The 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Illustrated

Award-winning artist Ed Murawinski draws up title tribute

(NHL.com)

Expect The Sharks & Preds Serious To Be A Good Fight

Second-round preview: San Jose Sharks vs. Nashville Predators

How they win

San Jose:

• An NHL coach after the Sharks beat the Kings in the opening round told me, "They're the best team in the NHL right now." He said if you looked at how the Sharks have been playing in the final month of the regular season in games that mattered, it was a telltale sign of where their game was headed right before the playoffs. Boy, did the Kings ever find that out. And what killed the Kings was the Sharks' foot speed -- they were a step ahead of L.A. all series long in getting to loose pucks and open space. Another key factor is that the Sharks have been home and cooled since last Friday night after eliminating the Kings, while the Preds had to slug it out over seven games to get by Anaheim. That's no small factor at this time of year to enter a series with full energy and healthy bodies.

How they lose

San Jose:

• Truth be told, as poised and confident and ultimately successful Martin Jones was in goal for the Sharks against his former team in the opening round, he was rarely ever tested on a consistent basis. The Sharks' blue-line corps did such a great job limiting time and space and rebounds on L.A. But my question is whether the Predators can muster more traffic and shot attempts at Jones, and if so just how the youngster will react. He might react just fine. But in his first season as a No. 1 goalie, we've yet to see him truly have to steal a game in the NHL playoffs.

(ESPN.com)

This Has The Making Of A Classic Series

Second-round preview: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Islanders


Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd seed, Atlantic Division) versus New York Islanders (first Eastern Conference wild card)

How they win

Tampa:

• While the Islanders' first-round series victory over the Florida Panthers ended with a double-overtime thriller in Game 6, the Lightning have been waiting, watching, resting and preparing after their first-round series win over the Detroit Red Wings concluded on April 22. The time off will serve Tampa well, as many of its top players are bruised and banged up. Because the Lightning reached the Cup finals last season, any extra time off this spring is welcomed. Unlike the Islanders, the Lightning have recent postseason experience, and that will serve them well. It also helps that Tampa is backstopped by goaltender Ben Bishop, who stopped 152 of 160 shots against the Red Wings. Bishop owns a 2.08 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in 30 career playoff games. Tampa needs Bishop's best performances in order to advance to a second straight conference finals. Like in most playoff series, special teams will be key for the Lightning. Tampa's penalty kill was 24-for-25 in the first round. On the power play, the Lightning went 4-for-23. The power play will be important because Tampa scored only eight even-strength goals against the Red Wings. Without captain Steven Stamkos, who remains sidelined after surgery to remove a blood clot in his shoulder, the once-exiled Jonathan Drouin played extremely well in the first round and will need to continue his strong play.

New York:

• The never-say-die Islanders earned three overtime victories in the first round against the Panthers. That determination and passion needs to continue against an opponent with more postseason experience. Islanders captain John Tavares was outstanding in the first round. The organization's all-time leader in regular-season overtime goals (eight) scored two against the Panthers. He'll need to continue to be the best player on the ice for the Islanders to beat the Lightning. He enters the series with five goals and four assists for nine points this postseason. In his past 12 games, dating back to March 31, he has 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points. Goaltender Thomas Greiss was solid in the first round. He combined for 88 saves in Games 5 and 6. If he can maintain that level of success, it will be an entertaining battle between Bishop and him.

(ESPN.com)

The Last Time The Red Wings Missed The NHL Playoffs

What the world was like the last time the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs

[A]pril 1, 1990. No fooling. What the world was like 26 years ago:

