The Stanley Cup is set to find a new home this year after the Florida Panthers, who won back-to-back titles, were sidelined by injuries and missed the playoffs. Along with Florida, several other regular contenders failed to qualify, opening the door for fresh faces in the postseason.<\/p>\n
The Buffalo Sabres are among about six newcomers in the 16-team playoff field. They broke the longest playoff drought in NHL history, ending a 14-season absence despite a rough start to their campaign, having lost 18 of their first 29 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins also made a return to the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Dominating since October, the Colorado Avalanche secured the NHL\u2019s best regular-season record and enter as favorites. However, history shows that the top regular-season team doesn\u2019t always claim the Cup. The Eastern Conference remains unpredictable, as does the Western side.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery team in the playoffs can win,\u201d said Dallas Stars defenseman Tyler Myers. \u201cEvery series is a tough series. That\u2019s what\u2019s so amazing about the NHL playoffs: It brings out the best in everybody, in every team, and it creates an unbelievable battle no matter who\u2019s playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s playoff berth is a major achievement after such a long drought. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we strived for from Day 1,\u201d said coach Lindy Ruff, a candidate for coach of the year. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to feel good about getting there. It\u2019s hard. We\u2019re in a division that\u2019s been extremely hard to get there. You\u2019ve got to look back and say that we did a lot of good things to get to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sabres have gained momentum, especially since the Olympic break, and look poised to make an impact in the wide-open Eastern Conference without Florida. Similarly, Pittsburgh heated up late in the season to qualify for the first time since 2022 under new head coach Dan Muse. The Penguins were 6-1 longshots to reach the playoffs back in October, but now Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang get another shot at postseason success.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people doubted us, and I guess counted us out, and it just put fuel on the fire for us,\u201d said defenseman Ryan Shea, gearing up for his NHL playoff debut at 29. \u201cI\u2019ve been in the playoffs in the AHL, which was fun, but this is the best league in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Utah Mammoth secured a playoff spot in just their second season in Salt Lake City. The Anaheim Ducks also return, led by a young core and three-time Cup champion coach Joel Quenneville.<\/p>\n
Colorado remains the favorite, boasting stars such as Nathan MacKinnon, who could win MVP, and Cale Makar, a candidate for top defenseman. The Avalanche added depth with Nazem Kadri\u2019s trade deadline return, fueling hopes of another Stanley Cup parade in Denver, four years after their last.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be confident for sure: Believe in this group. I know we have what it takes,\u201d said captain Gabriel Landeskog. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a long, tough road and mentally, physically grinding. I think we\u2019re ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their path to the final includes a tough second-round matchup against either Dallas or the Minnesota Wild, both strong teams. The playoffs kick off with the Central Division showdown between the Stars and Wild, two of the league\u2019s top seven teams, guaranteeing an early exit for one. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman praised the divisional format for creating \u201cgreat matchups\u201d and entertainment for fans.<\/p>\n
Several players fresh off Olympic gold in Beijing have the chance to add a Stanley Cup ring this year. Colorado\u2019s Brock Nelson, Carolina\u2019s Jaccob Slavin, Buffalo\u2019s Tage Thompson, Tampa Bay\u2019s Jake Guentzel, Minnesota\u2019s Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber, Ottawa\u2019s Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson, along with Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman and Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger, are all contenders.<\/p>\n
Canadian stars carrying silver medals from the Olympics see the playoffs as a chance to make up for their losses. Edmonton\u2019s Connor McDavid, coming off two consecutive final defeats, and Pittsburgh\u2019s Crosby, recovering from an injury that kept him out of the gold medal game, chase a fourth NHL championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the best time of year,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cThat\u2019s why you play.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Stanley Cup is set to find a new home this year after the Florida Panthers, who won back-to-back titles, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","description":"","custom_seo_keywords":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[77,80],"class_list":["post-1031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ice-hockey","tag-nhl","tag-stanley-cup"],"yoast_head":"\n