After postseason qualifiers and round-robin tournament to determine seedings wrapped up over the weekend, NHL has officially set the bracket for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Eastern Conference saw Philadelphia Flyers taking the No. 1 seed with three wins in the seeding round robin, and will now play Montreal Canadiens in the first round. Canadiens, who finished the regular season as the No. 12, made their way to the playoffs by upset 3-1 series win against the No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins.
”It was a tall task to get that No. 1 seed, and we did it,” said Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. ”We came in here and have been strictly business. I think for us to go out there and get three big wins in a row and get that No. 1 seed is huge for us.”
Other matchups in the East include Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders, and Boston Bruins against Carolina Hurricanes.
In the Western Conference, Vegas Golden Knights claimed the top seed with three wins from three games and get to face Chicago Blackhawks in the next round. Blackhawks’ clinched the ticket to the postseason by eliminating the fifth-seeded Edmonton Oilers.
The No.2 seed Colorado Avalanche play against the Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars are pitted against Calgary Flames, while St. Louis Blue Jackets face Vancouver Canucks.
Stanley Cup Playoffs officially kick off on August 11th. Check out the full bracket below.
