“It’s the most exciting time, because everybody’s playing at a different level,” said Tortorella, who won the Cup with the Lightning in 2004. “It’s a good test to see how high you can get as a team -- first of all as a player and then within the team concept. Everything’s going to be amped up. As each game goes by in the series, it’s going to be harder and harder, and so it’s a great challenge.”
The Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers are trying to win the Cup for the first time in years after coming close recently.
Edmonton hasn’t won the Cup since 1990. Dallas hasn’t won it since 1999, Carolina since 2006. The Oilers lost to the Panthers in the Cup Final each of the past two years. The Stars lost in the Cup Final in 2020 and in the Western Conference Final each of the past three years. The Hurricanes lost in the Eastern Conference Final in 2019, 2023 and 2025.
“We’ve been eager for this for a long time,” said Rod Brind’Amour, who won the Cup with the Hurricanes as a player in 2006 and has coached them since 2018-19. “… Now it goes to being a sprint. The season’s a marathon, and now, all of a sudden, you’ve got to be ready right from the get-go and put your best foot forward.”
The Buffalo Sabres are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2011, ending the longest drought in the NHL. The Anaheim Ducks are back for the first time since 2018. The Utah Mammoth will make their postseason debut.
The NHL established a new franchise in Utah on Apri 18, 2024. The team bought the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes, who had missed the playoffs the previous four years. General manager Bill Armstrong, coach Andre Tourigny and 12 players on the current roster moved from Utah and now will experience the playoffs in a new market.
“It’s an outstanding feeling, to be honest,” Tourigny said, crediting owners Ryan and Ashley Smith. “… Everywhere we go in the city with the fans and everybody, it’s been so magical, so I think the story is unbelievable.”
There are so many good stories.
In the East, the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators are trying to take the next step after losing in the first round last year. The Boston Bruins are back after missing the playoffs last year. The Philadelphia Flyers are back for the first time in six years.
In the West, the Minnesota Wild are trying to win a first-round series for the first time since 2015, and the Los Angeles Kings are trying to do it for the first time since 2014, when they won the Cup for the second time in three years. Captain Anze Kopitar was part of those two championships. This will be his last playoff run before he retires.
“That’s what it’s about,” Kings forward Quinton Byfield said. “You obviously want to do it for one another, but at the beginning of the year … we talked about it too, like, ‘We want to give ‘Kope’ another shot.’ What he’s done for the organization, it’s the least that we can do. We’re always playing for each other but obviously for him as well -- our leader.”
Sixteen teams. Four rounds. Two months.
The puck drops Saturday.
NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed
