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They’re not technically the playoffs, but they’re not the regular season either.
The eight best-of-five series will look and feel like the Stanley Cup playoffs (other than the lack of fans in attendance), but it will in fact be known as the “qualifying round.”
Call it whatever you want; for hockey fans, this is a godsend.
In what amounts to a 24-team Stanley Cup tournament, 16 teams will compete for a chance to play one of the top four teams in each conference. We don’t know exactly when or where it’ll take place yet, but we do know the matchups.
Western Conference
Edmonton Oilers (5) vs Chicago Blackhawks (12)
Are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl enough to beat the Chicago Blackhawks? The oddsmakers certainly think so.
Perhaps that’s unfair to the rest of the Oilers, who played much better under new head coach Dave Tippett, but no other team in the league can boast two stars as dominating as Edmonton’s.
Prediction: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith won’t let Chicago get swept, but Edmonton’s star players are in their prime and will overpower them. Oilers in 4.
Nashville Predators (6) vs Arizona Coyotes (11)
Odds:
Arizona Coyotes +105
Nashville Predators -125
The Arizona Coyotes haven’t made the playoffs since 2012 and looked poised to qualify earlier this season. They traded for Taylor Hall but they didn’t exactly take off after the acquisition.
Nashville, conversely, has made the playoffs in five straight seasons. Are they a sleeping giant or a team that’s over the hill?
Prediction: The pause will help Arizona, a team that’s already used to playing in empty arenas. Coyotes in 5.
Vancouver Canucks (7) vs Minnesota Wild (10)
Odds:
Minnesota Wild +120
Vancouver Canucks -140
These two teams last met in the playoffs in 2003 when Minnesota overcame a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Canucks. Vancouver is favoured this time around, too, in a matchup of opposites.
The Canucks are led by young stars like Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Boeser. Conversely, many of the Wild’s star players, like Ryan Suter, Eric Staal, Zach Parise, and Mats Zuccarello, are in their 30s.
Prediction: Jacob Markstrom will outperform Alex Stalock in goal, and Vancouver’s young stars will excel while Minnesota struggles to shake off the rust. Canucks in 4.
Calgary Flames (8) vs Winnipeg Jets (9)
Odds:
Winnipeg Jets -110
Calgary Flames -110
Oddsmakers are split on a matchup between the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. These two teams played just once during the regular season, a 2-1 overtime win by Calgary at the Heritage Classic in Regina.
Both teams have dangerous forwards, but the Flames have the unquestioned advantage on defence, as Winnipeg’s blue line was decimated in the past 12 months. But the Jets have the clear advantage in goal, where Connor Hellebuyck posted one of the best save percentages in the NHL (.922).
Prediction: Hellebuyck will keep Winnipeg in every game, but David Rittich will step up to minimize the advantage. Flames in 5.
Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh Penguins (5) vs Montreal Canadiens (12)
Odds:
Montreal Canadiens +170
Pittsburgh Penguins -190
In the biggest mismatch on paper, instead of preparing for the NHL Draft, the Montreal are getting a shot at the Stanley Cup. They were 10 points back of a playoff spot when the season paused, while the Penguins are one of the best teams in the league, eyeing another Stanley Cup.
But in a short series, anything is possible, and the Habs have Carey Price. They’ve also got nothing to lose, and that might be a scary proposition for Sidney Crosby and company.
Prediction: This series will be competitive, but Pittsburgh’s quality will rise above the Canadiens. Penguins in 4.
Carolina Hurricanes (6) vs New York Rangers (11)
Odds:
New York Rangers +130
Carolina Hurricanes -150
After a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Final last year, the Carolina Hurricanes aren’t exactly a Cinderella team this time around. They’re favoured to beat the New York Rangers, who have one player that should scare them: Artemi Panarin.
Panarin finished tied for third in league scoring with 95 points, but Carolina is deep up front and on defence, and should come out on top.
Prediction: With last year’s experience under their belts, the Canes know how to win in the playoffs and they’re still a team on the rise. Hurricanes in 3.
New York Islanders (7) vs Florida Panthers (10)
Odds:
Florida Panthers -120
New York Islanders +100
The Florida Panthers are the only team the oddsmakers like that are below their opponent both in terms of overall points, and points percentage. New York Islanders fans surely will feel slighted by it, but maybe they shouldn’t.
The Islanders limped into the pause, losing seven straight games, and 11 of their last 13. The Panthers weren’t exactly rolling either though.
Prediction: The Panthers have the better team on paper, but the Islanders have Barry Trotz’ suffocating system. Islanders in 5.
Toronto Maple Leafs (8) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (9)
Odds:
Columbus Blue Jackets +140
Toronto Maple Leafs -160
They might still have to play the Boston Bruins on their journey to the team’s first Stanley Cup since 1967, but the Toronto Maple Leafs will get a bit of a break against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But despite a talented lineup, the Leafs will need to be careful against Columbus, who swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs one year ago. The Blue Jackets don’t have star power like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, or John Tavares, but they do have a plucky group with excellent defence and good goaltending.
Look out.
Prediction: The Blue Jackets will indeed give Toronto a scare, but there won’t be an upset. Leafs in 5.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
