a couple of Cups — but only two, because Al Arbour > Scotty Bowman, teehee — the Penguins needed to miss the playoffs for seven out of eight years, luck into Jaromir Jagr instead of Scott Scissons, and inadvertently fleece the Whalers in a John Cullen-for-Ron Francis swap because they sought Ulf Samuelsson’s dirtiness toughness.
So they have done virtually nothing brilliant as a franchise, other than luck into a shit-ton of great players in between lengthy tanks.
They did it all again a decade later when they tanked-and-bankrupted into Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby (lockout lottery fix), Marc-Andre Fleury and Kris Letang. (Sorry Ryan Whitney, you insufferable windbag, you didn’t, and still do not, count.) There is nothing honorable about this franchise nor what it has “earned*” and no one outside of a very specific Pittsburgh-area subset should root for them.
*I use that term loosely, in the Chris Pronger AI book sense.
There appears to be some attempt at rallying behind the Penguins as Crosby’s Last Ride or something, but there is nothing feel-good in that. Crosby has had plenty of rides. Let someone else have something.
Los Angeles Kings
This team has 22 regulation wins. That’s seven fewer than the Islanders, who also were 10-0 in OT and do not deserve a postseason berth.
Simply, the Kings have zero business being here. The only possible reason they should win the Cup would be so the league finally trashes this stupid three-points-or-maybe-two-points, every-game-needs-a-winner, 3-on-3/shootout stupidity. But the Kings won’t, and even then the league surely wouldn’t.
MontrealCanadiens
The other tragedy of the Nordiques-Avalanche relocation is that French Canada lost its only potential check on Canadiens’ arrogance. After the Islanders dynasty unseated the final Canadiens one in 1980, this once-storied franchise somehow lucked into two more Cups by the grace of Patrick Roy. But as karmic penance, they are now cursed to never ever win a Cup since the Nordiques left Quebec.
Amusingly, their annoying fans probably think they would’ve won the pandemic Cup if only the Islanders had slipped by the Lightning, but they are wrong.
Also, remember when Martin St. Louis was so wounded by his Lightning GM not picking him for the Olympic team that he demanded a trade to the Rangers? Yeah, f- that guy.
Edmonton Oilers
Well well well, if it isn’t dynasty interruptus! It’s not our problem that the Oilers could never string more than two Cups in a row, keeping them from entering the Habs/Islanders dynasty echelon without an asterisk. I’m not sorry that Steve Smith scored an essential own goal off Grant Fuhr’s leg. And I’m not sorry that this franchise has yet to win another Cup despite Connor McDavid and their trio of first-overall picks in the Taylor Hall sequence.
Most of all, it’s important that McDavid not win a Cup in Edmonton so he can play in a 4 Nations or Olympics or World Cup or whatever with Matthew Schaefer in a couple years and decide he needs to join that kid on Long Island.
Vegas Golden Knights
No, just no.
Teams That Could Win and It’d Be…Okay
Dallas Stars
I’ve no feelings for this franchise or most of its players, but GM Jim Nill is a longtime hockey good guy who’s done everything right since taking over the Stars. Untimely injuries, self-inflicted coaching implosions — he’s navigated them all but each year there’s something that keeps them from the top.
They are starting to remind me of the 1980s Washington Capitals, a quietly really good team for several years that was always right up there yet always running into a stronger force like the Islanders, Flyers or Bruins.
The Stars seem to keep encountering that like the…
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche have Brock Nelson, and that’s not nothing. He made an understandable decision that any of us would’ve made pre-Matthew Schaefer: Pretty sure my best Cup chance for the rest of my 30s is not on Long Island. If he’s able to lift the Cup it will be a spiritual boon for all of the Snow-era Islanders, except for any that he might’ve agitated to insanity=, which is not likely but definitely possible.
That said…the Avalanche is a spoiled franchise born of absolute privilege and timing. Before every college grad wanted to move there for the weed, Denver was a sleepy enough town that complaining about transplants wasn’t a daily topic. Sports-wise, before they built a giant airport that is basically as far as the Moon from downtown, they had the Broncos, a laughingstock basketball team, and a baseball team that stole its name from the defunct NHL team because when would they be big enough to get hockey again?
