The first Stanley Cup Playoff game is at 12:00pm ET when the New York Islanders take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The full schedule for today is below and feel free to discuss the games right here.

from Dave Poulin at the Toronto Star,

What had I just watched? How could I write something different about the Oilers captain? I had to ask around, hence that first text. The cascade that followed was tremendous.

The answers were almost instantaneous, no matter the time of day. I texted a current player during what I was sure would be practice time, and his answer came back 30 seconds later: smart. I laughed, wondering if he had his cellphone tucked into his glove while on the ice.

The one-word answer was rare. People clearly wanted to say more. Unparalleled. Electrifying. Dominant. Those three came from a current player, who added, “I do think his complete tool kit is unmatched by any other player in the league … and he seems to dominate game after game in a different more exciting way each time.”

Incandescent. Scintillating. Sublime. This combination platter was delivered by a noted scribe who used the same formula to over-deliver as the player had. When I challenged him on the direction of what I had asked, he simply answered in another language: Nonpareil, clearly enjoying the exercise. The next morning, at 6:30 a.m., a detailed essay awaited in my inbox, eloquently expanding on his thoughts about McDavid, full of adjectives and verbs.

A lot of what I received dealt with his speed.

more

from Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune,

The performance was a dud, to put it kindly. Sloppy mistakes, careless passing, no real focus.

The Wild coughed up turnover after turnover against Anaheim — one of the two worst teams in the NHL — in a textbook case of playing down to the competition. It was a moment ripe for a letdown loss earlier this month in the final push of the regular season.

Then the rookie sensation decided he'd had enough of that nonsense.

Kirill Kaprizov skated the puck up the wing in overtime, fired a shot from the circle, kept moving toward the goal, corralled his rebound in traffic and tapped in the game-winner. A piece of cake.

Just like that, overtime was finished after 17 seconds.

That singular play — and many others from the Thrill's rookie archive — helps explain why the Wild's playoff fate doesn't feel as hopeless as in previous years. The lineup finally has a true goal scorer, a guy who can make a play on his own in clutch moments.

Who needs puck luck when you have a superstar?

continued

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- Smart for the NHL to schedule Vancouver games in the afternoon to get its elongated season over. Not smart to schedule both playoff series in Canada with back-to-back games without a day off in the first round. They should have found a way around that … Hall of Famer Jimmy Rutherford is in demand and a number of NHL teams have asked about his availability. The team that needs leadership help more than any other: The forever-confused Buffalo Sabres.

- Ottawa’s D.J. Smith will not win the coach of the year award in the NHL — he may not even be a finalist — but what a tremendous job he did with the Senators this season under challenging circumstances.

- Playoffs always come down to your best players being your best players. Rielly should be one of the Leafs’ best players and leaders. He needs to start the playoffs at a much higher level than he ended the regular season.

more on the last topic plus other hockey notes...

from Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press,

Steve Yzerman said he’d be quick about meeting with his coach, Jeff Blashill, after the Detroit Red Wings’ season ended. He did not say he’d be quick about deciding Blashill’s fate.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Yzerman can’t be rushed....

the Wings were the worst team in the league last season. This year, they're tied for the fifth-worst record (with the potential to fall if Vancouver wins any of its' pandemic-stalled games this week). And if you are judging by record — or points — it's hard to justify extending Blashill, especially in a league that fires more of its coaches than any other; Blashill is the third longest-tenured coach in the NHL.

And yet?

Wins and losses aren’t the only way to measure a coach.

No, what Yzerman is trying to determine — and likely already has in some fashion — is whether Blashill is the right coach for the current roster, and for the roster Yzerman envisions the next couple of seasons....

Convincing an up-and-comer to start from (almost) scratch in Detroit won’t be easy. Though Yzerman may have the cache to pull it off.

Again, the question is whether he thinks he must. Blashill was once a promising coaching prospect, too, with a Calder Cup win in the AHL in Grand Rapids. When he had decent talent, it was easy to see his worth.

I’d argue he’s shown his value this past season as well. In a difficult year, when he lost a half-dozen players to COVID protocol nearly out of the gate, Blashill’s team got better, particularly the last six weeks of the season, particularly on defense.

Is that enough?

Possibly.

more ($$$)

THREE HARD LAPS

* The opening contest of the First Round required overtime for the second time in as many years, with Nic Dowd scoring the winner less than five minutes into the extra frame to power the Capitals past the Bruins in Game 1.

* Less than a week shy of his 40th birthday, Craig Anderson entered Game 1 in relief of Vitek Vanecek and became the oldest goaltender in franchise history to earn a win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Three more First Round series start today, beginning with a matinee between the Penguins and Islanders followed by the inaugural head-to-head playoff meetings between the Golden Knights and Wild, as well as the Panthers and Lightning.

Watch it.

