There are four games on the Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule for Monday:
Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, BSSO, NESN)
The Hurricanes finished second in the Eastern Conference, but will be without No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen, who has been out with a lower-body injury sustained April 16, so Antti Raanta will make his first Stanley Cup Playoff start. This is the third time in four seasons the Hurricanes and Bruins will face off in the postseason; Boston defeated the Hurricanes in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Bruins, who will start goalie Linus Ullmark, reached the Cup Final in 2019 and have won at least one playoff series in each of the past four seasons.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1 (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSUN)
The Maple Leafs are looking to win a playoff series for the first time since 2004, but they have the two-time champions standing in their way. Toronto is led by center Auston Matthews, who scored 60 goals this season, the first to score that many since Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos in 2011-12. A key matchup is in goal, where the Maple Leafs are hoping Jack Campbell can go toe-to-toe with Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is 34-14 in the postseason the past two seasons. Campbell is 3-4 in seven postseason starts.
St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild, Game 1 (9:30 ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, BSN, BSWI, BSMW)
The Blues will play their first game at Xcel Engery Center this season in what could be the start of a high-scoring series. Their only trip to Minnesota was the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. The Wild, who went 0-1-2 against the Blues this season, were 31-8-2 at Xcel Energy Center and believe that can be an advantage. Either Marc-Andre Fleury, who was traded to the Wild from the Chicago Blackhawks on March 21, or Cam Talbot will start Game 1. The Wild haven't won a playoff series since 2015. The Blues haven't won one since winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. Goalie Ville Husso will start for St. Louis.
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers, Game 1 (10 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSW)
Connor McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer in the NHL with 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists), but playoff success has eluded him. Since the Oilers reached Game 7 of the 2017 Western Conference Second Round, they have missed the playoffs twice and are 1-7 in the postseason. They hope this will be different against a Kings team that has players with plenty of postseason experience but haven't won a round since winning the Cup in 2014 and haven't been to the playoffs since 2018.