Alas, the mid-’90s Canadian small markets were a rocky place, where hockey revenue’s seed could find no purchase. So just as the Nordiques and their league-best uniforms finally got good after years of last-place finishes, their team became unaffordable, and Denver swooped in. They were almost named the Rocky Mountain Express.
The Avalanche have had plenty of fortune and deserve no sympathy nor rooting interest. But they have Brock Nelson, so if they win and he lifts the Cup, I will smile.
Carolina Hurricanes
Kinda like the Stars, the Hurricanes are always banging on the door, but rather than running into a juggernaut, they usually shoot themselves in the foot. Whatever, I’m indifferent.
Tampa Bay Lightning
I don’t think it would be okay if they won, but I’m resigned to them being perennially good in their John Cooper, Kuherov and Vasilevskiy era, so it’s not a big deal if they add another Cup, I guess.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild probably can’t get through the tough draw they have with the Central stalwarts of Dallas and Colorado, but if they did Bill Guerin would be hailed as the new face of NHL genius and all that.
They are exciting, and the franchise has never won, and the North Stars never won, so it wouldn’t be terrible if they somehow did it.
Teams That Are Also There
Utah Mammoth
It’s Utah, they have amazing national parks and nice skiing when there’s snow. They did us the favor of getting themselves a name (and not “Utah HC”) before they entered the postseason. There’s not much else to say about this team, but they did rescue the Coyotes and they somehow went the entire season without a shootout, so they are doing Bossy’s work here.
It would be funny if they went all the way, but of course they won’t.
Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks (of)
They overdid it on the orange, they have the dirty Little Ball of Hate as their GM and a “rehabilitated” Joel Quenneville as coach. But they have some fun young talent who Q might someday teach to play defense, too. There could be some high-octane offensive fun in their series with the Oilers before they’re eliminated.
Boston Bruins
Credit to them for not being terrible when everyone figured they’d be plummeting and tanking. But in addition to being inherently unlikeable, they’re also playing the Buffalo Sabres, who are a feel-good story. So if Boston knocks off the Sabres, everyone will hate them even more.
Ottawa Senators
The Senators have become really irritating as they’ve taken on Brady Tkachuk’s “Master of Hockey Cliches and Pantomime” personality. Not much to like in that way, but they’re coached by our beloved ol’ Gutless Puke Travis Green, whose middle name is Vernon according to Wikipedia.
Don’t want them to go far, and they shouldn’t with Carolina as their first-round draw. But anytime the Senators do well it’s fun for its effect on Leafs fans.
Universal Bandwagon Favorite
Buffalo Sabres
You have to really hate Buffalo or someone involved with them to not pull for the Sabres or their fans. They suffered so, so SO long. We’ve been waiting for years for their rebuild to finally turn a corner, and just when it looked like it was never going to happen, they flipped the switch midseason, coinciding with a change at GM a little after their turnaround began.
What a miraculous legend it would be if this team rode their turnaround all the way to the Cup.
Ah, but they will fall short, of course — Buffalo can’t have nice things — so it’s just a matter of learning if they get to have some fun first, or if the end will be particularly and classically cruel in the fashion of so many Buffalo sports stories.
But while they’re still alive, they have my full support.
Elsewhere
New Jersey boy-turned-analytics-guru Sunny Mehta gets the Devils GM job. [NHL]
In Vancouver, Jim Rutherford (or ownership, or whoever) fired his puppet, but he says the new GM will make all the hockey decisions. [Sportsnet]
32 Thoughts: On Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets, and also candidates for the Leafs job (Ryan Bowness of the Islanders is one of many mentioned). [Sportsnet]
With the franchise at six years of tanking and counting, Connor Bedard says the Blackhawks need to finally start playing for something. [NHL]
The anticipation is building as the Philadelphia Flyers gear up to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the nature of the rivalry makes it a unique matchup around the NHL this year.
The Flyers were 43-27-12 this season, and the Penguins 41-25-16, but despite the very similar overall record and identical total of 98 points, the Penguins appear to be slight favorites in the matchup.
After all, they do still have the star power of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson, complemented by the likes of Kris Letang, Egor Chinakhov, Rickard Rakell, Anthony Mantha, and Bryan Rust.
