The East Division has had its four playoff teams clinched longer than anyone -- but there's the least clarity as to the order in which they'll finish. Rod Brind'Amour is a favorite to win the Jack Adams as Coach of the Year in 2021, as he had the Canes operating on a high level for the entire season. ESPN's Tournament Challenge is back for the 2023 NCAA College Basketball Tournament! 329m goal: Felix the only men's contender for Chelsea's Goal of the Month, UFC 285's Shevchenko by the numbers: It all adds up to domination, A battle for No. Having reached the final stretch of the regular season, it's time to check in on all the playoff races -- along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2021 NHL draft lottery. Choose from one of our autofill options and get a bracket in seconds! One reason to root for every team and driver in 2023. Tragic number: 1, Points: 47 Wheeler, who reportedly played through a rib injury earlier this season, in particular, has struggled. Elsewhere in the Central, it's the latest skirmish in the Battle of Florida, as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers continue to joust for seeding; they're currently tied with 75 standings points, but the Lightning hold the regulation wins tiebreaker. He should be rested heading into this postseason. How aggressive will the surprising Kraken be? Advantage: Even, Special teams: The Bruins had the second-best penalty kill in the league this season, operating at 86%. ET (TBS) Game 4: Sunday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Advertisement. Looking ahead, Hall is eager to see how the Bracket Challenge can evolve when new broadcast partners ESPN and Turner Sports come on board, starting in the 2021-22 season. An old, reliable trio that can produce offense but has been rolled defensively at 5-on-5 this season, giving up over 3.5 goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time. Advantage: Florida, Special teams: Not a huge difference between the power play for the Panthers (20.5%) and the Lightning (22.4%), though Kucherov's presence could be an X factor. Elizabeth Kitley, 6-4, C, Virginia Tech Hokies Kitley turned what was a close race into a second straight ACC Player of the Year trophy. The Canadiens are also hoping to get their top line healthy again, as Brendan Gallagher (fractured thumb) and Phillip Danault (concussion) could reunite with Tomas Tatar. He posted a .913 save percentage in the 2021 season but was limited to only 24 games because of injury. Next game: vs. COL (May 8) It's going to be a treat watching it operate against Washington's usually potent power play -- where Oshie and Ovechkin have combined for 22 power-play goals -- which is third in the league at 24.8%. His team, however, isn't nearly as unstoppable. Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers' top line is tougher to define, except to say that "it's the one with Connor McDavid." Games left: 1 Games left: 3 With Teravainen -- who had three goals in his first five games back -- they're even stronger. ET. The Capitals get a rematch against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday after losing Friday night. This series is going to be a tight one. When he's not skating with McDavid, Draisaitl is holding down his own line, usually with Nugent-Hopkins and Yamamoto. Finally, the New York Islanders need a lot of help to move out of fourth into third, but one part of the process would be a win in their game against the New Jersey Devils tonight. The infusion of reinforcements to the Canadiens' lineup, especially Gallagher, will be a boost to Montreal. The Oilers were widely ridiculed for bringing back 38-year-old Mike Smith, with many claiming that backup Mikko Koskinen deserved more playing time. Playoff position: E4 3 Florida Panthers, No. ESPN's Tournament Challenge is back for the 2023 NCAA College Basketball Tournament! Nurse in particular has had a great two-way season, and was in the Norris Trophy conversation. Then MacKenzie Weegar stepped up, showing he can play as a true No. For Montreal, Tyler Toffoli brought as much joy to the Canadiens as his departure brought pain to Vancouver, scoring 28 goals this season. Advantage: Toronto, Health: The Leafs should get Hyman, Foligno and Nash back for the start of the playoffs. The national champion for the 2021-22 college basketball season was crowned Monday with Kansas cutting down the nets at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Stone led the Knights with 61 points in 55 games, skating to a plus-26. The quality of the Montreal goaltending boils down to one question: Which Carey Price, assuming he's healthy, will the Canadiens get? The Golden Knights were 22nd in the NHL (17.8%), while the Wild were right behind them at 24th (17.6%). Aho had 16 goals and 37 points over his final 33 games. He went to the Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks in his first full season in San Jose. Tragic number: N/A, Points: 74 NHL execs identify the top prospects $20 per entry. Nashville's penalty kill is third worst in the league (75.4%), so this is a mismatch. Note: Emily Kaplan previewed the East and Central, while Greg Wyshynski did the honors for the North and West. East: PIT-NYI | WSH-BOS The winners of those series will square off in the Stanley Cup Final. Next game: vs. NYR (May 8) Regulation wins: 17 Advantage: Florida. The Blues have the sixth-best power-play (23.2%) -- Perron had 21 power-play points -- but their penalty kill was just 25th in the league (77.8%). Pittsburgh and the Caps are even in regulation wins, and the Pens won the season series, 6-2. They needed him, as Robin Lehner struggled through an injury to post a .913 save percentage. ESPN's Tournament Challenge is back, giving you the chance to fill out up to 10 brackets and compete against friends, family, coworkers, professional athletes and celebrities for bracket glory. Next game: vs. STL (May 8) Privacy Policy | Play Tournament Challenge The