A-lex-ee La-fren-yer.

Learn how to say it, Maple Leafs fans, because having a 12.5% chance at drafting Alexis Lafreniere, the top prospect in the 2020 NHL Draft, is the only lasting positive development from this past week.

The Leafs were bounced Sunday from the NHL's 24-team playoff tournament following a 3-0 loss to the Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena. Columbus won the tight, roller coaster best-of-five qualifying-round series in five games, outscoring Toronto 12-10 in the process. The Leafs have now dropped all four of their postseason series since Auston Matthews entered the league in 2016-17.

Let's break down what went wrong for Toronto, and who's ostensibly on the hot seat heading into the offseason:

What went wrong

You can blame the absences of Jake Muzzin and Tyson Barrie. You can blame the tremendous performance of Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo, who casually turned aside all 33 shots he faced Sunday. You can blame John Tavares somehow hitting the post when given an open net in the first period. You can even blame the emotional and physical letdown following an exhilarating Game 4.

But, truthfully, the Leafs flat-out didn't execute in Game 5.

They allowed the Blue Jackets to score the opening goal in a do-or-die game, which is a cardinal sin. Despite the madness that unfolded in Game 4, Columbus protects leads arguably better than any other NHL team. John Tortorella's squad specializes in clogging the neutral zone and the front of its own net. And after Friday's embarrassment, there was no chance the blue-collar, disciplined Blue Jackets were letting another lead slip away.

The result: A team with Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly that was shut out just once in 70 regular-season games was blanked Sunday for the second time in five play-in contests. Columbus figured the Leafs out, limiting Toronto to three five-on-five goals all series.

"We had to find a way to break through," Tavares told reporters postgame, referring to Sunday's loss. "We had some good chances, some unfortunate breaks on a couple chances, and they do a really good job of clearing the net on second and third opportunities and we weren't able to find some of those seconds today."

The momentum swings in this 8-seed vs. 9-seed Eastern Conference series were wild, with the goals coming in bunches. Two tallies for Columbus, then six for Toronto, then seven for Columbus, then four for Toronto, and three for Columbus. In a battle of contrasting playing styles, the Blue Jackets' steadiness overpowered the Leafs during a five-game sample.

"A little more luck and it might have been a different result," Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe lamented postgame on Sunday. He cited Toronto shooting an awful 2% during 274 minutes of five-on-five action. (For context, the Leafs shot 8.6% at five-on-five in the regular season.)

It's not like the Leafs didn't show up during the NHL's restart. They played well enough to win Game 1 but didn't, and then they were cruising with a three-goal lead midway through Game 3. Game 5 wasn't a blowout either. Toronto held a 351-318 overall shot-attempt advantage in the series, according to Natural Stat Trick. It was theirs for the taking.

The Blue Jackets were more opportunistic, though, often capitalizing off the rush, as Pierre-Luc Dubois did twice in Columbus' epic Game 3 comeback. The Leafs responded only during their own comeback in Game 4.

"It's hard to put it all into words," Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "It might take some time to digest a little bit, but it's definitely a bad feeling, a bad taste. Comparing it to the loss in Boston (last year), this one is different for sure for obvious reasons. Whether that makes it worse or easier to deal with I don't know, but right now it certainly feels like it's harder to live with."

Tortorella leaned heavily on his elite first-pairing defensemen, Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, to push back against Toronto's formidable attack. Jones averaged 29:28 of ice time per game, while Werenski - who missed the end of Game 4 because of an injury and was a game-time decision Sunday - ended up with 25:25. Both deserve credit for rising to the challenge.

Meanwhile, the unheralded goalie tandem of Korpisalo (.956 save percentage) and Elvis Merzlikins (.946 SV%) was superb all series.

It was a tumultuous year for the Leafs. Not only did they bow out before the round of 16 following a five-month pandemic-induced break, but they also played under two head coaches. Mike Babcock, the supposed savior for a Stanley Cup-starved franchise, was fired in November. Keefe's tenure started solidly with a 27-15-5 regular-season record, and his preferred style of focussing on puck possession and lineup flexibility seemed to gel with a roster of offensive dynamos.

Now, none of that matters. A team that hasn't advanced in the postseason since 2004 is once again on vacation too soon.

The hot seat

Kyle Dubas: Dubas has constructed the Leafs to overwhelm the opposition with an abundance of skill and scoring punch. Well, Columbus was undeterred. So the 34-year-old general manager should be owning this early exit as much as anybody. For starters, Toronto's defense corps isn't close to being good enough, even when Muzzin is at full health (boy, that Tyson Barrie acquisition flopped, didn't it?).

However, Dubas, who was named GM in May 2018, is probably secure in his role over the offseason. Leafs president Brendan Shanahan believes in him and his vision. It would be surprising if Shanahan made a rash decision - especially with the shorter series and five-month break. A portion of the fan base would probably be upset with that, as Dubas' name was trending nationwide on Twitter immediately following Game 5. Leafs Nation is losing patience with its GM.

Sheldon Keefe: Keefe deserves credit for not being afraid to throw Matthews, Tavares, and Marner over the boards regularly, and often at the same time. Being flexible with his lineup in general is a positive (though substituting Andreas Johnsson for Nick Robertson in Game 5, when the former hadn't played a game since February, was an odd decision).

Then again, Keefe's team was on the losing end of a colossal collapse in Game 3, and some of the blame must be placed on him. His job should be safe for some time since he was hired less than a year ago. But with a summer training camp under his belt, the new-coach shine has officially worn off. He's no longer a rookie bench boss, and the temperature will be turned up.

John Tavares: Tavares' series was frustrating. He couldn't generate much offense in the opener, but then looked fantastic in the second game while scoring a goal and recording eight shots. Then he was stripped of the puck ahead of the OT winner in Game 3, was instrumental in the Game 4 comeback, but failed to convert on several opportunities in Game 5.

Now how will he be perceived moving forward? Toronto is paying Matthews, Marner, and Nylander a combined $29.5 million per season, and Tavares another $11 million. That's essentially half the salary cap on four players, and with five years left on his deal, the captain turns 30 next month.

The chances of Tavares living up to expectations are slim. Buzz about his contract, which was once overwhelmingly positive, will start to swing the other way.

Frederik Andersen: Andersen played well (.936 SV%) in front of a shorthanded defense corps. He shouldn't be shouldering much blame here. Yet, the big Dane has now failed to advance in the postseason in six of seven career series.

A lights-out Blue Jackets tandem outplayed Andersen, who let in a weak Game 1 goal to set the tone for the series. What's the solution? That's tough because Andersen usually performs at a top-10 level in the regular season, and replacing a goaltender of his caliber isn't easy. So he's undoubtedly safe, but extra external pressure will be there next season, his final before unrestricted free agency.

Kasperi Kapanen: If there's going to be a shake-up at forward, the Leafs' stars will most likely be off limits in trade discussions. The attention then turns to Kasperi Kapanen, who makes $3.2 million per year for the next two seasons. He can skate like the wind, has some scoring touch, and, unlike contemporary Johnsson - another possible trade chip who earns $3.4 million per year for the next three seasons - Kapanen showcased himself throughout the series. Legitimate question: Has Kapanen played his final game in a Toronto jersey?

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

"If you want something good," the Greek philosopher Epictetus once said, "get it from yourself." In other words, take responsibility for your thoughts and actions. Don't wait for the world to change. Be resilient and change it yourself.

That mindset has, in a weird way, come to define the stunning, unpredictable, and ultra-entertaining Eastern Conference qualifier series between the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets. Not only have the two teams that play completely different styles traded wins to set up a fifth and deciding game Sunday, the manner in which they've arrived at this point has been utterly confounding.

Both teams played well enough to win Game 1, though Columbus' combination of elite goaltending and its protective defensive system led to a 2-0 victory. The Leafs kept pressing in Game 2, peppering the Blue Jackets with shots, and were rewarded with a 3-0 win. In Game 3, a comfortable 3-0 lead for Toronto turned very uncomfortable and then disastrous as the Blue Jackets stormed back in dramatic fashion to win 4-3 in overtime. And in Friday's epic Game 4, the Leafs flipped the script and authored their own improbable comeback, also winning 4-3 in overtime after falling behind 3-0, but pulling off their miracle with under four minutes to play in the third period.

Two gut-punch shutouts and two gut-punch 4-3 games. No in-between.

"This is what happens in a series. The ups and downs," Columbus defenseman Seth Jones told reporters Friday night in his postgame media availability. "It's a roller coaster and we've got to try to stay even keel."

By and large, the 2019-20 Blue Jackets are just that - even keel. While his antics with the media might suggest otherwise, coach John Tortorella is steadfast in keeping his players focused entirely on the next obstacle and as far away from outside noise as possible. It's one of the reasons Columbus is in this 2-2 spot with Toronto to begin with. There's a natural, inherent resilience to the oft-forgotten franchise from central Ohio. It wins because it's a unified group, a team in the truest sense of the word.

