NHL playoffs get underway tonight without any Canadian teams
Posted April 13, 2016 7:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
PITTSBURGH, PA. (NEWS 1130) – We are just hours away from our first taste of playoff hockey, but for the first time in years, none of Canada’s seven NHL teams are in the post-season.
So which first-round series will get the most attention? The Florida Panthers have the most Canadian players, while Tampa and Detroit should be an exhibition of skill.
But it’s the second of tonight’s three games that has Sportsnet Hockey Analyst Nick Kypreos excited.
“I think Pittsburgh and the Rangers will be a lot of fun to watch. They hate each other. There’s a history there that goes back. But who wouldn’t want to see in the next round, Crosby versus Ovechkin.”
Kypreos says that matchup could be the highlight of the second round.
“That rivalry has kind of been set aside due to various reasons including concussions for Crosby. But in the back half of this regular season Crosby was as good as he’s ever been his whole career. So, could that be a series we can look forward to in the next round?” says Kypreos, who captured a Stanley Cup himself as a member of the Rangers in 1994.
He’s picking St. Louis to make some noise in the Western Conference but they’ll have to get past a deep and talented Chicago Blackhawks team to do so.
That series starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Sportsnet while Detroit and Tampa kick things off at 4 p.m. on CBC.
There are four games on the slate for tomorrow night including a battle of West Coast teams when San Jose visits LA in the battle of California.
