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04/19/24 12:12:00
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04/19 00:10 CDT NHL PLAYOFFS: 'It's wide open' is the theme as the race to the
Stanley Cup begins
NHL PLAYOFFS: 'It's wide open' is the theme as the race to the Stanley Cup
begins
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
General manager Don Waddell likes how his Carolina Hurricanes finished the
season, winning 16 of their final 21 games. He knows it means nothing now.
"Your points get erased and you all start with zeroes," Waddell said. "Playoffs
are a different time. That's what's great about the NHL. Once you get to the
playoffs, it's wide open."
This year more than many in the recent past.
Unlike last year, when Boston broke league records for the most wins and points
in a season, there is no clear favorite to hoist the Stanley Cup. Carolina,
Florida, defending champion Vegas, Dallas, Winnipeg, Edmonton and the
league-best New York Rangers are among the many contenders who could be the
last team standing in June.
"I don't think there's that separation," former player-turned-TNT analyst Ed
Olczyk said. "I think that there is eight or nine or 10 teams that I really
feel could win the Stanley Cup."
Carolina, which opens against the New York Islanders, are 13-2 Cup favorites,
according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by Florida (7-1), Dallas (15-2),
Colorado, Edmonton and the Rangers (all 8-1), Boston (11-1), Vegas (12-1 to
repeat) and Toronto (14-1). The Canucks and Jets are listed at 15-1. and 2020-
21 Cup-winning Tampa Bay is 25-1, even with top goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy
rounding back into form.
"He's at his best when the games are on the line, and we look for that once
again this year," 2020 playoff MVP Victor Hedman said. "It's obviously so fun
to have the best goalie in the world behind you when the playoffs start."
EASTERN CONFERENCE
The conversation starts with the Rangers, who won the Presidents' Trophy, have
home-ice advantage throughout the postseason and open Sunday against
eighth-seeded Washington. Igor Shesterkin, like Vasilevskiy, has won the Vezina
as the league's best goalie, and this season winger Artemi Panarin has been one
of the most productive and valuable players on any team.
What could set New York apart? Maybe its depth, which comes in handy in the
playoffs when unlikely players become heroes.
"It might not be the headliners --- it might be somebody you go, this guy just
got four goals in a series and that was the turning point," said former player
Ray Ferraro, now an ESPN analyst." You know who I think of? It could be Kaapo
Kakko. It could be a guy like that, who had a trying year."
Or, Ferraro wondered, it could be someone like Boston's Jake DeBrusk. The
Bruins are a year removed from being stunned by Florida in the first round
after their record-setting season and begin their redemption tour Saturday
against Toronto.
Coach Jim Montgomery hopes his team learned "how to handle adversity when it
smacks you in the face. ... We know there's a way we need to look on the ice
and what we should look like, to ourselves most importantly. And when we look
like that, we think we can play with anyone in the league."
The East is no cakewalk. As Lightning coach Jon Cooper pointed out ahead of his
team's first-round series against the cross-state Panthers, more than a decade
on the job has led to just two championships.
"That's a lot of times not being able to get through the gauntlet," Cooper
said. "It's hard. It's really hard to do."
WESTERN CONFERENCE
The West has what Ferraro called a "beast" of a first round. Among the
intriguing matchups are Winnipeg vs. Colorado and Vancouver opening against
Nashville. Dallas finished first in the conference, but are the Stars the team
to beat?
"I think five out of the eight are contenders for the Cup that are legitimate
that could win," said former defenseman Jason Demers, now an NHL Network
analyst. "It really is going to come down to a matchup that you get in the
first round to get the ball rolling and then whoever stays the healthiest."
The top-seeded Stars, who open against Vegas, will try to outrace opponents to
the Cup, using their speed and skill and relying on Jake Oettinger and a
stacked blue line behind an elite group of forwards. But they know it won't be
easy.
"It's going to be a hard run to get through everything," winger Mason Marchment
said. "It'll be exciting, but I think we'll be ready for it."
Reigning and three-time MVP Connor McDavid could put the Oilers on his back and
carry them through the playoffs like Nathan MacKinnon did when the Avalanche
won the Cup in 2022. A lot will depend on Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.
With a first-round matchup against the Kings, Demers said "Edmonton just needs
to exorcise those demons."
So do the Jets, who haven't made it to the West final since 2018. Winnipeg has
this season's best goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck and a big, tough lineup full
of players who can also score but take pride in locking down their end of the
ice.
"Defend first," assistant coach Scott Arniel said. "We don't give teams very
much time and space to do anything, and we grind people out and we kind of
frustrate them by kind of smothering them to death."
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AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Stephen Hawkins in Frisco, Texas,
contributed
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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