The Leafs surely are a team, too, but not quite in the same way. They don't abide by the virtues of blue-collar hockey or have anything close to a small-market attitude. Juxtaposed with Columbus, Toronto must find resilience, that chip on one's shoulder, along the way. Which is what made Keefe's blunt assessment of his team's Game 3 performance fascinating.

"I didn’t like our game in the first period. I didn’t like our game at 1-0. I didn’t like our game at 2-0 or 3-0. We just got what we deserved," Keefe, who replaced Mike Babcock in November, said Thursday. "I thought we reverted back to a lot of really bad habits. We didn’t have any real purpose or plan to our game today. We were just making it up as we go along."

He then repeated himself: "We get what we deserve."

That the Leafs were ill prepared is a notable admission, considering it's in Keefe's job description to make sure his team's ready to play, especially in games that truly matter. But let's be honest: Toronto is, without question, the more talented squad here, and perhaps that leads to shortcuts. Theoretically, the Maple Leafs shouldn't surrender a three-goal lead, right? There's a psychological toll that comes with Game 3's ugly collapse if you're not careful.

Except on Friday, roughly 24 hours after making those remarks about not having a purpose or a plan, Keefe settled in and controlled what he could as the visiting coach - player motivation, line combinations, player usage - to spark a rally for the ages late in the third period. Backs against the wall, the plan was going to be carried out this time, no excuses.

Keefe leaned heavily on his stars. Morgan Rielly finished with a game-high 33:51 of ice time. Auston Matthews was second at 28:15. Mitch Marner and John Tavares were third and fourth at 27:58 and 26:52, respectively. Most notably, the three highly paid forwards skated together for 12-plus minutes at five-on-five, creating a super line of sorts, something Babcock only flirted with over the course of his multiple seasons in Toronto. Friday, facing elimination and trailing, Keefe said screw it, let's do this, and just like that, in four minutes, Columbus became Toronto, blowing a 3-0 lead and a glorious opportunity.

It seems so incredibly simple: play your best players as much as possible. But in the normal flow of a game, or a series, or a season, it can sometimes be detrimental to grind your stars into the ground. This was different. Toronto was desperate - Jason Spezza was out there fighting! - and Keefe's leadership, his resilience, and his trust in the process paid off. He wasn't stubborn about it, he didn't publicly yell or scream, he simply rose to the occasion as a coach.

Matthews, the series leader in points with six, sniped the game-winning goal - who else? He set up Leafs goals two and three - primary assists on incredibly bold passes through the slot to Tavares and Zach Hyman - in the frantic final minutes. Marner, who clocked a game-high 50 seconds of offensive zone possession time, according to data provided by SPORTLOGIQ, pitched in three assists. Tavares, who turned the puck over in Game 3 ahead of Columbus' OT winner, finished with a goal and the primary assist on Matthews' clincher, which came on a power play with Nick Foligno in the box.

"Your mind just kind of goes blank," Matthews told reporters postgame of the memorable marker. "It's a credit to every single guy on our team for just sticking with it, battling back, and just not quitting."

Matthews and Pierre-Luc Dubois have been unbelievable through four games. Matthews has been an absolute force in all three zones, pushing the tempo no matter the score and no matter how many times Joonas Korpisalo or Elvis Merzlikins - Columbus' two goalies, who've been incredible - shut the door. Dubois, meanwhile, managed to turn a very public lecture from Tortorella during Game 2 into a hat trick a couple of days later. He's asserted himself on both sides of the puck.

Heading into Sunday's Game 5, there are countless questions. Can Columbus persevere without stud defenseman Zach Werenski, who missed half the third period and all of OT on Friday? Can Toronto's fourth line of Spezza, Kyle Clifford, and Pierre Engvall - the trio played 9:22 at even strength, trailing only the super line in five-on-five minutes, and dominated possession to the tune of 76.19%, according to Natural Stat Trick - do that again? The most crucial question, though, given their recent playoff history and this roller coaster of a series and 48 hours, might be: Can Toronto persevere?

On Sunday, it'll be fascinating to watch whose resiliency will shine through. Who will, as the Greek philosopher said, get it from themselves?

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL's bubbled postseason continued Thursday in Toronto and Edmonton with a slate of five games. Below are three takeaways from the Blue Jackets' 4-3 overtime victory over the Maple Leafs, the Flyers' 3-1 round-robin win against the Capitals, and the Canucks' 3-0 shutout of the Wild.

No off switch for Blue Jackets

Among the countless punchlines from Thursday night's outcome - most notably that Toronto was up 3-0 late in a playoff game, again, and lost, ha! - is a central truth about the tremendous theater unfolding between the Maple Leafs and the Blue Jackets.

The Leafs, as talented as they are and as well as they've played for the majority of three games, can't afford to let their foot off the gas at any point in any series, let alone a best-of-five. Because the Blue Jackets, as offensively deprived and beatable as they might look at times, don't have an off switch. Even in dire times, like in the regular season when basically half their roster was sidelined, or in their Game 2 defeat, they simply refuse to go away.

Under coach John Tortorella, Columbus is wired to stay in the fight until the bitter end. On Thursday, the decision to switch goalies down 3-0 midway through regulation proved to be a rallying cry. Led by an incredible performance from Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Blue Jackets picked away at the Leafs one goal at a time. Dubois is one of the only serious offensive threats Columbus has at its disposal, and after going pointless in the first two games of the series he exploded for a hat trick, including the game-winning goal with roughly a minute left in the first overtime period.

"With Luc, if he wants to be a difference maker, a game changer, one of the best players in the league, he has all the capabilities, all the tools. Tonight he showed it," Columbus forward Cam Atkinson said of the 21-year-old Dubois, whose very public shouting match with Tortorella during Game 2 suddenly takes on a different tone.

"It's not always going to go your way," Atkinson added, "but it's those moments where you capitalize on those opportunities. Big-time players step up in big-time, crucial situations. Sure enough, a hat trick, put us all on his back, and it was good to see him coming out like that tonight."

Tortorella, with the benefit of last change, matched Dubois against John Tavares, the lesser of two evils most nights when facing a Leafs team starring Auston Matthews. The bet paid off.

"We didn't have any real purpose or plan to our game today," Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said during his postgame media availability. "We were making things up as we went along. We got what we deserved."

On its face, Keefe's criticism seems a little harsh. "Got what we deserved"? For large portions of Game 3, his team was dictating play, buzzing around the Columbus crease with regularity. Against this Blue Jackets group, though, you don't deserve anything until you're done for the night. Luckily for Toronto, the schedule calls for Game 4 Friday night. No time to dwell on another colossal collapse.

Flyers look scary good

If it was a heated debate before, it isn't now: The Flyers are damn dangerous, and a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in this wacky playoff format.

Following a decisive 4-1 win over Boston on Sunday, the Flyers schooled Washington on Thursday in a 3-1 victory. Next is Tampa on Saturday, with the game's winner earning the East's No. 1 seed.

The Flyers' success so far is rooted in their second line of Kevin Hayes between Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton. In 19 minutes and 44 seconds of five-on-five action together through two contests, the trio has bagged three goals while allowing one.

Being plus-2 is nice, but the surface-level stats don't do this highly effective line justice. The unit is flat-out dominating.

Hayes, Philly's big splash signing during free agency last summer, has been especially sharp, protecting the puck with supreme confidence and exiting the defensive zone with ease. Konecny, who's as feisty as he is skilled, is skating really well, attacking off the rush and hitting his teammates with crisp, sometimes fancy passes. And Laughton, the less heralded of the three but still a key contributor, has capitalized on three of his five shots.

"They're certainly - without a doubt - our best line at this moment. I think, offensively and defensively, this was their best night. Good on the forecheck, which created some real good looks," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said Thursday, clearly cognizant of the fact that Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, and Sean Couturier usually form the club's go-to line.

The Flyers - whose .645 points percentage barely beat Pittsburgh for a top-four spot in the restart - are playing structurally sound, hard-working hockey. Philadelphia and the Hurricanes are the toast of the East through six days at Scotiabank Arena.

Vigneault is certainly pleased with his team's play, but for what it's worth, the longtime NHL head coach is stopping short of universal praise.

"I feel like we're coming along," the bench boss said.

"This is only our third game in the restart (including exhibition), so I believe we're on the right track but we're not quite there yet," he added.

Tale of two stars

On paper, the Canucks-Wild series - a battle of two imperfect squads - shouldn't hinge on each team's deadliest offensive weapon. Yet, heading into Friday's Game 4, that's exactly what's happening.

On one side there's Elias Pettersson, the heartbeat of Vancouver's attack. On the other is Kevin Fiala, Minnesota's breakout star. Through three games, the assassin-like Pettersson has accumulated a goal and two assists, while the highly skilled Fiala has potted three goals. Combined, they've contributed to 60% of the series' goals (total score: 7-3 Canucks).

Both teams have game-planned against the opposing stud, creating an interesting back-and-forth from a physical perspective.

Pettersson has been on the receiving end of seven hits while dishing out two in 56:34 of action, according to Natural Stat Trick. He's also drawn four minors and taken one. Meanwhile, Fiala has absorbed seven hits and distributed six over 52:10 of ice time. He's also drawn three minors but taken four, including three in Game 3.

