Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (2024)

  • Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (1)

    ESPN staffApr 19, 2024, 05:00 AM ET

The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs are almost here! The NHL's 32 teams are down to just 16 in the postseason, with the opening games of the first round set to begin Saturday.

Will the New York Rangers parlay their success in winning the Presidents' Trophy to a championship -- thus breaking the "curse" of that award?

Can the Vegas Golden Knights repeat, despite starting the postseason as the underdog in their initial series?

Read on for the full playoff coverage from every first-round series all the way through the Stanley Cup Final.

More: Playoff schedule
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Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (2)

First round

Atlantic Division

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (3)

A1 FloridaPanthers
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (4)

WC1 Tampa BayLightning

Regular-season records:

Panthers: 52-24-6, 110 points
Lightning: 45-29-8, 98 points

Leading scorers:

Panthers: Sam Reinhart, 94 points (57 G, 37 A)
Lightning: Nikita Kucherov, 144 points (44 G, 100 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: TB @ FLA | April 21, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 2: TB @ FLA | April 23, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) | Preview
Game 3: FLA @ TB | April 25, 7 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 4: FLA @ TB | April 27, 5 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 5: TB @ FLA | April 29* | Preview
Game 6: FLA @ TB | May 1* | Preview
Game 7: TB @ FLA | May 4* | Preview

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (5)

A2 BostonBruins
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (6)

A3 TorontoMaple Leafs

Regular-season records:

Bruins: 47-20-15, 109 points
Maple Leafs: 46-26-10, 102 points

Leading scorers:

Bruins: David Pastrnak, 110 points (47 G, 63 A)
Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews, 107 points (69 G, 38 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: TOR @ BOS | April 20, 8 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 2: TOR @ BOS | April 22, 7 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 3: BOS @ TOR | April 24, 7 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 4: BOS @ TOR | April 27, 8 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 5: TOR @ BOS | April 30* | Preview
Game 6: BOS @ TOR | May 2* | Preview
Game 7: TOR @ BOS | May 4* | Preview

Metropolitan Division

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (7)

M1 New YorkRangers
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (8)

WC2 WashingtonCapitals

Regular-season records:

Rangers: 55-23-4, 114 points
Capitals: 40-31-11, 91 points

Leading scorers:

Rangers: Artemi Panarin, 120 points (49 G, 71 A)
Capitals: Dylan Strome, 67 points (27 G, 40 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: WSH @ NYR | April 21, 3 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 2: WSH @ NYR | April 23, 7 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 3: NYR @ WSH | April 26, 7 p.m. (TNT) | Preview
Game 4: NYR @ WSH | April 28, 8 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 5: WSH @ NYR | May 1* | Preview
Game 6: NYR @ WSH | May 3* | Preview
Game 7: WSH @ NYR | May 5* | Preview

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (9)play

The curse of the NHL's Presidents' Trophy

Check out the numbers behind recent Presidents' Trophy winners and how they've fared en route to the Stanley Cup.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (10)

M2 CarolinaHurricanes
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (11)

M3 New YorkIslanders

Regular-season records:

Hurricanes: 52-23-7, 111 points
Islanders: 39-27-16, 94 points

Leading scorers:

Hurricanes: Sebastian Aho, 89 points (36 G, 53 A)
Islanders: Mathew Barzal, 80 points (23 G, 57 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: NYI @ CAR | April 20, 5 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 2: NYI @ CAR | April 22, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) | Preview
Game 3: CAR @ NYI | April 25, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) | Preview
Game 4: CAR @ NYI | April 27, 2 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 5: NYI @ CAR | April 30* | Preview
Game 6: CAR @ NYI | May 2* | Preview
Game 7: NYI @ CAR | May 4* | Preview

Central Division

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (12)

C1 DallasStars
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (13)

WC2 VegasGolden Knights

Regular-season records:

Stars: 52-21-9, 113 points
Golden Knights: 45-29-8, 98 points

Leading scorers:

Stars: Jason Robertson, 80 points (29 G, 51 A)
Golden Knights: Jonathan Marchessault, 69 points (42 G, 27 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: VGK @ DAL | April 22, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 2: VGK @ DAL | April 24, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 3: DAL @ VGK | April 27, 10:30 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 4: DAL @ VGK | April 29 | Preview
Game 5: VGK @ DAL | May 1* | Preview
Game 6: DAL @ VGK | May 3* | Preview
Game 7: VGK @ DAL | May 5* | Preview

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (14)

C2 WinnipegJets
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (15)

C3 ColoradoAvalanche

Regular-season records:

Jets: 52-24-6, 110 points
Avalanche: 50-25-7, 107 points

Leading scorers:

Jets: Mark Scheifele, 72 points (25 G, 47 A)
Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon, 140 points (51 G, 89 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: COL @ WPG | April 21, 7 p.m. (ESPN2) | Preview
Game 2: COL @ WPG | April 23, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 3: WPG @ COL | April 26, 10 p.m. (TNT) | Preview
Game 4: WPG @ COL | April 28, 2:30 p.m. (TNT) | Preview
Game 5: COL @ WPG | April 30* | Preview
Game 6: WPG @ COL | May 2* | Preview
Game 7: COL @ WPG | May 4* | Preview

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (16)play

2024 NHL playoffs: The chase for the Stanley Cup is on

Emily Kaplan sets up the chase for the Stanley Cup as the NHL's second season gets underway.

Pacific Division

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (17)

P1 VancouverCanucks
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (18)

WC1 NashvillePredators

Regular-season records:

Canucks: 50-23-9, 109 points
Predators: 47-30-5, 99 points

Leading scorers:

Canucks: J.T. Miller, 103 points (37 G, 66 A)
Predators: Filip Forsberg, 94 points (48 G, 46 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: NSH @ VAN | April 21, 10 p.m. (ESPN) | Preview
Game 2: NSH @ VAN | April 23, 10 p.m. (ESPN2) | Preview
Game 3: VAN @ NSH | April 26, 7:30 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 4: VAN @ NSH | April 28, 5 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 5: NSH @ VAN | April 30* | Preview
Game 6: VAN @ NSH | May 3* | Preview
Game 7: NSH @ VAN | May 5* | Preview

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (19)

P2 EdmontonOilers
vs.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (20)

P3 Los AngelesKings

Regular-season records:

Oilers: 49-27-6, 104 points
Kings: 44-27-11, 99 points

Leading scorers:

Oilers: Connor McDavid, 132 points (32 G, 100 A)
Kings: Adrian Kempe, 75 points (28 G, 47 A)

Schedule:

Game 1: LA @ EDM | April 22, 10 p.m. (ESPN2) | Preview
Game 2: LA @ EDM | April 24, 10 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 3: EDM @ LA | April 26, 10:30 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 4: EDM @ LA | April 28, 10:30 p.m. (TBS) | Preview
Game 5: LA @ EDM | May 1* | Preview
Game 6: EDM @ LA | May 3* | Preview
Game 7: LA @ EDM | May 5* | Preview

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, preview for the NHL's postseason (2024)
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