The Flyers' star power is a bit younger and far less experienced; players like Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, and even Rasmus Ristolainen will all be seeing playoff hockey for what it is for the first time in their careers.
Four of 11 experts polled by the NHL Network picked the Flyers to win the series against the Penguins.
I'll insert myself into the conversation here and make it five of 12; I predict the Flyers will survive and eliminate the aging Penguins in seven games.
Starting goalies Dan Vladar and Stuart Skinner can both be a bit boom-or-bust, and while Skinner has been here before with Edmonton, he wasn't particularly conducive to their success.
Vladar, meanwhile, went into this season preparing solely to be a No. 1 goalie to take advantage of opportunities like this one. We already know Skinner can and will come up short when needed.
Michkov and Martone ended the season for the Flyers on a tear, so as long as they can maintain that play to some degree, they can score against the Penguins' weaker matchups with no issue.
Sean Couturier's line will likely see the bulk of the defensive matchups, with Christian Dvorak, Martone, and Travis Konecny mixing in along the way.
Additionally, the Flyers have a stronger defense overall.
Jamie Drysdale has improved by leaps and bounds, and Emil Andrae has quietly been excellent this season.
Travis Sanheim can account for Karlsson, and Letang is out of his depth now at his advanced age.
This series between the Flyers and Penguins will ultimately be decided by the special teams, where the Flyers have struggled the most all season.
Philadelphia's penalty kill was ice-cold to finish the season, and the power play was its usual dreadful self aside from some promising moments sprinkled in here and there.
If the Flyers can simply stay out of the box, they won't have that issue, and the rest is up to them playing mistake-free hockey against vets who know very well how to punish them for errors.
Therefore, the Kings will need their best and key players to step up in a big way and perform even better than they did in the regular season.
Multiple players on the Kings' roster will be deemed important players for the playoffs. But in terms of those that could really turn the series in Los Angeles' favor, here are three playoff X-factors for the Kings in this first round, and the entirety of the post-season.
Artemi Panarin, LW
The Kings acquiring Artemi Panarin in February was likely the headline of the franchise in terms of one of the biggest moments of the season. And now that Los Angeles was able to squeeze into the playoffs, Panarin can prove why he's regarded as highly as he is.
Based on his skill level and the offensive production he's provided throughout his NHL career, he should be looked at as a leader on this team for his on-ice performance. In the playoffs, that's exactly what the Kings will need from their leading scorer: scoring.
Since joining the Kings, Panarin has featured in 26 regular-season games, scoring nine goals and 27 points.
Panarin last made a playoff appearance in 2023-24 when the New York Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference final. He tallied 15 points in 16 games, made up of five goals and 10 assists.
The 34-year-old left winger has had good and bad playoff campaigns, but coming up against the league's best team, the Kings will need Panarin at his best and leading the way.
Los Angeles Kings (Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)
Quinton Byfield, C
While Quinton Byfield didn't have the campaign many were hoping for - especially being the assumed successor for Anze Kopitar as the No. 1 center - he certainly cranked it up to finish off the regular season.
He ended 2025-26 with a three-game goal streak, scoring four in that span. Furthermore, in his last 15 games, Byfield tied the league lead in goals with 11 since March 19. In total, he posted 14 points along the way.
He was arguably one of the hottest Kings down the stretch and has really seemed to blossom following the coaching change that made D.J. Smith the bench boss.
The Kings seriously need Byfield to be a pivotal player against the Avalanche, especially if he's called on to match up against Nathan MacKinnon's line to meet his blistering speed. His streak to end the campaign was a great sign of a young player still growing, but he'll need to sustain his play in the post-season.
Anton Forsberg, G
Similar to Byfield, goaltender Anton Forsberg had an incredible surge late in the season that propelled him into the top tier of netminders by year's end. His play down the stretch has really given the Kings a new dimension going into the playoffs.
Ahead of the final week of the regular season, Forsberg was named the NHL's first star of the week, and beyond that, he's arguably been the best goalie in the league in April. This month, he posted a .943 save percentage and a 1.48 goals-against average, while winning five of his last six games.
Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, and could be the reason a team wins a game, a series, or even the Stanley Cup.
In the short window to close out the season, Forsberg was one of Los Angeles' best players, and will need to remain that caliber of goaltender when facing MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Cale Makar, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, and other elite stars.
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