The Wild need Fiala on the ice more than the Canucks need Pettersson, since there's simply more firepower among Vancouver's forward group. So for the Wild, the dynamic that's playing out is a recipe for disaster.

"We’re such a good five-on-five team and when we can roll four lines, we’re really good," Wild forward Marcus Foligno told reporters in Edmonton following Thursday's 3-0 loss. "We’re just kind of getting a little bit stung by that, and we definitely just have to calm it down a little bit with the penalties."

With their backs against the wall, Foligno and friends need to reverse that trend ASAP.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The moment the NHL announced its return-to-play plan, the hockey world began pontificating about one particular matchup: the Columbus Blue Jackets against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The prevailing narrative centered around one familiar paradox: What happens when an unstoppable offensive force meets an immovable defensive object?

Both squads are on the board through two games, with Columbus drawing first blood Sunday with a 2-0 win and Toronto responding Tuesday with 3-0 victory. The former result caused minor panic in Leafs land, while the latter prompted one of the season's top quotes.

"Toronto was really good; we sucked," Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella said following Game 2, which ended in a gloomy haze as medical staff stretchered Toronto defenseman Jake Muzzin off the ice late in the third period.

Momentarily putting aside Muzzin's health - now the most pressing matter of this series - let's examine some major areas of influence through two games, and what it could all mean when the action resumes Thursday in Game 3.

Slot shots and zone time

In the modern NHL, protecting the house is a hallmark of virtually all excellent defensive teams. Consider the New York Islanders and the way they insulate their goalies in Barry Trotz's system. The same goes for the Dallas Stars in recent years.

When Tortorella's Blue Jackets are maximizing their collective potential, they frustrate opponents to no end by refusing them access to the truly dangerous areas of the offensive zone, such as the crease, slot, and upper slot. This is, in essence, how they manage to consistently beat superior teams.

Case in point: Toronto's formidable offense recorded only 16 even-strength shot attempts from the slot in Game 1, according to data provided by SPORTLOGIQ. The Blue Jackets, for context, put up 27 attempts from the slot at even strength despite their limited firepower up front. Columbus delivered a masterclass in stick checking and gap control. Everybody from stud defenseman Seth Jones to rookie fourth-liner Emil Bemstrom adhered to the game plan set out by Tortorella and, crucially, didn't allow the Maple Leafs to penetrate the inside of the ice at their leisure. They were dialed in.

Tuesday was a different story. Toronto not only dominated in total even-strength shot attempts (56-36), but it also had the upper hand in slot-area attempts (19-12), breaking down the structure forced upon it in Game 1.

"We were just quicker tonight, and that's not necessarily the way we were moving our feet," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said postgame. He was referring specifically to the way his team transferred the puck from zone to zone, and how it won more individual battles by getting pucks behind Columbus' defense and "getting to work."

"I liked the way we were in sync and connected," added Tavares, who scored Toronto's second goal of the night on a third-period breakaway.

Columbus, meanwhile, wilted offensively in Game 2. The Blue Jackets' even-strength possession time in the offensive zone dropped to 2:50 from 5:33. In the opener, Columbus constantly pressured the puck carrier - on the forecheck, in transition, and in the opponents' own zone - which led to scoring chances on Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen. Two days later, the counterattack was essentially nonexistent, producing Tortorella's worst nightmare: Toronto's offense hummed along nicely, and his squad had no response whatsoever.

"You can dissect it any way you want, but it ultimately came down to we didn’t play a very good game," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno told reporters after the loss. "It's unacceptable."

It didn't help that Columbus handcuffed itself by taking five penalties in the second contest following a one-penalty showing in Game 1. Toronto went 0-for-5 on the power play in Game 2, so kudos to the Blue Jackets' penalty killers. But time and energy spent icing the puck is time and energy lost trying to generate offense.

Considering the margin of error is razor-thin in a short series against such a talented team, airtight, disciplined hockey is a must for Columbus moving forward; the offense won't come unless the Blue Jackets play to their identity on defense.

Skater and goalie matchups

There's no denying the key matchup in this series is Auston Matthews versus Seth Jones; the efforts of Jones and defensive partner Zach Werenski are vital to Columbus' success in general. The duo shoulders a lot of responsibility.

Matthews played a total of 23 minutes at even strength in Game 1. Jones, by virtue of Toronto's right to last change as the home team, faced Matthews for only 11 of those minutes. Though Matthews looked to be in midseason form, contributing six shots on goal and buzzing around the ice all night, he was kept off the scoresheet - a huge boon for the Blue Jackets.

Matthews played less in Game 2, but the matchup ratio was on par: Six-and-a-half of his 14.5 minutes of even-strength ice time overlapped with Jones' workload. This time, Matthews neatly redirected a Zach Hyman pass for a beautiful goal, ending the incredible 55-save, 96-minute shutout streak with which Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo opened the series.

So what happens when Columbus gets last change? Does Tortorella glue Jones - and by extension, Werenski - to Matthews for the next two games, forcing counterpart Sheldon Keefe to play his version of matchup chess?

It would be tempting to chart a new course, one that puts the Blue Jackets in the driver's seat. But the potency of the Matthews line, which has featured Hyman and either Mitch Marner or William Nylander on the wings, forces opposing coaches to do everything in their power to minimize the inevitable damage.

Columbus' right to last change might end up benefitting Werenski more than Jones. The smooth-skating lefty could sneak out for the start or end of a few shifts against weaker competition since his role in shutting down Matthews and Co. is smaller than that of his blue-line partner.

Between the pipes, Korpisalo has stolen the show. He robbed Matthews point-blank in Game 1 and has yet to surrender a weak goal on 66 total shots. One can't say the same about Andersen after he misplayed a rush shot from Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson on Sunday, but the big Dane has otherwise played admirably, turning aside 54 of 55 shots.

Goaltending was a bit of a question mark heading into this series: Andersen's wonky playoff history and subpar regular season caused concern for Maple Leafs fans, while Columbus hadn't settled on a starter at the onset of training camp. Yet it's been a strength for both teams thus far.

Which brings us back to the paradox - what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? A 1-1 series tie, apparently. As is always the case in the postseason, this showdown will come down to execution, goaltending, and which team plays to its ultimate potential as a group. Ahead of Game 3, there's no clear-cut front-runner, just storylines galore.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Six games were on the docket in the NHL playoffs Monday. Here's a selection of winning storylines from around the league, including Carolina's 4-1 triumph over the Rangers, Winnipeg's 3-2 defeat of Calgary, and Vegas' 5-3 toppling of Dallas.

Four peers join Dumba

On Saturday, Matt Dumba became the first NHL player to kneel during a national anthem. He remained the only one until Monday evening when Dumba found allies in Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson of the Stars and Ryan Reaves and Robin Lehner of the Golden Knights, who all knelt for the anthems prior to a round-robin matchup in Edmonton's Rogers Place.

This act by two sets of teammates has raised the bar. Previously, public gestures within teams had been limited to locked arms by Bruins players and coaches, Bruins and Predators wearing BLM-related T-shirts, and those so-called "acts of solidarity" before exhibition games. Generally speaking, the outpouring of support for Black Lives Matter from white NHLers amid the league's hiatus had slowed to a drizzle in the cities hosting the 2020 playoffs.

What we witnessed Monday - four players, three of whom are white, stopping to support a worldwide anti-racism movement - was profound, a statement that could act as a turning point for a predominately white sport traditionally known for only loose stances on issues plaguing society at large.

"At the end of the day, it's about human rights, not politics," Lehner said postgame.

Finally, Dumba - who delivered a heartfelt speech Saturday while flanked by Darnell Nurse and Malcolm Subban, two other NHLers of color - has some company. We'll see in the coming days if the powerful pregame imagery from Dallas-Vegas resonates across the league. It could be the start of a trend and an ignited conversation about racism in and out of hockey. Or, it could be a one-off. Earlier Monday, Wild head coach Dean Evason noted that his team hadn't really considered raising fists or locking arms in unity alongside Dumba.

"Nope, there's been no discussions," Evason said, "and the only thing that we've discussed as a staff - as I've mentioned before - is that we want to eliminate racism for good."

Schneider's a TV natural

Cory Schneider is still an active player in the NHL so it's important not to put the cart before the horse here, but his early postseason work for NBC suggests he's headed for a long, successful post-playing career as a TV analyst. (If he chooses to pursue permanent work in broadcasting, that is.)

Schneider offers viewers a rare perspective, much like recently retired defenseman Kevin Bieksa, this season's breakout star on Sportsnet. The 34-year-old Devils goalie knows these playoff performers intimately, giving him the ability to contextualize certain gameplay scenarios in ways other broadcasters - including most former players - simply cannot.

Schneider's well-delivered take on Andrei Svechnikov's second of three goals, for instance, helped put viewers in Henrik Lundqvist's skates for a moment.

"He's got a clear sightline and you say, 'He's got to have it,'" Schneider said of Lundqvist. "But there's not much you can do about it. He's sitting on a 95-mph fastball and you get a change-up."

