By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer
The Stanley Cup will have a new home this year after the back-to-back champion Florida Panthers had their season derailed by injuries.
They’re not the only perennial contender to miss the playoffs, either, with the reigning Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs failing to qualify.
The Buffalo Sabres among the half dozen newcomers in the 16-team field. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers are back in the dance, too, and set for a cross-state rivalry series in the first round.
The Colorado Avalanche have been dominant since October and go in as the favorite after clinching the best regular-season record in the NHL. That has rarely been an indicator of who hoists the Cup at the end of four rounds.
“Every team in the playoffs can win,” Dallas Stars defenseman Tyler Myers said. “Every series is a tough series. That’s what’s so amazing about the NHL playoffs: It brings out the best in everybody, in every team, and it creates an unbelievable battle no matter who’s playing.”
New blood in the NHL playoffs
Buffalo ended the longest postseason drought in league history at 14 seasons and did so after losing 18 of its first 29 games. The Sabres not only did that but finished atop the Atlantic Division.
“It’s something that we strived for from Day One,” said Lindy Ruff, who is among the favorites to be coach of the year. “You’ve got to feel good about getting there. It’s hard. We’re in a division that’s been extremely hard to get there. You’ve got to look back and say that we did a lot of good things to get to this point.”
The Sabres also look as if they can do some damage in the wide-open East without Florida. They’ve been the best team since the Olympic break.
Also hot down the stretch was Pittsburgh, which qualified for the first time since 2022 in new coach Dan Muse’s first season. The Penguins were 6-1 long shots on BetMGM Sportsbook in October to make it, but now the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang gets another chance.
“A lot of people doubted us and I guess counted us out, and it just put fuel on the fire for us,” said defenseman Ryan Shea, who’s set to make his NHL playoff debut at 29. “I’ve been in the playoffs in the AHL, which was fun, but this is the best league in the world.”
The Utah Mammoth made it in the franchise’s second season in Salt Lake City. The Anaheim Ducks are also back with a young core coached by three-time Cup-champion Joel Quenneville.
The Central Division path is the toughest
Colorado is justifiably the best bet to win it all. Nathan MacKinnon could be the MVP, Cale Makar the top defenseman, and the reacquisition of Nazem Kadri at the trade deadline gives the Avalanche the depth to envision another parade in Denver this summer, four years since the previous one.
To do so, they’ll have to go through either Dallas or the Minnesota Wild in the second round just to reach the West final.
“Confident for sure: Believe in this group. I know we have what it takes,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “It’s going to be a long, tough road and mentally, physically grinding. I think we’re ready for it.”
Stars versus Wild opens the playoffs with a bang, pitting two of the top seven teams in the league in a best-of-seven series that ensures one of them will be golfing by mid-May. It’s the result of a division-focused format that Commissioner Gary Bettman has said leads to the best first round in sports.
“That makes for great matchups,” Bettman said. “If you’re a fan of the game and you’re looking for excitement, you’re looking to be entertained, you’re looking for intriguing stories, this format does it.”
From going for gold to chasing the silver chalice
Several players who won gold with the U.S. at the Olympics have the chance to add a Stanley Cup ring to their trophy case for the year.
Colorado’s Brock Nelson scored 30 goals after being a difference-maker in Milan. Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin, Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel, Minnesota’s Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson are all in the running, as are two goaltenders: Boston’s Jeremy Swayman and Dallas’ Jake Oettinger.
The same goes for some Canadian stars who see their silver medals as a symbol of losing and get an opportunity to make up for it. That includes Edmonton’s Connor McDavid following two consecutive losses in the final, and Crosby after an injury kept him from playing in the gold medal game and is chasing a fourth NHL title.
“That’s the best time of year,” Crosby said. “That’s why you play.”
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.