Stanley Cup Playoffs: What to watch as the secound round arrives

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is full of enticing matchups now that the brackets have been filled out.

In the Eastern Conference, Buffalo, Carolina, Montreal and Philadelphia have moved on. The Hurricanes and Flyers have already gotten underway, while the Sabres will face the Canadiens.

In the West, Colorado is playing Minnesota in a must-watch showdown of division rivals, while Vegas will face Anaheim in the Ducks’ return to the postseason.

There will be a new champion and no three-peat after the Florida Panthers were derailed by injuries following three consecutive trips to the final. Both finalists will be new after Edmonton got knocked out by the Ducks.

What’s happened so far

WESTERN CONFERENCE: The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche swept Los Angeles, the Wild beat Dallas, Anaheim defeated the Oilers and Vegas eliminated Utah, all in six games.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:
Carolina swept Ottawa. The Flyers beat archrival Pittsburgh and Buffalo beat Boston, each in six games. The Canadiens defeated the Lightning in Game 7, despite getting outshot 29-9.

The matchups

The top three teams in each of the four divisions make the playoffs. The other four spots go to the next two highest-placed teams in each conference, regardless of division.

The teams with the best record in each conference open against the wild-card team with the worst record; the other wild card plays the other division winner. Teams that finish second and third in their division play each other in the bracket headed by their respective division winner, so the first-round matchups had some rivalry-style games. The second round thus carries an even higher prospect of division opponents matching up ahead of the conference finals.

All four rounds of the playoffs are best-of-seven; the first team to 16 victories wins the Stanley Cup.

East

— Carolina vs. Philadelphia, Game 2 Monday night

— Buffalo vs. Montreal, Game 1 Wednesday night

West

— Colorado vs. Minnesota, Game 2 Tuesday night

—Vegas vs. Anaheim, Game 1 Monday night

The favorites

Carolina is the favorite to win the Stanley Cup at 2-1, followed by Colorado at just over 2-1 and Vegas at 6-1.

How to watch

Every playoff game will be nationally televised in the U.S on an ESPN or Turner network. The NHL schedule is here and a streaming guide is here. Much of TNT’s coverage, which includes the Stanley Cup Final, will be simulcast on truTV and available on Max’s B/R Sports Add-On. In Canada, games will be showcased on Sportsnet and CBC.

After three rounds of seven-game series, the final starts in early June. If the final goes the distance, Game 7 could go as late as June 21.

What to know

WEST: The West is loaded, even after Connor McDavid’s early exit. Colorado leads the way with MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon and star defenseman Cale Makar. If you don’t know Minnesota standouts Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, you will when you see them take on the Avalanche.

The Pacific Division side of the bracket is weaker and the Golden Knights may have the clearest path to the final. Next up are the Ducks, who have an intriguing mix of youth and experience under one of the all-time great coaches in Joel Quenneville.

EAST: The feel-good stories reside here in Buffalo and Philadelphia.

After snapping the NHL’s longest postseason drought at 14 years in style, the Sabres handled the Bruins in a back-and-forth series. The Flyers vanquished the Penguins, sending Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang home.

All these teams are underdogs to the powerhouse Carolina Hurricanes, who have another chance to show they can break through after early-playoff success and some disappointing losses.

With the losses by Ottawa and Edmonton, Canada’s hopes of ending a 33-year Cup drought rest with the Canadiens. Montreal was the last team north of the border to win it back in 1993.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl