Sean Monahan hopes this postseason goes a lot differently for the Calgary Flames than last year's.

"We got embarrassed last year in the postseason," Monahan said Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "As a player representing an organization, that sticks with you. We've got a lot to prove here and we have a lot of things motivating us."

The Flames were the top seed in the Western Conference entering last season's playoffs and faced off against the Colorado Avalanche. Calgary lost the series in just five games.

After serving as one of the most dominant lines during the regular season, Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Elias Lindholm combined for just two goals, three assists, and a minus-6 rating during the series.

"We've talked about it a lot - and a lot behind closed doors - we got outworked and outcompeted and got owned by Colorado," Monahan added. "You want to be a guy who can be a part of the postseason and that's where a lot of guys' legacies are built. That's the kind of guys we want to be, and we want to step up and take charge in Game 1."

Monahan, who produced 34 goals and 82 points last season, managed 22 goals and 48 points this year. Meanwhile, Gaudreau dipped from 99 points to 58, and Lindholm from 78 to 54.

"Last year was my first appearance in the playoffs and overall our line didn't do a very good job," Lindholm said. "For myself, I kind of got away from my game and started doing other things and tried to hit people. It's part of my game, but not something I'm looking to do. In the playoffs I was."

The Flames finished the abbreviated 2019-20 regular season in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 36-27-7 record. They are set to take on the Winnipeg Jets in the best-of-five play-in round.

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Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins, John Tortorella of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Philadelphia Flyers' Alain Vigneault are the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, the league announced Wednesday.

The honor - with the winner determined through votes from members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association - recognizes the coach who contributed the most to their team's regular-season success.

Cassidy's Bruins finished with the league's best record (44-14-12), winning the Presidents' Trophy in his fourth year with the club. Boston allowed the fewest goals in the NHL, finished with the second-best power play, and the Bruins' penalty kill ranked third. Cassidy was a finalist for the award in 2017-18.

Tortorella managed to steer the Blue Jackets to a spot in the play-in round, with Columbus finishing in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. Prior to the season's pause, Columbus was close to making the playoffs. Tortorella was forced to deal with injuries to key players all season, including Seth Jones, Joonas Korpisalo, Cam Atkinson, Zach Werenski, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. He's won the Jack Adams Award twice and has now been a finalist five times. Only Pat Burns has won the award three times.

The Flyers, meanwhile, surprised the hockey world this season, finishing with the Eastern Conference's fourth-best record. Few pegged Philadelphia to be a legitimate threat entering the campaign, but Vigneault turned the club into one. The Flyers improved dramatically this season, ranking seventh in goals against per game (2.77) after ending 2018-19 in 29th. A five-time finalist, Vigneault won the award while with the Vancouver Canucks in 2006-07.

Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders took home the Jack Adams Award last season.

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Artemi Panarin believes that going undrafted in 2010 was the best thing for his career.

"I would like to thank all the (general managers) for not choosing me in the draft," the New York Rangers star said Tuesday, according to Lohud's Vincent Z. Mercogliano. "It allowed me to choose the team where I wanted to play, that played my style of hockey, and allowed me to be successful to begin with."

Panarin put up eight points in 20 games while playing in the KHL during his draft year. The dynamic forward was then passed over by every team, perhaps due to a fear that he would remain in the KHL.

He then blossomed into a star in Russia. Panarin totaled 26 goals and 62 points in 56 games and added 20 points in 20 playoff games in 2014-15, the season before he joined the Chicago Blackhawks.

Panarin once again had the opportunity to sign with the team of his choosing when he hit free agency last summer and inked a massive $81.5-million deal with the Rangers.

The 28-year-old turned in an MVP-caliber performance during his first season with New York. He tallied 32 goals and 95 points in 69 games and was named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award on Tuesday.

"Obviously, when I came, I felt a little bit of pressure," Panarin said. "That's normal. But with both the surrounding people that I met in New York, and also the decision to read less press and look at less social media, allowed me to focus on my craft and drop that level of pressure and stress I might have felt."

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The NHL has announced an exhibition schedule and the start times for the first three games of each play-in series and round-robin tournament of the 24-team playoffs.

Each team will play one tuneup game before the postseason begins Aug. 1.

Broadcast information for each game will be released in the coming days.

Here are the start times for the first three games of each play-in series and round-robin tournament. Details for additional play-in games, if necessary, will be determined at a later date.

Eastern Conference

Round robin

No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 12 Montreal Canadiens

No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. No. 11 New York Rangers

No. 7 New York Islanders vs. No. 10 Florida Panthers

No. 8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. No. 9 Columbus Blue Jackets

Western Conference

Round robin

No. 5 Edmonton Oilers vs. No. 12 Chicago Blackhawks

No. 6 Nashville Predators vs. No. 11 Arizona Coyotes

No. 7 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 10 Minnesota Wild

No. 8 Calgary Flames vs. No. 9 Winnipeg Jets

Teams will arrive at their respective hubs July 26. Western Conference clubs are stationed in Edmonton, while the Eastern Conference will congregate in Toronto.

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Washington Capitals forward Lars Eller expects to leave the Toronto bubble during Phase 4 of the NHL's return-to-play plan to attend the birth of his child.

The qualifying round of the 24-team playoff (Phase 4) begins Aug. 1, and Eller and his wife are expecting the birth of their second child on Aug. 8. The 31-year-old pivot said he thought about opting out of the league's return altogether.

"A lot of thoughts going into the decision," Eller said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "Weighing the pros and cons. We're going to have a new addition to our family in a couple of weeks. But at the same time, I want to be with my team and win another Cup.

"We're working on making the necessary arrangements so I can be there for the birth and then come back to the bubble after that."

Under the Phase 4 agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, players are permitted to leave the bubble for medical or personal reasons if authorized by their club's general manager.

However, those who leave the bubble must return a minimum of four consecutive negative test results over a four-day period. The player will be required to quarantine in their hotel room until such testing requirements are fulfilled.

Eller is confident an appropriate plan will be put in place for him to complete the trip safely.

"You're going to have to take a lot of precautions when you leave," Eller said. "Depending on how you're going to travel and who you travel with ... I'll have to serve some time inside the bubble and test a number of times before I could rejoin my team and play games. We're working on trying to figure out how to do this in the best possible way. But that's what's going to happen."

The Capitals are slated to compete against the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Philadelphia Flyers in a round-robin tournament to establish the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference.

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The 11 major professional sports teams based in the greater Los Angeles area will form "The Alliance: Los Angeles," a five-year commitment to supporting social justice initiatives, particularly within communities of color, they announced Tuesday.

It will include the following teams:

The initiative will support the Play Equity Fund across the greater Los Angeles area as well as Accelerate Change Together in Orange County, and it hopes to inspire similar cooperative measures at the national level.

Play Equity Fund president Renata Simril said the organizations "should be commended for seeking to make significant changes in communities of color," especially in light of their rivalries on the field of play.

"The Los Angeles region is one of the world's most competitive markets, and sports is one of the world's most competitive industries," Simril added. "But these organizations are putting their competitive instincts aside to work collaboratively for social justice."

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