Topics discussed by the HNIC panel- The future of Seth Jones in Columbus, perhaps a shake up in Vancouver, the NHL schedule for next season, Team Canada and David Perron on the Covid list.

via Sportsnet,

The Boston Bruins vs. the Washington Capitals kickoff the post season at 7:15pm ET on NBC, CBC, SN and TVAS.

Feel free to discuss the game, the playoffs or anything NHL.

Below, see the playoff broadcast teams for NBC Sports and Sportsnet.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

So I watched as Pekka Rinne, the estimable 38-year-old Nashville goaltender, took a victory lap around his home ice to a standing ovation following the May 10 shutout of Carolina in his 683rd — and perhaps, last — game for the franchise.

And all I was thinking was: This is the way Henrik Lundqvist deserved to go out as a Ranger — with cheers and gratitude ringing in his ears from the adoring Garden faithful, and not with the anticlimactic buyout that followed The King’s slide into near obscurity those final months of 2019-20.

But that’s not all. Because it is my belief general manager Chris Drury and the Blueshirts should target the impending free agent Rinne to fill the role as backup goaltender to Igor Shesterkin next season if he is on the market. Yes, of course, that would entail dealing Alexandar Georgiev, but that is a move that would serve the best interests of both parties.

The Rangers need an infusion of leadership in all corners of the room.

continued with more hockey topics...

from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

Throw the windows open, turn on your television and soak in that sensation: The buzz is back after the long lockdown winter.

There’s something special about the arrival of the Stanley Cup Playoffs every spring; about games bubbling over with intensity and emotion and swings of momentum that elevate hockey to its stomach-twisting best.

But it’s bound to hit differently this time around, in part because we’ve waited a little longer and endured a bit more. These playoffs mark the culmination of a challenging 56-game regular season that required the NHL to be nimble in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic -- complete with stops and starts for several teams -- while staging games predominantly in empty arenas.

The reward is a two-month chase for the Stanley Cup that coincides with North America starting to come back to life.

Not only has the league arrived here in a healthier place, able to ease some protocols with many players fully vaccinated, but it’s going to be allowed to open its doors for fans to a degree not possible since the pandemic took hold in March 2020.

continued

from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe,

Turning talk into trade, when it comes to a potential Eichel-to-Boston deal, is another matter.

Can the Bruins afford the cost of one of the game’s premier centers? From a cap-space perspective, sure. The 24-year-old Eichel has been hurt much of this season, but is paid like a player who put up 36 goals and 78 points in 68 games last season on a struggling team. He carries a $10 million hit for the next six years.

One way to afford him: let unrestricted free agents David Krejci ($7.25 million), Jaroslav Halak ($2.25 million), and Sean Kuraly ($1.275 million) walk, which would free up $10.775 million in cap space. That’s without considering a Hall extension, and other UFAs (Mike Reilly, due a raise on his $1.5 million AAV). The Bruins will also shed David Backes’s $1.5 million retained cap hit this summer. Money doesn’t have to be the holdup.

Do they have a need for Eichel? Certainly not at this moment. The Capitals entered Saturday’s Game 1 against the Bruins trying to find ways to stop Patrice Bergeron’s line and the Hall-Krejci-Craig Smith connection, both firing with equal fury. Imagine if that continues this postseason, Krejci takes a haircut ($5 million on a short-term deal) and Hall falls a bit behind Brad Marchand ($6.125 million) on the salary scale. That’s one formidable top six entering 2021-22.

Given the ages of Bergeron (36 in July) and Krejci (35) and their mileage, it wouldn’t last forever. Bergeron’s contract expires after next season. Krejci, if he returns, could be year to year. Bringing in a 24-year-old, all-world talent from North Chelmsford, and showing him how Bergeron and Marchand operate (see: Hall, Taylor), could be ideal.

Whether they want to ante up for Eichel, the Bruins do need centers.

more plus other topics...

Questions will be answered.

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

For the first time since dropping Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins will be on the ice Saturday night for a playoff game with real live fans in the stands, and that sweet, intoxicating scent of postseason acrimony in the air.

Bubble-free hockey, Stanley Cup play as we used to know it — albeit with the crowd still downsized because of COVID protocols — begins anew with the Bruins and Capitals set to slug out a best-of-seven series.

It will be fast, for sure, and it could be a rough one from the start. Neither side will need to ease into this one. All the “feeling out” died between the Capitals and Bruins over the course of eight regular-season matchups, including March 5 at the Garden when Washington forward Tom Wilson drove Brandon Carlo’s noggin hard into the glass and was suspended for seven games.

“I think it will come to a head quicker,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy predicted, just before his club flying here for Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. puck drop. “Bad blood’s already there.”

“Discipline is what we talk about,” added Capitals coach Peter Laviolette, noting the importance of controlled emotions, intelligent play at this time of the year. “But then the games get played and you hope you are on the good side of that.”

continued

from Don Brennan of the National Post,

“When we’re skating and we’re physical, I think we give them a lot of issues, whether that’s forechecking or defending,” said the St. Louis Blues captain, whose team takes on the Avalanche in a West Division first-round matchup that begins Monday. “When we play our heavy game and commit to it, and put pucks in and don’t feed their rush, we make it tough on them, and find ways to beat them. That’s what we’ve got to do. That’s got to be our focus. We know that they have a lot of talent over there. They work hard, but for us, it’s an exciting challenge.”

And then, in dropping the hammer, the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner added:

“We’re going to have some fun, and we’re going to beat them.”

Bam!

more

“I didn’t come here to lose in the first round and hopefully get a nice contract. I want to have a deep playoff run and when it’s time to take care of that other stuff, that’s what I’ll look to do. But it really hasn’t been on my mind and it really shouldn’t be.

“I think we’re all here to win a Stanley Cup. If we made that happen or we had a great run and some good things happen, I think everyone will be taken care of and we’ll figure that out later.”

-Taylor Hall of the Boston Bruins. Michael Traikos has more on Hall at the National Post.

note- original post was 11:33pm on 5/13/21

Raise your hand if you thought we would not be seeing the playoffs until April, 2022.

You have until Saturday at 7pm ET to get your picks in.

For the first timers, I make it very easy for you to pick the winner, just copy and paste the teams involved in each series, make your pick and if you'd like, tell us how many games each series will last. Extra credit if you want to name the team who will win the Cup.

My plans, I will be putting up an open post every day a game(s) is scheduled right through the SCF.

Of course, I will be doing what I do on a regular basis to keep all of you informed about our great game.

First round matchups are below.

THREE HARD LAPS

* Opening night of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs is upon us. The Capitals and Bruins are set to take to the ice in Game 1 of their First Round series at Capital One Arena.

* Forty-four-year-old Zdeno Chara can join rare company when he takes to the ice against the franchise he captained for 14 seasons.

* Teams that take a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series hold an all-time record of 490-222 (.688), including a 7-1 mark in the 2020 First Round.

2021 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS OPEN WITH CAPITALS, BRUINS ON NBC, HNIC AND TVAS

The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin today with Game 1 between the Capitals and Bruins taking the spotlight on opening night. The primetime showdown begins at 7:15 p.m. ET on NBC in the United States and on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

Stanley Cup Playoffs, 2021.

3 1/2 minutes long.

from Marty Klinkenberg of the Globe and Mail,

Ten years ago, Ron MacLean and Elliotte Friedman gathered in a hotel room in Raleigh, N.C., to swap stories about the broadcast business and the NHL all-star game they had covered together that day for CBC.

Over a beer or three, MacLean told Friedman he didn’t know how much longer he was going to stay on as the host of the iconic television program Hockey Night in Canada.

“I told Elliotte I would keep the chair warm for him until he was ready,” MacLean recalls.

Friedman, who had dreamed of such an opportunity earlier in his career, dismissed the idea.

“They’re not looking for someone like me,” he said modestly.

He was self-deprecating then and remains unpresuming today. That is the part of the charm that has won him legions of followers. There is a folksiness – similar to the enduring MacLean – that draws viewers in. The difference between then and now is that he has fine-tuned his approach.

continued

What I am hearing from an insider, one of my few, is Jeff Blashill will be returning as the coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

It will be a two-year contract.

Many people are saying you have to assume Blashill will be returning. My question is then why not announce it?

Same can be said his contract won't be renewed, but then again why not announce it.

The GM has us wondering and confused.

I am still sticking with my prediction that Jeff Blashill will take on another role in the organization.

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

“I got some play some pretty good minutes and was trusted in all areas of the ice,” Veleno said. “It definitely boosted my confidence. Now I’ve got a little bit of a taste of it, how those NHL games are, and what to bring to the table. It was just good to have that experience.”

Veleno, 21, was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins when the Wings’ season ended May 8; the Griffins are scheduled to wrap up Saturday, after which Veleno plans to return to the Montreal area for the offseason. That’s where he spent much of 2020, after COVID-19 shuttered sports in mid-March. The extra time Veleno (6 feet 2, 220 pounds) was able to spend working out and training paid off when he was loaned to the Swedish Hockey League in October. Veleno tallied 11 goals and nine assists in 46 games for Malmö, averaging around 16 minutes per game....

“He is bigger, he’s stronger,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “He’s playing with confidence. His experience in Europe, it’s helped him mature not only as a hockey player but as a person. He’s got a little bit more of a presence about him. That confidence is translating and correlating on the ice.

“He’s a high-end player who can make plays and he’s got the confidence to make plays. But his play away from the puck — he’s a pretty smart hockey player. He puts himself in good spots. He competes hard. He has a tremendous future ahead of him.”

more (paid sub.)

I ppsted this in the wrong place earlier today, now it is in its proper place.