The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are here.
The official 16-team tournament starts Tuesday with four games, two in each conference, all on NBC Sports Network nationally. First-round games are also broadcasted by local stations. The hub cities remain in place as part of the NHL’s Return to Play Plan with the Eastern Conference at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and the Western Conference at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
The start starts with a rematch of a first-round upset from last year with the Blue Jackets and Lightning. Columbus swept Tampa in 2019 after the Lightning’s historic Presidents’ Trophy winning regular-season campaign.
The day shifts to Edmonton for the Flames-Stars in a fairly evenly matched series. The Hurricanes, who were the No. 6 seed in the East, swept the Rangers in the Qualifiers and will meet the Bruins, who were the Presidents’ Trophy winners but went 0-3 during the round robin.
The Blackhawks, who upset the No. 5 Oilers in four games during the Qualifiers, close out the night against the Golden Knights, who claimed the top seed in the West by going 3-0 in round-robin play.
SCH will have a schedule article each day throughout the playoffs for people to use as an open thread to discuss the games.
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Tuesday, Aug. 11
Columbus at Tampa Bay, 2 p.m. (NBCSN, TVAS, SN, SUN, FS-O)
Calgary at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. (NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, SN, FS-SW+)
Carolina at Boston, 7 p.m. (NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, SN, NESN, FS-CR)
Chicago at Vegas, 9:30 p.m. (NBCSN, NBCSCH, TVAS, SN, ATTSN-RM)
*All times Central