Sebastian Maniscalco is launching We Got Company, a new monthly SiriusXM series.
The Canadiens have been one of the pleasant surprises in the NHL this season, on their way to an Eastern wildcard spot after missing the post-season fun over the past three years. The last time they participated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they went all the way to the Final, losing in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is a different team now, and they’ll be in tough against a strong Maple Leafs squad that has emphasized more team defence this season in an effort to be ready for the playoffs. That approach will probably net them first place in the tough Atlantic Division.
Winnipeg has been one of the best, if not the best, teams in the entire league for most of this season. But can they exorcize recent playoff demons? They have the best goaltender in the league (Connor Hellebuyck), a well-balanced attack with underrated players, and a solid team defence, the best in the NHL. Tonight, they tangle with an Oilers squad that made it to the Stanley Cup Final last June, falling in seven games to the Florida Panthers. Is this year’s edition of the Oilers better? Some would say they’ve taken a step back while goaltending remains a concern. However, any team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will always be a threat. Both players have been out of the line for most of the past month, so it’s difficult to take much stock of how the Oilers fared during that stretch.
Is this a preview of yet again an opening-round matchup between these two rivals? Edmonton has held the upper hand in the past three meetings, though some feel that is about to change. The Kings have been almost unbeatable on home ice this season, and their goaltending is superior to what Edmonton can throw out there. The powerplay is still a struggle at times for Los Angeles, and they’re middle-of-the-pack in goal scoring but boast one of the stingiest team defences in the entire NHL.
This could also be a preview of a first-round series: The Battle of The Sunshine State, featuring two teams that have represented the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final since 2020. Tampa won it all in 2020 and 2021, while the Panthers took home their first Stanley Cup this past June. Florida has been battling several injuries to key players and hopes that it’s all hands on deck for the first round.
After another impressive regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights are again headed to the post-season. The same cannot be said for the Vancouver Canucks. It’s been a strange, tough, trying season for last season’s Pacific Division champions, and they’ll come up just short in their bid to participate in the 2025 post-season. The Canucks compiled 109 points last season; they’ll be fortunate to hit the 90-point mark this time around.
The final night of the 2024-25 NHL regular season sees seven games on tap, including this matchup of two Eastern teams headed for the postseason. That’s the norm for the Hurricanes, who have again launched an impressive campaign. They’ll be facing the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This will be the first time participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Senators since 2017, when they were an overtime goal away from going to the Final. The seven subsequent seasons of sitting on the sidelines was the longest playoff drought in modern Ottawa Senators’ history.
The National Hockey League is quiet this Friday as 16 teams prepare for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs opening round. The action gets going tomorrow, and you can follow all the play-by-play on NHL Network Radio SiriusXM Channel 91. Complete series coverage and information on where to hear the respective play-by-play calls of the teams that survived the regular season’s six-month marathon.
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