The icing on the cake in Schneider's broadcasting debut: that hockey flow.

Glue guys vault Canes

Svechnikov made history Monday by recording the first playoff hat trick in Hurricanes history. At 20 years old, he's already cemented himself as one of the NHL's preeminent snipers, and the NHL playoffs provide a fitting stage for him and two-way star Sebastian Aho.

In saying that, Svechnikov, Aho, and Carolina don't make such a bold statement in Game 2 against the Rangers without contributions further down the lineup. Guys like Jordan Martinook, Morgan Geekie, and Joel Edmundson - far from household names - were critical to the victory.

Martinook, a boisterous glue guy up front who is said to be beloved by his teammates, scored his first career playoff goal. He also got in a dustup with Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo, a penalty trade-off that Carolina will take all day. According to data provided by SPORTLOGIQ, fellow bottom-six forward Geekie had 33 seconds of offensive-zone puck possession time - good for second on the Canes - in just his fourth NHL contest. Meanwhile, Edmundson, acquired last September to bolster an already deep defense corps, recorded a game-high seven shots on goal, four of which came from the slot area.

That last stat was key in Game 2, as the Canes not only outshot the Rangers 34-24 overall but also 20-10 from the slot. And they did it without the services of offensive catalyst Dougie Hamilton, who's been "unfit to play" thus far.

No matter how you slice it, these Hurricanes look scary after two games.

COVID-19 staying away

Bravo, NHL, the bubble environment is working.

On Monday, the league announced COVID-19 testing results from July 27 to Aug. 1, a period that covers the first week of Phase 4. No positive tests were discovered among the 7,013 administered over this time to players, coaches, and other members of each club's 52-person traveling party.

The latest update represents another milestone for return-to-play organizers, even if there were also no positive tests across the league upon entry into the two hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto. A continuously clean sheet indicates rules are being obeyed and the thorough health and safety measures outlined by the league and its doctors are helping keep a tight lid on the bubbles.

Really, the NHL isn't letting anything slip, with Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask revealing Monday that he was placed into a two-day quarantine after reporting a cough during a symptom check. His COVID-19 test, of course, came back negative. The veteran is expected to start in Boston's net Wednesday.

Cynics might point out that it's still very early in the postseason and there are many obstacles ahead for the NHL. That's fair. But so far so good from a health perspective and on other fronts. There's been little to no major complaints from players about ice quality or quality of life away from the rink.

Maurice's candor pays off

After a Game 1 loss to the Flames, Jets head coach Paul Maurice didn't hold back in his criticism of Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk, who injured Winnipeg's top center, Mark Scheifele, during a tight play along the boards. Then, in the Jets' media availability Sunday, Maurice criticized Tkachuk again when asked for his unemotional thoughts on the controversial sequence.

"If you sin once are you a sinner? Sin 10 times? I don't think he came off the bench and said, 'Hey I'm going to see if I can go stab the back of Mark Scheifele's leg with my skate.' I think he got to that point and I think that's exactly what he did," Maurice said of Tkachuk.

This wasn't the first time that a head coach stood up for a star player in NHL playoff history, and it won't be the last. However, it also doesn't happen all the time. Coaches have been known to bite their tongues in an effort to keep the focus on the next game. Maurice decided he was going to stick to his guns.

Well, on Monday, Maurice's team went out and executed without Scheifele and Patrik Laine, two of its best players. Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler called it a "gutsy win" and "one win in a long journey." The players seemed to have a chip on their shoulders, similar to their coach.

Maurice is one of five NHL bench bosses to have coached 1,600 regular-season games. The others - Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Barry Trotz, and Al Arbour - have all hoisted the Stanley Cup. You can bet Maurice, at 53 years old and in his seventh year with the Jets, is fired up by the victory.

Secondary attackers pitch in

Positive signs were there to be found on either side of the Golden Knights and Stars' opening brush in the Western round robin.

It was a nice boost for Vegas that Chandler Stephenson required all of 64 seconds to break a 13-game goal drought that dated back to early February. Stephenson was a major possession-driver on the NHL's best Corsi For team, validating general manager Kelly McCrimmon's call to flip Washington a fifth-round pick for him two months into the season. With his usual center Max Pacioretty out, Stephenson cycled between positions on the first line and was influential all game, helping Vegas control 67.9% of shot attempts when he played at five-on-five.

The late collapse notwithstanding, a Dallas team that ranked 26th in goals per game this year will be encouraged by who generated offense earlier on; namely, players who aren't Seguin, the lone Star to even approach 50 points this season. Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry, and Jamie Oleksiak all scored off assists from Miro Heiskanen, who's already a crucial offensive creator from the blue line at age 21.

Their stellar defense might yet spearhead a long Stars playoff run if they can avoid being caved in for entire periods like Monday's final frame. Consistent production from the likes of those supplementary guys would make that more achievable in the top-heavy West.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL's bubbled postseason continued Sunday in Toronto and Edmonton. Here are three takeaways from the Arizona Coyotes' 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators; the Philadelphia Flyers' 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins; and the Colorado Avalanche's 2-1 defeat of the St. Louis Blues.

(Note: This post will be updated with commentary about the Vancouver Canucks-Minnesota Wild matchup, while the Toronto Maple Leafs-Columbus Blue Jackets game will be covered in a separate post.)

Kadri flips the script

Somehow, someway, Nazem Kadri and the Avalanche defeated the Blues in regulation Sunday night.

Kadri - who's been on the wrong end of some notable playoff moments in recent years (see: multiple suspensions) - whacked the puck into a yawning cage with 0.1 seconds remaining in the third period, his internal clock telling him to hurry as he launched into the crease.

"Not quite down to the decimal point," he said. "But I knew there wasn't much time left."

The positive outcome represents a flipping of the script for a fiery competitor known more for his playoff shenanigans than glorious moments thanks to his roller-coaster tenure in Toronto, and the miraculous tally counts as the craziest sequence of the first two days of hockey in this 24-team restart.

Saturday's madness set a high bar, too: the early-game fisticuffs in Carolina Hurricanes-New York Rangers, the jaw-dropping upset in Chicago Blackhawks-Edmonton Oilers, and the nonstop overtime action of Pittsburgh Penguins-Montreal Canadiens.

Kadri's tally also holds great practical value for the Avs, with Colorado now 1-0 to St. Louis' 0-1 as the Western Conference's four best squads duke it out for seeding in the round of 16.

Regular-season points percentage is the tiebreaker, so the Blues have the upper hand over the Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars. Yet, heading into Monday's slate of games, which includes Dallas versus Vegas, it's the Avs who are in an enviable position. They were unbelievably close to needing overtime, but the West's top seed is now theirs to lose.

Will we look back on this goal in a couple of weeks and wonder what could have been for the Blues if they draw a tricky first-round opponent and are forced to empty the tank while the Avs cruise to a sweep? When line-matching becomes more prevalent later in the postseason, how crucial will intraconference home-ice advantage prove to be?

Those questions are completely hypothetical at this point, but there's no denying these round-robin games count for something, despite the distinct difference in intensity compared to the contests in the eight elimination series.

Kadri called Sunday's showdown "as close to a real playoff game as you can get" under these circumstances. It wasn't as hotly contested as some of the other games we've seen so far, but both teams were trying to get back into the routine of competition. They accomplished just that, and neither will forget the outcome.

"At 0.1, it's on the line and at 0.0 it's in the net," Blues forward David Perron said. "I'm sure it's as close a goal as you'll ever see."

"Luckily, it worked out," Kadri said.

A different kind of victory

The Bruins both won and lost on Sunday.

The loss is obvious. That occurred on the ice against the Flyers. It's safe to say the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins - who have the least to gain in the three-game round robin in the Eastern Conference due to the reseeding format - won't revisit this lackluster showing in an effort to boost team morale. In the words of Boston coach Bruce Cassidy, the typically hyper-focused group was still stuck "a little bit in summer hockey mode."

More specifically, Bruins skaters - from the top line of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand to the club's depth players - weren't making smart decisions with the puck. Similar to the cuteness the Pittsburgh Penguins displayed early in their postseason debut Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens, Boston sacrificed prime shooting opportunities for extra passes or dekes versus Philadelphia.

"I'm thinking we need to make a better play with the friggin' puck," Cassidy said on a postgame Zoom call, emphasizing how mental rust plagued the team. It'll be fascinating to watch how Boston responds Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sunday's uninspired effort was the Bruins' mulligan.

As for the win, well, just look at this shirt on forward Par Lindholm:

Bruins players donned one of two anti-racism tees during their pregame walk inside the rink - the one above, which says "End Racism," and another that says "Listen. Learn. Change." Players and coaches linked arms during the national anthems in a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Matt Dumba's comments yesterday, I thought, were very strong and heartfelt," Cassidy said. "We're trying to get behind eradicating racism. Listening, learning, educating, changing the social injustices. I believe that's what the players were representing and will continue to represent. That was the impetus behind the dress code today."

In Edmonton's Rogers Place, the Predators wore matching black shirts, too.

"The message we want to send is equality throughout," Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis said of the T-shirts, which simply read "Black Lives Matter."

"Equality for everyone is important for today's society," he added. "We're looking to be a positive change in that sense."

Game 1 not kind to No. 95

It was a tough day at the office for Matt Duchene.

Eight minutes into the first period, a Coyotes point shot deflected off Duchene's shoulder and past goalie Jusse Saros to open the scoring. It was a classic case of bad luck, as Duchene was standing near the bottom of the left faceoff circle minding his own business when Oliver Ekman-Larsson's one-timer ricocheted off Kyle Turris and found the star's upper body.

Six-and-a-half minutes later, Duchene took a holding penalty just after being knocked to the ice by a body check. The Coyotes scored on the ensuing power play.

Frankly, Duchene hasn't played up to his seven-year, $56-million contract throughout this campaign. He contributed 42 points in 66 regular-season contests, or 0.64 points per game. In his previous 10 years in the NHL, Duchene produced below 0.65 points per game only twice. Points aren't everything - Duchene typically posts strong puck possession numbers, which is helpful - but the Predators surely expect more out of him.

On Sunday, Duchene finished with a team-low expected goals share (42%) during even-strength action, according to Natural Stat Trick. This sub-50% share suggests the Coyotes outplayed the Predators when Duchene was between the boards. (In terms of strictly shot attempts, Duchene broke even, with Nashville both generating and conceding 14 attempts.)

The 29-year-old also lost five of seven faceoffs. He was out for two goals against and two goals for in around 16:30 of ice time. One positive: Duchene picked up a secondary assist on the Predators' third tally.

Full marks to Arizona for the win; it was well-earned. However, Nashville needs better individual performances in Game 2, and that starts with Duchene, who lit up the 2019 postseason as a member of the Jackets. He had 10 points in 10 games, including seven in a stunning sweep of the Lightning. Recapturing that magic could go a long way.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL is officially back. For the first time in nearly five months, hockey fans have something new to watch. Real, meaningful action. Five playoff qualifier games - three in Toronto and two in Edmonton - are on the schedule for Day 1. Here, theScore will provide running insight and analysis from behind the scenes at Scotiabank Arena, which is playing host to the Eastern Conference.

Death, taxes, and the Islanders successfully protecting a third-period lead.

While the Blackhawks were stunning the Oilers in the Edmonton matinee, the Islanders held down the fort against the Panthers in Toronto. Barry Trotz - the coaching mastermind behind the best defensive team of the past few years - had his skaters isolate goalie Semyon Varlamov as best they could, per usual. This collapsing scheme helped restrain Florida's top line of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Evgenii Dadonov, who pitched in one goal and seven total shots on goal in roughly 18 minutes of ice time together.

"Throughout the game, we did a pretty good job of that, of just sticking with it and playing the way we like to play," Isles defenseman Ryan Pulock said of the club's ability to hone in on their well-defined identity.

The other prominent storyline from New York's 2-1 victory was Mike Matheson's second-period head hit on Johnny Boychuk. The officials originally called a major penalty on the play, but after a review, they clawed Matheson's punishment back to a two-minute minor. The Isles scored on the ensuing power play; however, Boychuk never returned to their blue line.

Glass case of emotion

Coming into today, I was curious about how the NHL would approach certain aspects of the in-game operation in the face of COVID-19. For example, given the emphasis within each hub city to limit the amount of people exposed to the players, how many folks would we see at ice level during games?

What I've observed through five periods of hockey (and, I must admit, I can't see everything from my vantage point in Section 306) is that on top of the necessary bodies - players, coaches, referees and linesmen, equipment managers, trainers, photographers, etc. - there's an ice crew of about a dozen people; four off-ice officials situated in the penalty box area; as well as the between-the-benches TV analyst. Overall, that's a fairly small group of people.

And that analyst, it should be noted, isn't directly exposed to everybody else because he's surrounded by glass as an extra precaution - probably a good call with spit, sweat, and other bodily fluids airborne. Brian Boucher of NBC manned the booth for the first game of the day (it's empty for Panthers-Islanders), which reminded me of this excellent tweet from the other day:

No love for BLM ... yet

The first period of Panthers-Islanders was, in all honesty, boring. New York hemmed Florida in its own zone for the bulk of the frame. The fiery passion from Hurricanes-Rangers didn't flow over to the afternoon showdown.

Meanwhile, we're two pregame ceremonies into Day 1 of action at Scotiabank Arena and there hasn't been a single overt reference to the Black Lives Matter movement within the arena. No powerful Matt Dumba-style speeches. No players kneeling. Not even a "moment of solidarity" between teams like we saw multiple times during three days of exhibition games earlier this week.

Now, perhaps the NHL, Penguins, and Canadiens have something up their sleeves for the 8 p.m. game. In terms of eyeballs on the broadcast, that's the marquee time slot and matchup of Day 1. I'm optimistic there'll be some kind of recognition of BLM, but we'll see. For now, the lone nod is generic signage that says "#WeSkateForBlackLives" at each end of the rink, as well as the same message splashed across the top of the main scoreboard at center ice.

'A lot of adrenaline'

Thanks in large part to a fantastic start, the Hurricanes pulled out a 3-2 victory to take a 1-0 series lead. Some historical context: NHL teams that win Game 1 in a best-of-five own an all-time series record of 68-15 (.819).

This was no fluke, either. Carolina deserved this outcome, outshooting New York 37-26 while also holding a 69-49 advantage in shot attempts. It wasn't perfect, though. In Jaccob Slavin's postgame media availability, the Hurricanes' top defenseman lamented the Rangers' seven power-play opportunities.

"I don’t think we can take that many penalties and go deep in the playoff doing that," he said.

The game was a little on the sloppy side, in general. That was expected, given the unprecedented nature of the NHL restarting its season on Aug. 1.

As for the early game fight between Justin Williams and Ryan Strome, two generally mild-mannered guys who rarely drop the mitts? It was unplanned, according to Williams. "I don't preplan any fights," he said with a laugh.

"There was a lot of emotion at the start of the game, which was awesome to see because there was nobody really physically there watching us," Williams added. "You get on the ice and you compete and there's a lot of emotion, a lot of adrenaline, to start the game."

A 142-day hiatus will do that. Now onto Game 2 in Toronto: Panthers-Islanders.

Impact of no fans

The referees stole the show in the second period (so much for putting the whistles away in the postseason). The teams combined for seven minor penalties, though only one opportunity was seized, via Carolina's Sebastian Aho. A beautiful deflection from Mika Zibanejad at 14:26 brought the Rangers to within a goal of the Hurricanes, who enter the third up 2-1.

The NHL asked all 24 playoff teams to submit goal songs ahead of the restart. It appears Carolina chose Petey Pablo's 2001 anthem "Raise Up," while New York selected some indistinguishable heavy metal song (at least to my ears). Nice touch.

I had my eyes on the action for both second-period goals, and I knew exactly what was happening from chance to goal. But in other instances, such as when Henrik Lundqvist stopped Hurricanes forward Warren Foegele on a clear-cut breakaway, I didn't fully process the significance of the moment until after it had passed because I was partially distracted by my laptop. Under normal circumstances, the roar of the crowd alerts fans, media, and others in the building to the urgency of a particular play. This was different.

I failed to anticipate the impact an arena without fans would have on my experience. I also failed to anticipate the value of winter gloves. With hundreds of people in the building - rather than tens of thousands - it's really cold in here. It probably doesn't help that the ice crew is preparing for three games in one day; the colder the better.

As you may have seen on the broadcast, several Rangers players who didn't dress for the game have been watching from the stands, masks and all. That group includes Igor Shesterkin, whose "unfit to play" status naturally prompted speculation of a positive COVID-19 test. It looks like that's not the case; if he had tested positive, he'd be quarantining right now.

Start of CAR-NYR

The first period of the first game of this ambitious 24-team playoff tournament was a wonderful gongshow. It was as if the hockey gods looked down and said, "Playoff hockey, in case you forgot, is tremendous theater. Here you go."

First, the revelation in warmups that Lundqvist would be starting, with Shesterkin deemed "unfit to play." Sort of a big deal in this matchup. Then, not even 30 seconds after the opening faceoff, loud cheers and stick bangs from the Hurricanes' bench after a tone-setting hit in the neutral zone. Roughly a minute after that crash, the postseason's first goal, courtesy of Slavin. For those, including myself, who wondered what kind of intensity we'd see in fanless arenas, we had our answer.

That ferocity was amplified a couple of shifts later when Williams, the 38-year-old all-time playoff hero, fought New York forward Strome in the area between both benches. Players pounded the boards with their gloved fists, bringing back memories of minor hockey players seeing their first-ever tilt. The sound carried throughout the rink while Strome took down Williams.

The period ended 1-0 Carolina. The action was on par with the stakes.

Another thing about the in-arena atmosphere: Game ops is piping in fake crowd noise to help create a close-to-normal environment for players, coaches, and officials. It's subtle - not too loud - and seems effective because you can still clearly hear crisp passes, skates carving into the ice, and players yelling, moaning, and chirping. If I'm a player, I'm happy with the setup.

The pregame vibe

If I could use one word to reduce the pregame experience - the walk to the rink from my car, entry into the arena, the hour prior to warmups - it would be stillness.

Stillness, or something close to it, outside Scotiabank Arena. It certainly didn't feel, sound, or look like a game day in the so-called Center of the Hockey Universe, with the usual mosaic of scattered chatter, team swag, and long lines notably absent. The kind of energy only thousands of sports fans can provide was nonexistent. And, aside from being neatly fenced off, the Fairmont Royal York - home to seven Eastern Conference teams - didn't look any different than in "normal" times. The hotel, in its own way, is uneventful.

There was stillness during the health screening process, too. A masked man quizzed me on my COVID-19 symptoms, or lack thereof, and then pointed to what looked like a white and green toy gun at my forehead to read my temperature. It was quick, easy, painless. The concourse, always home to the smell of freshly popped popcorn, criminally overpriced beer, and bundles of nervous and excited energy, was dark and empty. No excess people.

In fact, the only person I recognized during a five-minute walk from the entrance to my seat was Sportsnet's Christine Simpson, who was ordering a beverage from the lone vendor open in the 300-level of the building.

Stillness from Section 306 as well, where fellow media members are located six, a dozen, or a hundred feet away. Stillness in the men's washroom, where the maintenance staff has crossed off two in every three stalls with red tape. Stillness as the game operations crew ran through audio and video components of the in-house and broadcast experience. Stillness as they tested a Black Lives Matter video on the A/V system hovering over center ice.

Stillness until the music kicked in to announce warmups. I can assure you, even in the fanless environment, game ops has not turned down the volume.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Paul Maurice has a theory about the rhythm of a new hockey season.

"It's kind of like when you're (horsing around) with your brother," the longtime Jets head coach said. "You start pushing and then next thing you know you're throwing haymakers. There's no play-fighting in hockey."

Maurice's analogy carries extra weight in these strange times for the NHL. The league plans to stage a compact 24-team postseason tournament - beginning Saturday - following a nearly five-month break, which is the approximate length of the offseason for non-playoff teams in a normal, non-pandemic year. The 16 teams that face elimination right away are going to have to go from zero to haymakers quickly.

"It's not October, where you can go, 'OK, we had a slow start but we found our game,'" Stars interim head coach Rick Bowness said. "You don't have that luxury. If you're looking for your game going into these playoffs, it's going to be a short ride."

While attention in the lead-up to the qualifying round has centered on how players are adapting to unprecedented conditions, coaches are also wrestling with the various unknowns associated with the restart. This is all new to them, too.

Near the top of the list of unknowns is the kind of hockey ahead. Should we be anticipating the looseness and fast pace of a typical October, when goal-scoring traditionally rises? Or will we see tightness and physicality that typically resembles April, when scoring dips?

"You could have a hybrid," Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said. "I think there'll be a little bit of - what do you call it? - early sloppiness in games, but I also think there'll be a great emphasis put on detail, doing things right, making sure you're not beating yourselves. You're in the playoffs, so if you beat yourself you're going to regret it."

There's a fine line between adopting a collective mindset that's proactive instead of reactionary; the last thing a team wants to do is gift wrap wins for its opponent.

"Mistakes lose you games, so that'll be the focus, I'm sure, of all 24 teams," Tippett added.

Nashville's John Hynes is one of six playoff head coaches hired or promoted during the shortened 2019-20 regular season. He was on the job two months before everything stopped. Training camp 2.0 allowed him to drill down on systematic details, practice habits, and overarching philosophies. Hynes knows his players and the West better now, but he's as unsure as anybody about what the on-ice product will look like once games that matter resume.

"You've gone through training camps where every team's only had one exhibition game (scheduled Tuesday through Thursday) and there's a lot of time off. Sometimes that may (result in) some looseness or some mistakes, especially with the intensity level that I think everyone's going to be able to play with, and the energy level that guys are going to (bring every shift)," said Hynes, who joined the Predators after more than four years in the East with the Devils.

Another wrinkle of the restart has been the liberal use of scrimmages.

Coaching staffs around the league varied in how frequently they used them to replicate game-like situations. Some were longer and more intense than others, resembling actual games. The Maple Leafs went as far as hiring AHL-level officials for practices, only to be told by the league that doing so created an unfair advantage. The experiment lasted just one day.

Unlike a normal NHL preseason - which can drag on thanks to roughly two weeks of team workouts followed by an eight-game exhibition schedule - each club's time, energy, and resources have been directed solely towards the present. Each team gets a single exhibition game in the restart, making it incredibly valuable.

"This (camp) feels completely different, and it's not the fact that it's July," Maurice - who's coached 1,600 regular-season NHL games - said late last week. "I've almost got the opposite (mentality). I was concerned coming into camp, not knowing what to expect, that we were going to have a hard time grabbing these guys' attention. And then by the third day I realized they all understand we've got to get ready for playoff games. It's been, I'm going to say, more focused than a normal training camp."

Rod Brind'Amour and his Hurricanes assistants kept Week 1 of camp on a familiar track. Players heard plenty about themselves, receiving refreshers on the ice and in the video room about how to navigate various in-game situations. But by the second week, some of the attention shifted towards studying the rival Rangers, who beat Carolina 4-0 in the season series.

"In (a normal) training camp, you're not even talking about the other teams, ever," Brind'Amour said. "So, now, you have to start (a week out). You're talking about the other team because the games count so much right away."

Information about the playoff format leaked a month ago, providing staffs with far more scouting runway than usual. The Hurricanes should be fully prepared to defend against Hart Trophy finalist Artemi Panarin and the Rangers in their best-of-five series. Dallas, one of the top four teams in the West, will compete in a three-game round-robin series against the Avalanche, Blues, and Golden Knights, so Bowness assigned one team to each of his three assistants. Dallas' full pre-scout was already finalized, he said last week.

Mind you, there is danger in having too much time on your hands.

"I've seen different scenarios where I think the overpreparation was paralysis by analysis," Tippett said. "I've been a big believer that you better make sure your team is up and going at their full max, their full strength, because it doesn't matter what your team does if you're not going to play to your capabilities."

Said Maurice: "We all have our networks, so when (the schedule) comes out, you call your guys, other NHL head coaches or assistant coaches that you know, and you just start throwing around ideas." But, he later warns: "You've got to be ready because your pre-scout doesn't matter. The systems at the end of the day will not matter if your team cannot play at the pace of the game. So (that's) your (No. 1) priority."

From a health perspective, NHL coaches had a difficult decision to make before teams congregated for camps July 13, and then again over the weekend when teams departed for hubs in Edmonton and Toronto. COVID-19 is believed to have a greater impact on older people and 16 of the 24 head coaches are at least 50 years old. (Panthers assistant coach Mike Kitchen, who's 64, opted out of the restart prior to Phase 3.)

Officially, the NHL doesn't require coaches to wear a mask behind the bench. A few them, though, including 56-year-old Rick Tocchet, have been taking precautions, like wearing a face covering during on-ice sessions.

Which brings up yet another question about this unique scenario: How will the absence of fans affect a coach's job in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

"I'm not a big barker on the bench," Tocchet said with a smile. "I will a little. But I'll probably be a little louder (now). Less screaming and more talking to help out the team, to tell the guys that the guy by the bench has time with the puck, or to change and get a guy off the ice. (Normally) I might yell, and you're in some of these buildings where they can't hear the coach because of the fans. The players like to use that as an excuse, right? 'I didn't hear you, coach! It was the fan noise!' Now they know. If I want them off the ice, they're going to hear me."

Coaches, the most detailed-oriented people in the hockey community, are pondering even the modulation of their voices as the NHL attempts to crown a champion in 2020.

"You can do a lot more coaching between timeouts now if the music isn't too loud. A lot of times that becomes a little bit of a hindrance," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper wondered aloud last week after a scrimmage. "In watching what I just went through now, it might actually make the game easier for the (players). Now, in saying that, for players that really play to the crowd, maybe it'll affect them a little bit? I'll be honest, once that puck dropped, it wasn't even a factor of thinking about the fans. Guys were so dialed into the game. They may not even notice."

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Teams have traveled to Edmonton and Toronto. Exhibition games are on deck. It's time to talk hockey.

We're looking at a storyline and player to watch for each Western Conference club participating in the qualifying round. We covered the Eastern Conference on Sunday.

Arizona Coyotes

This season has been about retaining Taylor Hall. The Coyotes wined and dined him and pitched him on the core of the roster, the coaching staff, the facilities at Gila River Arena, and the advantages of living and working in sunny Glendale.

Now, they need to play well enough in the postseason - and avoid turning into a full-blown off-ice soap opera - to nudge Hall toward a contract. The biggest fish in the 2020 unrestricted free-agency class has appeared in just five postseason games in 10 years, so the pressure's on in the qualifying round.