• George H.W. Bush was the president of the United States. Mikhail Gorbachev was the president of the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall was two months away from being demolished. The unification of East Germany and West Germany was being negotiated. Nelson Mandela was enjoying his first two months of freedom after spending 27 years in South African prisons.
• The population of the United States was 249 million.
• The internet was five months away from becoming a thing. A smart phone was something that operated from a plug and a long cord in your house and had an answering machine that recorded messages onto a tiny audiotape. A tweet was the exclusive message of a bird.
• General Motors topped the Fortune 500 as the most valuable company. Passengers were sweating through the second month of a ban on smoking on all U.S. domestic flights.
• "Escapade" by Janet Jackson, "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles and "Vogue" by Madonna were burning up the airwaves. That is to say, those songs were being played by radio stations. Gloria Estefan left a New York hospital after suffering a broken back in a bus accident.
• Popular movies of the month were "Pretty Woman," with Richard Gere as a john and Julia Roberts as a prostitute (I know, right?), and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Coming later in the year would be "Goodfellas," "Dances With Wolves," "Home Alone," "Total Recall," "Ghost" and "Rocky V." "Driving Miss Daisy," starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy, had just been awarded the Oscar for best picture. A TV show called "Twin Peaks" aired its two-hour pilot episode -- and unless you had a beta or VHS recorder, you couldn't fast-forward the commercials. With his four-year contract to do the TV series "21 Jump Street" expiring, Johnny Depp said he would prefer to do movies. A little-known actor named Brad Pitt was cast for a bit part in the flick "Thelma and Louise."
• Jack Nicklaus played in his first senior tour event, which he promptly won. Nick Faldo was a week away from successfully defending his Masters title. The Miami Hurricanes and San Francisco 49ers has recently won championships. Derrike Cope had recently won the Daytona 500. Liverpool was on the verge of winning its 18th -- and so far, last -- English Football League title.
• The Boston Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy with 101 points on a record of 46 wins, 25 losses and 9 ties. Last place among the 21 teams in the NHL was held by the Quebec Nordiques, who went 12-61-7. Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings won the Art Ross Trophy with 142 points; Mark Messier was second with 129. Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues led goal scoring with 72; Steve Yzerman was second with 62 goals. Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens led the league with a .912 save percentage; Mike Liut of the Blues was tops in goals-against average, at 2.53.
• Dylan Larkin was six years away from being born. Danny DeKeyser was a month old. Brad Richards was 9. Pavel Datsyuk was 11. Coach Jeff Blashill was 16.

(ESPN.com)

2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 1st Round Schedule

Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Schedule 

Games begin Wednesday, April 13
  
Anaheim Ducks (P1) vs. Nashville Predators (WC1)

Fri 4/15, 10:30pm: NSH @ ANA | NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
Sun 4/17, 10:30pm: NSH @ ANA | NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Tue 4/19, 9:30pm: ANA @ NSH | USA, SN360, TVA Sports
Thu 4/21, 8pm: ANA @ NSH | CNBC, FX Canada, TVA Sports
*Sat 4/23, TBD:  NSH @ ANA | TBD
*Mon 4/25, TBD:  ANA @ NSH | TBD
*Wed 4/27, TBD:  NSH @ ANA | TBD
  
Los Angeles Kings (P2) vs. San Jose Sharks (P3)

Thu 4/14, 10:30pm: SJS @ LAK | CNBC, CBC, TVA Sports
Sat 4/16, 10:30pm: SJS @ LAK | NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
Mon 4/18, 10:30pm: LAK @ SJS | NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
Wed 4/20, 10:30pm: LAK @ SJS | USA, CBC, TVA Sports
*Fri 4/22, TBD:  SJS @ LAK | TBD
*Sun 4/24, TBD:  LAK @ SJS | TBD
*Tue 4/26, TBD:  SJS @ LAK | TBD

Complete list (NHL.com)

Red Wings Streak Reaches A Quarter Century

Red Wings' playoff streak unmatched in other sports 

Detroit's 25th straight trip to the postseason is third-longest in NHL history
 

The Detroit Red Wings are going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 25th consecutive season. Their streak of postseason appearances would be a record in Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, but it's tied for the third-longest in NHL history.

The Boston Bruins, whose 6-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday put the Red Wings into the playoffs, hold the NHL record for consecutive appearances; Boston qualified for 29 straight seasons, from 1968-1996. They won the Stanley Cup twice during that streak, in 1970 and 1972.

Boston's streak is one season longer than that of the Chicago Blackhawks, who advanced to the Final three times but lost each time during their run of 28 consecutive postseason trips from 1970-97.

(NHL.com)

A Sad, Sad Day For Our Friends Up North

Woe Canada. No playoffs this year north of border 

Country shut out for first time in 46 years

For the first time since the 1969-70 season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be contested entirely south of the 49th parallel. And, as salt in the wound for patriotic Canadian fans, Commissioner Gary Bettman will present hockey's Holy Grail to the captain of a U.S.-based team for the 22nd consecutive season.

Canada may stake claim to the invention of hockey as we know it, but teams from this country clearly didn't bring their Eh-game in 2015-16.

