With the conclusion of the qualifying round which saw the Columbus Blue Jackets shutout the Toronto Maple Leafs to advance to the playoffs, the NHL released the schedules for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Dallas Stars will open the Western Conference games on Tuesday for Game 1 against the Calgary Flames at 4:30 PM CDT (the NHL’s schedule originally said 3:30 PM CDT but it has since been updated.)
The full schedule as we know it:
- Game 1: Tuesday, August 11th @ 4:30 PM CDT
- Game 2: Thursday, August 13th @ 9:30 PM CDT
- Game 3: Friday, August 14th @ 9:30 PM CDT
- Game 4: Sunday, August 16th @ 1 PM CDT
- Game 5: Tuesday, August 18th (if needed)
- Game 6: Thursday, August 20th (if needed)
- Game 7: Saturday, August 22nd (if needed)/
That means Dallas will open with three games in four nights, including a back-to-back for Games 2 and 3. It’s not an ideal start as interim head coach listed both starting goaltender Ben Bishop and first line center Tyler Seguin as day-to-day after Sunday’s round robin game. If they’re not ready to go yet, the games afterwards come fast and furious, so there’s no luxury of time to heal up.
On Monday evening, the NHL will have a second draft to determine which team that played in the qualifying round but did not advance to the postseason will get the opportunity to draft first overall in this year’s draft when the season ends. The draft lottery drawing will be at 5 PM CDT and will be broadcast on NHL Network. The teams that will have equal chances of winning the first overall pick include:
Toronto Maple Leafs
New York Rangers
Edmonton Oilers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Minnesota Wild
Florida Panthers
Winnipeg Jets
Nashville Predators
With three of those eight teams in the Central Division, there’s an approximately 40 percent chance Alexis Lafrenière ends up being a player Stars fans will see a lot of in future seasons. How would you rank these eight teams in terms of who you would most like to see win the number one pick and who you would like to see win it the least?