Player to watch: Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta. The Coyotes' formidable goaltending tandem - when healthy - can compete with the best in the league. Don't be surprised if head coach Rick Tocchet rotates between the two.

Calgary Flames

The Flames may be the "home" team against the Jets, but they can't afford to look past the qualifying round. If any goalie can win a series on his own, it's Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck, and Calgary's offense - 20th in goals per game, 12th-ranked power play, unspectacular underlying numbers in the regular season - doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, particularly with Johnny Gaudreau's well-chronicled playoff woes and strange training camp hovering over the team.

There are several teams involved in the resumption that changed coaches this season, and there are others that have a significant goaltending decision to make. The Flames somehow check off both boxes.

Player to watch: Erik Gustafsson. It'll be interesting to see how the absence of top-four blue-liner Travis Hamonic, who opted out of the NHL's restart, affects Gustafsson's ice time. He averaged 18 minutes a night in seven games after the trade deadline.

Chicago Blackhawks

This is a nightmare matchup for the Blackhawks, as their porous defense will try to stop Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the rest of the speedy Oilers forward group. To make matters worse, Corey Crawford didn't hit the ice until late in training camp due to a positive COVID-19 test and could be a bit shaky in Game 1.

One shining light for the Blackhawks is Patrick Kane, who was brilliant in the regular season and always brings it come playoff time. He's an X-factor for a Chicago team with a gigantic hurdle to clear in the qualifying round.

Player to watch: Kirby Dach. The third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft contributed 23 points in 64 games as a rookie and has garnered plenty of attention over the past couple of weeks for his improved skating and added confidence.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche have shown some growth but still haven't quite hit their stride. This is a much deeper lineup than we've come to expect from Colorado during the Nathan MacKinnon era. Forwards Nazem Kadri, Joonas Donskoi, Vladislav Namestnikov, Valeri Nichushkin, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare are all new additions this year and play important supporting roles to MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the club's other studs.

There's a distinct possibility the Avalanche go on a long run this postseason, perhaps all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. However, their best years are ahead as Samuel Girard, Conor Timmins, Bo Byram, and others continue to develop into impact NHLers.

Player to watch: Kadri. The two-way center made a habit of getting suspended in the postseason at the end of his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, so controlling his emotions in the heat of battle will be vital.

Dallas Stars

This year has been full of extremes for the Stars. They lost eight of their first nine games before going on a 14-1-1 run. In December, former bench boss Jim Montgomery quit and later entered rehab for alcohol abuse. His replacement, Rick Bowness, has done a swell job, though the awkward interim tag remains.

The season was paused at the right time for Dallas. Their points percentage placed the Stars fourth in the Western Conference and allowed them to avoid a play-in series. The defense is incredible, but the team struggles mightily to score goals. You should expect the unexpected with this wild card of a group.

Player to watch: Jamie Benn. He's not the goal-scoring power forward he once was but still has the ability to dominate in small samples. Benn in beast mode is something to behold and perhaps the high stakes bring that version of him to the fore.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers will go as far as McDavid and Draisaitl take them. Management has improved the roster - especially the back end - over the past few years, but this team won't advance past the round of 16 without a strong superstar influence.

This will be only the second time both McDavid and Draisaitl experience playoff hockey, so you can bet they'll be very motivated. There's an argument to be made that McDavid is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the five-month layoff after he spent virtually the entire 2019 offseason rehabbing his knee.

Player to watch: Andreas Athanasiou. The trade-deadline pickup hasn't found a comfortable fit in Edmonton. He has the tools - mainly that blazing speed - to be a game-breaker, and now it's a matter of finding the right linemates.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild are in transition under new management and - on paper - new head coach Dean Evason doesn't have enough high-end talent up front to take on the Western Conference.

However, Minnesota could conceivably beat the Vancouver Canucks in a best-of-five qualifying-round matchup. For that to happen, though, breakout winger Kevin Fiala must pick up where he left off in the regular season - 26 points in 18 games from Feb. 1 to March 8 - and the Wild's top defensive pair of Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon must minimize the Canucks' top contributors.

Player to watch: Mats Zuccarello. The Norwegian waterbug put up so-so numbers in his first season of a five-year, $30-million deal with Minnesota, but last year he showed with Dallas that he saves his best hockey for the playoffs.

Nashville Predators

The Predators have one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL with Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros, and they have one of the best defensive pairings with Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis.

Nashville is held back from being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender by its weak forward group. Filip Forsberg was the only skater to hit 20 goals in the regular season, and no forward reached 50 points. The club desperately needs more from Forsberg, Ryan Johanson, Matt Duchene, Kyle Turris, and Viktor Arvidsson, who are paid a combined $32.25 million per year to drive the attack.

Player to watch: Dante Fabbro. The 21-year-old played third-pairing minutes last postseason before sliding into P.K. Subban's spot on the second pair after the star was shipped to the New Jersey Devils.

St. Louis Blues

There was no hangover in St. Louis. The Blues finished second behind the Boston Bruins in points percentage during the regular season and looked every bit like a Stanley Cup favorite right before the league's hiatus.

Question marks coming into the season have been answered, too, with goalie Jordan Binnington proving he's not a one-hit wonder and captain Alex Pietrangelo performing at a Norris Trophy level despite the possible distraction of an expiring contract.

Heading into the qualifying round, the bulk of the attention is rightly focused on Vladimir Tarasenko, who's been sidelined since late October. We'll have to see the impact the sniper has in his long-awaited return.

Player to watch: David Perron. The big 32-year-old winger is coming off his second straight 60-point season and was a handful for the opposition with 16 points during the 2019 playoffs.

Vancouver Canucks

It's important for playoff teams to capitalize on their early power-play opportunities, as it can tilt an otherwise even matchup. Referees tend to put their whistles away for long stretches, which can somewhat eliminate the special-teams factor.

Enter the Canucks. Powered by a first unit of Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, Tyler Toffoli, and Bo Horvat, Vancouver finished with the fourth-ranked power play in the regular season, scoring on 24.2% of its opportunities. The Canucks have quality goaltending, some high-end skaters, and decent depth. They're not a perfect team, but they have a better chance than most lower seeds to go on a surprise run. And it all starts with the power play.

Player to watch: Quinn Hughes. His Calder Trophy counterpart Makar blew away the hockey world last postseason, so now we'll see how Hughes' playoff debut measures up.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights are gaining steam as a popular Stanley Cup pick among media and fans. Vegas is well-coached, plays a counterattacking style conducive to winning playoff games, is a top-10 squad in terms of team offense, and dresses a pair of No. 1-caliber goalies every game. And now, coach Pete DeBoer, who took over for Gerard Gallant midseason, has a training camp under his belt.

The hot topic circling Vegas, though, is who will ultimately man the net. Incumbent Marc-Andre Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, had a down year - .905 save percentage in 48 starts. Robin Lehner - .920 SV% in 34 total starts - was acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline as insurance but could easily usurp Fleury for the top job. DeBoer said he's not afraid to tap either one, which means a little goalie controversy might be on the horizon.

Player to watch: Max Pacioretty. The 31-year-old had a highly productive regular season (career-high 0.93 points per game). Nobody's hungrier for a deep run.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets operated with an underwhelming defense corps during the regular season. Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers left via trade and free agency, respectively, and the Dustin Byfuglien situation wasn't resolved until April. The latter handcuffed management's ability to bring in a big name on the blue line.

Needless to say, the most interesting aspect of the Jets' return will be their defense. That attention will turn to Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Neal Pionk, Dmitry Kulikov, Nathan Beaulieu, and Tucker Poolman, and how much help they can provide goalie Hellebuyck. The presumptive Vezina Trophy winner was fantastic during the regular season, so a little help in the defensive zone could go a long way in improving Winnipeg's playoff run prospects.

Player to watch: Kyle Connor. Maurice said that Connor has "top-10 player" potential, which, fair or not, shines a bright light on the winger. He'll be in good company, lining up alongside Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Teams are transitioning to hub cities. Exhibition games are on deck in Edmonton and Toronto. It's time to talk hockey.

Below is a breakdown of one dominant storyline for each Eastern Conference club participating in the qualifying round, with a quick note about a player to keep an eye on when the action begins Saturday. (We'll cover the Western Conference on Monday.)

Boston Bruins

Armed with veteran leadership and a playoff-tested roster, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins looked practically bulletproof heading into summer camp. But with COVID-19 added as a potential cause of derailment for a stacked team, this postseason is tenuous. Star winger David Pastrnak - who missed the bulk of training camp to quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 - was one of many Bruins to sit out at least one day of summer camp. Pastrnak is off to Toronto with the team, so he appears to be on track to return to the lineup. But it would be a shame if non-hockey factors diminish Boston's chance at redemption following a Game 7 loss in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins were the only team to finish with a .700 points percentage in 2019-20. They boast the best line in hockey with Patrice Bergeron between Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, elite goaltending, a fearsome blue line, and a top-notch coach. Here's to good health.

Player to watch: Brandon Carlo plays an understated game but the 6-foot-5 defenseman is more than capable of handling the opposition's best players.