With 11 days left in the regular season, all seven Canadian-based teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. The Philadelphia Flyers' 2-1 shootout victory against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday officially eliminated the Ottawa Senators, the last Canadian team that had any shot to make the postseason.

(NHL.com)

Kings Once Again Poised For A Cup Run

Kings bounce back in big way

Los Angeles poised for run at third Stanley Cup title in five seasons


Here are five reasons why the Kings clinched:

1. Rest and motivation 

The 2014-15 Kings didn't have a terrible season by any means, going 40-27-15 for 95 points. But that was three points short of a playoff berth in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, and just more than six months removed from raising their second Stanley Cup banner, the Kings were packing their bags for an early summer.

Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Between the two Cup runs in 2012 and 2014 and a trip to the Western Conference Final in 2013, they played 64 postseason games in addition to the combined 246 regular-season games over that span. Top players like Kopitar and Doughty admitted before the start of this season that the extra rest could prove beneficial.

"It felt good, even though it stinks to miss the playoffs," Kopitar said. "We kind of needed that to recharge and get away for a little longer period of time. You always feel like you're in a rush to get ready. Not this time.

"The sour taste from missing the playoffs is what drives us to do some damage this year."

2. Overtime heroics 

The new 3-on-3 format apparently agrees with Los Angeles, which has won 11 of 14 games this season decided in the extra period.


Combined with the shootout, the Kings have played 18 games this season that have gone beyond regulation and picked up the extra point in 12. Contrast that to a season ago, when they were 3-15 in those situations (1-7 in overtime, 2-8 in shootouts). If they had managed an even 9-9 split, they would have breezed into the playoffs.

"We've been doing a good job of getting those chances when we have because the puck possession in the 3-on-3," forward Milan Lucic told LA Kings Insider earlier this month. "As you've seen from all the 3-on-3 play, puck possession is probably the biggest thing, and when you get those chances, you've got to make sure you score, and we've been bearing down on them. To be honest, that was one of the things we talked about early in the season, heading into those overtime games, is getting those points."

3. 'America's Best' 

When Quick made 32 saves in a 5-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 14, he wasn't just shutting out the defending Cup champs. He also set an NHL record for most shutouts by a U.S.-born goalie with the 41st of his career, passing John Vanbiesbrouck and Frank Brimsek.

Quick is having his typical elite season, ranking second in the League in wins (37) and fourth in goals-against average (2.14). His .921 save percentage would be the second highest of his career. He has been a workhorse as usual -- he's second in the NHL in minutes played and tied for second with 58 games -- but with Jhonas Enroth earning Sutter's trust to the tune of 12 starts already and performing brilliantly at times (2.01 GAA, .930 save percentage), Quick won't sniff the career-high-tying 72 appearances he made last season.


4. The missing piece 

The Kings acquired Lucic on June 26, sending the Bruins the No. 13 pick in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft and goaltender Martin Jones.

Lucic, who had an eight-game point streak end Saturday against his former team, has provided a power-forward presence with a penchant for performing in big spots -- he lifted the Cup in 2011 with the Bruins and has 26 goals and 61 points in 96 postseason games. It's the type of resume the Kings needed with Justin Williams leaving to sign as a free agent with the Washington Capitals on July 1.

"I think he's given our top end of our forward group some size and some skill, and that's never a bad thing," Sutter told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.


5. Everyone playing their roles

The Kings' best players have stood out. Quick has been a fortress in goal, Kopitar is close to a point-per-game player (24 goals, 65 points in 70 games), and Doughty figures to again get consideration for the Norris Trophy, averaging the third-most minutes in the League (28:12) and playing dynamically at each end of the ice. Forward Tyler Toffoli leads Los Angeles with 26 goals, an NHL career-high.

The Kings didn't win the Cup twice by merely relying on its stars, though, and this version has its own share of complementary pieces.

Forward Vincent Lecavalier, acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 6, has revived his career with eight goals in 32 games. Forward Kris Versteeg, traded from the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 28, can fit in on the top line with Lucic and Kopitar, or play down in the lineup. And with veteran defenseman Matt Greene limited to three games because of a shoulder injury that required surgery, the Kings brought back 2012 Cup winner Rob Scuderi and added Luke Schenn for bottom-six depth.

(NHL.com)

Congrats To The 2015 Stanley Cup Champs

(NHL.com Facebook Fan Page)

Stanley Cup-clinching jerseys since 1918

(SI.com)