2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Presented by Geico Begin April 21 with Quadruple Header on ESPN and ESPN2 (2024)

• 14 First Round Games Over Four Days Beginning Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET
• The Point will Air Daily as a Lead-in Show for Games Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs
• ESPN Playoff Hockey Challenge Accepting Entries Until Puck Drop on April 20
• ESPN Debuts New Stanley Cup Playoffs Spot Voiced by Liam Neeson

With the NHL regular season now complete, the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on ESPN presented by GEICO have arrived as 16 teams face off for the most prestigious trophy in sports. Providing fans with continuous action, 14 first round games will play out over the first four days on ESPN and ESPN2, beginning Sunday, April 21.

ESPN’s NHL studio show, The Point, will air regularly as a lead-in to games throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs with rotating hosts Steve Levy, John Buccigross and Arda Öcal and NHL analysts Mark Messier and P.K. Subban. The Drop, ESPN’s digital hockey show and podcast co-hosted by Arda Öcal and Greg Wyshynski, will stream Mondays and Thursdays throughout the playoffs on the NHL on ESPN YouTube channel and wherever you get your ESPN podcasts. In the Crease, a nightly highlight show, will stream on ESPN+ throughout the playoffs, following the conclusion of games on ESPN networks.

ESPN’s playoff puck drops Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN in a first round matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers. The Panthers’ Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk aim to match the offensive firepower of the Lightning and Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov.

At 3 p.m. on ESPN, the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin take on the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers – an elite offensive team in the regular season – led by goals and assists leader Artemi Panarin.

The Colorado Avalanche and its points, goals and assists leader, Nathan MacKinnon, face off against the Winnipeg Jets and goalie Connor Hellebuyck – this season’s William M. Jennings Trophy winner – at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Closing out the night at 10 p.m. on ESPN, the Nashville Predators and Pacific Division champion Vancouver Canucks both return to the postseason after having missed last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Leading off Monday’s quadruple header, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Auston Matthews – winner of his third career Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy – face the Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak in a series featuring two of the season’s top five scorers at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

The New York Islanders and Mathew Barzal challenge the Carolina Hurricanes and recent addition Jake Guentzel, who has already added eight goals and 25 points in just 17 games, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

The defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights and reigning Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault take the ice against the Western Conference Champion Dallas Stars and its points and assists leader Jason Robertson at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.

In a rematch of last season’s first round playoff series, the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid, who tied for a league-leading 100 assists, host the Los Angeles Kings and its balanced attack from Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

The telecast details and commentators for each game are detailed below. Commentator assignments and coverage details for ESPN games beyond April 29 will be announced in the coming days.

ESPN Debuts New NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Spot
The new NHL on ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs spot, created in collaboration with Preacher, debuted and reinforces that once the Stanley Cup Playoffs start, records are erased, stats are wiped clean, and we’re back to a blank slate. It’s a whole new season within the season, where anything can happen. No lead is safe, no series is over until it’s over and no postseason in any sport is more unpredictable. Voiced by the inimitable Liam Neeson, the playoff campaign spot reaffirms the notion that every new series, every new game and every new period starts with a zero-zero mentality.

– TELECAST & COMMENTATOR SCHEDULE –

*Commentator assignments and studio show times may be subject to change.

NHL Digital Content on ESPN.com and ESPN App
Go to ESPN.com/NHL or the ESPN App for up-to-the-minute NHL news, information and analysis, including premium editorial content by ESPN senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski, exclusively for ESPN+ subscribers.

• 10 NHL contenders, 10 comps to previous Stanley Cup champs (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• Regrading the biggest NHL deadline deals: How Hertl, Guentzel, Toffoli and more will impact playoffs (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• Keys to the offseason: Free agency, draft plans for eliminated NHL teams (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• Ranking the best possible Stanley Cup Final matchups (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• NHL Playoff Rank: The top 50 players in the postseason
• Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, scores, more
• The NHL’s quirkiest traditions: What to know about all 16 playoff teams
• Stanley Cup playoffs preview: Breaking down all 16 teams in the NHL postseason
• The lapsed fan’s guide to the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs: Top storylines, Cup favorites, key players
• Stanley Cup playoffs goalie mask guide for 2024
• Saturday: Wyshynski’s Stanley Cup playoffs bracket: Picks for every series through the Stanley Cup Final (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• Saturday: Stanley Cup playoffs picks: Every first-round series, plus Cup champion, Conn Smythe Trophy
• Saturday: What the world was like the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup

ESPN Playoff Hockey Challenge
ESPN Playoff Hockey Challengeallows fans to predict the winner of each playoff round for the chance to win a Grand Prize of $25,000 once the Stanley Cup is raised. Like allESPN Fantasygames, Playoff Hockey Challenge is free to play and makes it easy for fans to fill out brackets and compete with friends, family and others by creating and joining groups. Fans can complete and submit up to two bracketsatESPN.com/playoffhockeychallengeor on the ESPN Fantasy App foriOSandAndroid. Entries for the Hockey Playoff Challenge will be accepted until Saturday, April 20, when the puck drops for the first matchup of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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CONTACTS:

ESPN
Danny Chi | [emailprotected] | 213-405-4400
Andrea DiCristoforo | [emailprotected] | 213-405-4612

ESPN+
[emailprotected]