Carolina Hurricanes

For the second straight year, the Hurricanes - who lost in the conference finals in 2018-19 - had a legitimate shot at going on a postseason run. Or so it seemed. Dougie Hamilton's slated return hit a snag this week when the stud defenseman left practice. Based on reports, his issue appears to be an injury, not an illness. If Hamilton's latest setback after breaking his leg in December is only minor, inserting him into the lineup will surely give Carolina a shot in the arm. However, the indefinite absence of Brett Pesce, another important member of the club's formidable blue line, at least partially offsets that potential boost. The vast majority of playoff teams are fully healthy, and the Canes are the exception. And neither of the team's goalies is elite. That means clutch performances from the forward group - namely, offensive catalysts Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov - will be critical. The Rangers, who swept the four-game regular-season series with Carolina, won't be an easy out in the qualifying round.

Player to watch: Justin Williams rejoined the team in January for one last playoff run at 38 years old. Mr. Game 7 already has three Stanley Cup rings, a Conn Smythe, and eight game-winners.

Columbus Blue Jackets

John Tortorella received his fifth Jack Adams Trophy nomination last week. The nod was wholly deserved: The Blue Jackets, who were steamrolled by injuries throughout the regular season, finished with the same points percentage as the Maple Leafs, who boast a superior roster. Yet, even with his club now close to full health, Tortorella will have his work cut out for himself versus Toronto and coach Sheldon Keefe. This tantalizing qualifying-round series pits a skilled, free-skating squad against a structured, defensive squad. We know the Blue Jackets are capable of winning that battle of extremes thanks to last year's sweep of the 62-win Lightning. But can they do it again?

Player to watch: It'll be fascinating to see how Pierre-Luc Dubois, a 22-year-old No. 1 center, fares in a series that features stars Auston Matthews and John Tavares lining up on the other side.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers haven't won a playoff series since 1996, so a qualifying-round victory over the Islanders would mean a lot to the franchise. Plus, the team's long-term pillars - Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Aaron Ekblad - have been around since 2014 but have appeared in only six postseason games (coincidentally, all versus the Islanders). Any additional high-pressure experience is helpful for this team to grow. But the Panthers will be doomed if Sergei Bobrovsky, who authored a career-worst .900 save percentage in 48 starts this season, doesn't stand on his head against New York.

Player to watch: Mark Pysyk, who's a rare hybrid skater. He played both defenseman and forward in the regular season while posting a career year offensively. He's done double duty in summer camp, too, but has been penciled in to start at forward during the qualifying round.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens are lucky to be included in the 2020 postseason. But with a 13% chance of drafting top prospect and Quebecker Alexis Lafreniere, the prize for bowing out in the qualifying round isn't bad. That said, assertive performances from captain Shea Weber and goalie Carey Price are absolutely necessary if the Habs plan to make any noise against the Penguins. Also crucial: Phillip Danault's line, which features Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar on the wings, must bury its scoring chances. Can the trio, which threw everything but the kitchen sink at opposing netminders every night in the regular season, capitalize on its possession and turn more shot attempts into goals in a best-of-five series?

Player to watch: Max Domi, a Type 1 diabetic, is going to play in the restart, though it's possible his underlying health condition could become a psychological distraction within the tightly secured Toronto bubble.

New York Islanders

Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock combine to make the best defense pairing many NHL fans have never heard of. Based on certain metrics, they form one of the league's best pairings, period. Pelech, a 6-foot-3, no-frills left-hander who excels at the subtitles of the position, was initially ruled out for the playoffs after tearing his Achilles tendon in January. Then the hiatus dragged on. His return is welcome news to coach Barry Trotz, considering the Isles were 10-13-7 without Pelech in the lineup, losing 11 of their final 13 regular-season games. Pelech and his partner will be essential to minimizing Barkov's impact in the qualifying round against the Panthers.

Player to watch: Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The two-way center signed a six-year deal immediately after the Senators traded him to the Isles. However, because of the NHL's pause, he's dressed for just seven games with his new squad.

New York Rangers

So, about that elephant in the Rangers' dressing room. Yeah, it didn't leave during the hiatus. What happens in the crease, with Igor Shesterkin, Henrik Lundqvist, and Alexandar Georgiev all capable of tending an NHL net? The smart money is on Shesterkin starting and Lundqvist backing up throughout the qualifying round, but there are no guarantees. It will be extra important for the Rangers, seeing as they aren't great defensively and the Hurricanes finished the regular season with the NHL's 12th-ranked offense. Being included in this restart is found money for the organization. The Rangers' rebuild - which started with a letter to the fan base in February 2018 - remains incomplete. Stanley Cup aspirations can wait.

Player to watch: Reports out of Rangers camp suggest Kaapo Kakko, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft, is sharper and operating with "more swagger." The raw rookie totaled just 10 goals and 23 points in 66 regular-season games.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers will be an intriguing group to monitor when action resumes. No team was hotter when the NHL paused March 12; Philadelphia had won 10 of 11 and boasted a sparkling 19-7 record since Jan. 8. The Flyers have earned their top-four spot in the Eastern Conference, but following an almost five-month break, will head coach Alain Vigneault's squad be able to recapture its pre-hiatus form? Carter Hart, the organization's 21-year-old savior in the crease, will experience NHL playoff hockey for the first time. Having the runway of the round robin could come in handy for Hart and his teammates.

Player to watch: Oskar Lindblom continues to add chapters to his inspiring story and could potentially return to practice after undergoing treatment for bone cancer. He and the club agreed to a three-contract extension last week following the July 2 announcement that he was cancer-free.

Pittsburgh Penguins

It seems odd to say this about the three-time Stanley Cup champs during the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era, but the Penguins are a sleeping giant. Pittsburgh ranked seventh in points percentage in the NHL prior to the pause. Yet, because of the unique restart format, they're competing in the play-in round as the Eastern Conference's fifth seed. The club's calling card is its enviable top six of Crosby, Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Jason Zucker, and Conor Sheary, and we haven't seen those six at full force for any meaningful stretch. Crosby and Guentzel combined to miss 58 regular-season games, Malkin and Rust were out for 14 contests each, while Zucker and Sheary appeared in only 15 and eight games, respectively, after being acquired midseason. The goaltending battle - Matt Murray versus Tristan Jarry for the starter's job - is important, of course, but the Pens' offense will carry this team.

Player to watch: Forty-year-old Patrick Marleau continues to chase that elusive Stanley Cup. The second-oldest player in the postseason came over from San Jose at the trade deadline, averaging 15:25 across eight games for Pittsburgh.

Tampa Bay Lightning

At every turn prior to the break, Lightning coach Jon Cooper fielded questions about the in-house impact of his team's first-round loss to the Blue Jackets last spring. When you tie an NHL record for regular-season victories but don't win a single game in the first round, there's no escaping external doubt. However, it might be time to recalibrate our attention. Already the league's best team on paper, the Lightning acquired Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at the trade deadline. A deep team at every position got deeper. Can the new, jack-of-all-trades forwards add yet another layer of hell for opposing coaches and players?

Player to watch: Anthony Cirelli is a brilliant two-way center. The 2015 third-rounder's profile was raised in the regular season thanks to a Selke Trophy-caliber body of work. A strong postseason would be the cherry on top.

Toronto Maple Leafs

For a franchise with playoff demons in desperate need of slaying, just getting past the qualifying round would be considered an accomplishment. The 36-25-4 Maple Leafs, who have made the postseason in each of Auston Matthews' four NHL seasons, haven't advanced beyond the first round since 2004. Former head coach Mike Babcock was criticized for not making necessary in-game adjustments against the Bruins last season. This year, rookie bench boss Sheldon Keefe has shown over a 47-game sample that he won't hesitate to mix and match his lines if necessary. In training camp, Keefe has debuted what's being called Toronto's "nuclear option" - Matthews alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner. The Leafs rival any club in high-end talent, living and dying by the collective performance of their stars. We're about to see how the players and coaches react to a defensive juggernaut like the Blue Jackets in a short series.

Player to watch: Frederik Andersen. The Leafs' starting goalie is coming off his worst regular season (.909 save percentage in 52 starts). The big Dane will be asked, as usual, to plug holes in Toronto's defense.

Washington Capitals

The average age of the Capitals' roster is 29.2 years old, tying them with Dallas for the oldest team in the restart, according to CapFriendly. That gray-beard label can be viewed as both a positive and a negative, though the age ranking mainly reminds us that the core behind the most successful period in Capitals history won't be together forever. While plenty of guys are locked up, starting goalie Braden Holtby might leave via free agency this fall, and superstar Alex Ovechkin is unrestricted next summer. For now, the Metropolitan Division champions are as big a threat as ever following a 41-20-8 regular season, and the pressure is off thanks to the 2018 Stanley Cup win.

Player to watch: Ilya Kovalchuk is on his third team of the 2019-20 season. After being bought out by L.A. and signing in Montreal, the 37-year-old landed in D.C. at the trade deadline. He's pitched in four points in seven games.

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer.

Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.