past few years have spoiled us with an exuberance of blue-chip talent . Regulation wins: 19 But credit's hard to find when everyone thinks you just put some McDavid and Draisaitl on anything that ails the team. 329m goal: Felix the only men's contender for Chelsea's Goal of the Month, UFC 285's Shevchenko by the numbers: It all adds up to domination, A battle for No. 1 Calgary Flames vs. Wild Card 1 Dallas Stars (Calgary wins 4-3) No. Race for the No. The X factors: As always, one is Alex Tuch, who had 18 goals in 55 games this season and has 15 goals in 47 career playoff games. Tragic number: E, Points: 80 Also, Jarry has played in only one career postseason game, while DeSmith has zero. 1, a loaded LPGA field and more to watch in golf this week, How to watch PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational on ESPN+, Disputed loan at center of Commanders probe, Everything you need to know about F1's 2023 season, F1 season preview: Who's hot and who's not, Breaking down the latest in 2024 football recruiting, from top commits to March visits, Oral history: When Barcelona, Real Madrid played four Clasicos in 18 days back in 2011, LIVE Transfer Talk: Gvardiol, Bellingham named Real Madrid's top transfer targets, Roundtable: Early takeaways from Kyrie Irving joining Luka Doncic in Dallas, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. For Edmonton, Zack Kassian has resumed skating after being out with a lower body injury. He's been great in the playoffs, too: .923 save percentage and four shutouts in 25 career appearances. 2 Edmonton Oilers vs. No. | Advantage: Pittsburgh, Special teams: The Penguins have a top-five power play (23.7%), while the Islanders are 21st (18.8%). After the NHL staged a 24-team, bubble-based tournament to determine the Stanley Cup winner in 2020, we're back to a more traditional 16-team event in 2021 -- with a significant twist. Or the goalie who posted a .936 save percentage and two shutouts in the bubble last postseason? Another night, another playoff spot clinched as we officially welcome the St. Louis Blues to the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. It can't be stressed enough how important Gallagher is to this team: They were 17-9-9 with him and 7-11-0 without him. Goodrow is out indefinitely with an upper body injury. . ET (TBS) Game 5: Tuesday,. 4 spot in the West Division. While we agree that Lorne "Gump" Worsley, George "Punch" Imlach, Joseph "Toe" Blake, Harold "Punch" Broadbent, Modere "Mud" Bruneteau, Aubrey "Dit" Clapper, Elmer "Moose" Vasko, Eldon "Pokey" Reddick and others are stone-cold classic hockey names, we've taken them out of the tournament field. Advantage: Vegas, Coaching: This is Pete DeBoer's seventh playoff team. Playoff chances: 100% ESPN's Tournament Challenge is back, giving you the chance to fill out up to 10 brackets and compete against friends, family, coworkers, professional athletes and celebrities for bracket glory. Playoff position: N/A Plus, he has this Panthers group overachieving, despite modest expectations, and very well could win the Jack Adams Award. Playoff chances: 0% Advantage: Edmonton, Goaltending: Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender last season, and has once again carried the defensive load for the Jets. Complete your bracket by selecting the winner for each game of the 2023 men's NCAA tournament. Regulation wins: 12 In his absence, his regular linemates Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov posted a 56.00% expected goals for percentage. Search. 2; Nedeljkovic might even be Carolina's No. Playoff position: N1 We've compiled 64 of them into four different regions in a bracketed tournament: Old-school region, with the players from yesteryear. | The line of Martin Necas, Nino Niederreiter and Vincent Trocheck (57.89% expected goals for percentage) could feasibly operate as Nashville's top line. Advantage: Even, Special teams: The Canes have the second-best power play in the league, trailing only the Oilers, clicking at 25.6%. McAvoy's performance so far against the Caps, where he was often paired against Washington's top players, should inspire confidence. Playoff chances: 100% How long will Chelsea give Potter in charge? New for 2021, a team may move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. Regulation wins: 30 Fill out your bracket and compete against friends, ESPN personalities and celebrities for your shot at $100,000 in prizes. John Carlson and T.J. Oshie might also be nursing minor injuries. Games left: 2 Notice that we didn't say "starter" Frederik Andersen, as Jack Campbell went 17-2-2 with a .923 save percentage to potentially take the crease for the postseason. 1 taking on No. 4 and No. In 2021, ESPN Men's Tournament Challenge collected 16.2 million brackets, surpassing 16 million for the fourth consecutive year. NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge Brackets are closed for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge Sign in to check your scores. Games left: 1 Tragic number: E, Points: 48 | Playoff position: N/A Playoff chances: 0% The #1 bracket app is back and better than ever for the 2023 NCAA Men's and Women's College Basketball tournaments! Not only because it's the rare championship trophy from which you can drink, but also because the names of those who won it are etched along its rings, forged into hockey history. Ryan Graves, Makar's primary partner last season, has combined with Samuel Girard for another solid pairing (61.0% expected goals). Are PSG better off without Neymar in big games? 1 pick, Points: 75 Regulation wins: 28 When Backstrom and Ovechkin have been on the ice together this season, they have outscored teams by 14 goals. Hedman's health is of concern, especially after a precipitous drop off in performance to end the season. Andrew Copp, Mathieu Perreault, Trevor Lewis, Nate Thompson and Mason Appleton are also in the mix. 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