Next game: vs. ANA (May 8) While the Blues are locked into the No. A five-game series win over the kind of team that would normally upset the Maple Leafs would be a declarative statement that this time, things are different. North: TOR-MTL | EDM-WPG 4 St. Louis Blues ; Pick the correct champion for a chance to win a share of $50,000 in prizes!Fill out 25 brackets to compete for more cash! Dayton has the chance to earn a "home" NCAA tournament game. Pierre-Luc Dubois, acquired from Columbus for Patrik Laine earlier this season, had 20 points in 40 games. Advantage: Edmonton, Health: The Jets have been without Ehlers since April 26, but he's skating again and could be back for this series. . Complete your bracket by selecting the winner for each game of the 2023 men's NCAA tournament. It's now a yearly tradition: discounting the Islanders until they go on a playoff run that forces you to pay attention. The Women's Bracket Challenge final game is scheduled for April 2, 2023, while the Men's is scheduled for April 3, 2023. Advantage: Toronto. Jake Muzzin and Justin Holl continued their strong play that began last season. The Jets were really spiraling down the stretch, while the Oilers and a next-level McDavid were steam-rollering through teams. Note: Emily Kaplan previewed the East and Central, while Greg Wyshynski did the honors for the North and West. 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. After starting every game in the 2020 bubble, Juuse Saros had 14 more starts than Pekka Rinne this season. The first two rounds of the 2021 playoffs will be intradivisional. Regulation wins: 22 But I like the upset here, on one condition: Ehlers is back and healthy. Josh Anderson and Corey Perry chip in offensively -- Anderson, a key offseason pickup, is a negative-3.1 goals scored above average. Tragic number: N/A, Points: 57 Can Barca overcome on-field fatigue, off-field chaos to beat Real Madrid in Copa del Rey? 3 Winnipeg Jets, No. ET (ESPN2) Game 3: Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. Menu ESPN. For Montreal, Tyler Toffoli brought as much joy to the Canadiens as his departure brought pain to Vancouver, scoring 28 goals this season. Credit young players for stepping up, but also Charlie McAvoy for owning the No. Advantage: Even, Goaltending: The passing of the torch is finally happening in Nashville. He took the Knights to the conference finals in 2020 after taking over for Gerard Gallant, but this is his first full season with Vegas. The Stanley Cup is something that sets the National Hockey League apart from other sports. The NHL Bracket Challenge pool will divvy up the points after the conclusion of every series and the person with the most points after the Stanley Cup is handed out will win free premium Florida Panthers coverage for the entire year. Playoff position: N/A When McAvoy was on the ice against Ovechkin at 5-on-5, the Bruins outscored Washington 5-0 and had a plus-12 edge in shot attempts. You can catch this game streaming on ESPN+ tonight. ET. In New York, the top line is not as defined. Advantage: Florida. Playoff position: N/A How will the matchups play out? Advertisement. Are PSG better off without Neymar in big games? Champ Week begins Monday and runs through Selection Sunday. Games left: 2 Series pick: Jets in seven. After a winner is crowned from the four divisions, the "final four" will be rebracketed based on their regular-season records, with No. Regulation wins: 30 Catch NHL games streaming live every night (and on replay) this season on ESPN+. 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. Advantage: Even. Next game: @ NSH (May 8) Games left: 2 Oh, the names hockey has produced. Both were revelations on Tampa Bay's third line. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a two-point lead in the standings over the Washington Capitals, and play their final regular-season tilt this afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres. Playoff position: N/A Tragic number: 2, Points: 52 It's on the penalty kill that the Knights have the advantage: They were first in the NHL (86.8%) while Minnesota was 12th (80.8%). Games left: 4 Search. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? Playoff chances: 0% ET (TBS) Game 4: Sunday, May 8 at 7 p.m. He posted a .913 save percentage in the 2021 season but was limited to only 24 games because of injury. Playoff chances: 100% After Kaprizov, the next highest goal scorer was Kevin Fiala, who had 20 on the season in 50 games. Playoff position: E3 Play Tournament Challenge Second Chance. However, it should enter the playoffs with a mostly intact roster. North: TOR-MTL | EDM-WPG Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? Petr Mrazek has been excellent, but missed two months in the middle of the season with a thumb injury. Next game: @ FLA (May 8) Sign in to customize your ESPN experience. In Virginia Tech's final seven games, six of which . The Oilers captain is a clear-cut No. Tragic number: 3, Points: 78 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. He has played with Joel Armia and dynamic center Nick Suzuki, who bounced back from a midseason offensive swoon. Tragic number: E, Points: 47 The Penguins have a solid defense, but not quite as strong as New York's. Regulation wins: 19 Modern international region, with players from outside of North American who were active for NHL franchises in the past dozen years. 4 New York Islanders Advantage: Pittsburgh, Special teams: The Penguins have a top-five power play (23.7%), while the Islanders are 21st (18.8%). First line: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen: a trio that has proved, over multiple seasons, that it's perhaps the best line in the NHL. NCAAM Video. Keep an eye on Ondrej Kase, who returned from a 52-game absence only to exit the season finale against Washington. Paired with Joel Edmundson, he could be a Norris Trophy contender. Already an ESPN+ subscriber? | Valeri Nichushkin and J.T. Jump to: But another thing that sets hockey apart are the names that are memorable not because of the player's goal total or championship wins, but because this actual living breathing person is named Zarley Zalapski or Miroslav Satan. Tournament Challenge The three :15 spots - launched in partnership with Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP) - debut Mon., Feb. 27, highlighting how there is no surefire bracket prediction method. One reason to root for every team and driver in 2023. While not as dominant as they once were, with a 53.4% expected goals at 5-on-5 this season, they can still be a force. Forward Jonathan Drouin remains out of the lineup for personal reasons, with no determination on his return. Next game: @ MIN (May 8) Regulation wins: 11 Then MacKenzie Weegar stepped up, showing he can play as a true No. The Knights aren't nearly as strong defensively as they were under DeBoer last season, while the Wild are one of the NHL's best defensive teams in terms of limiting high-danger chances. The best defenseman on the St. Louis Blues, post-Alex Pietrangelo? NHL playoff bracket 2022: Full schedule, TV channels, scores for postseason | Sporting News Canada -156 BUF -175 LAK -127 Thu, 7:30p CAR DET CHI 2/26, 11:00a NYI WIN 2/26, 12:30p LAK NYR 2/26,. Once the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoff First Round matchups have been set, hockey fans around the world can begin creating and submitting brackets outlining their predictions for each playoff series online or via the NHL app. Saad is working his way back, having been out since April 24. Filed under berkshire hathaway brackets march. Advantage: Pittsburgh, Forward depth: Thanks to additions of Jean-Gabriel Pageau in 2020 and Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac in 2021, the Isles are deeper than they have been recently at forward. The winners of those series will square off in the Stanley Cup Final. 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. Games left: 1 Advantage: Carolina, Forward depth: The Hurricanes have enviable depth. Charlie Coyle missed the final four games with an upper-body injury, but Cassidy said he should be cleared for Game 1. But because he has such an assemblage of talent on his bench, he doesn't get the credit he deserves for conducting that orchestra. Defense: When Aaron Ekblad was lost for the season, Florida's defensive outlook appeared much more gloomy. Goaltending: The Panthers might have committed $70 million to Sergei Bobrovsky, but the Lightning have the best goalie in the game, full stop. Complete your bracket by selecting your winner for each game of the NCAA Tournament, starting with the Sweet 16. Advantage: Toronto, Goaltending: The Leafs just got Frederik Andersen back from injury. 1 selection. Can the red-hot Hurricanes topple the Bruins at No. Next game: vs. NJ (May 8) Series pick: Caps in seven. Brett Kulak, rookie Alexander Romanov and trade deadline addition Jon Merrill are also options. Dean Evason coached four games in the qualification round of the bubble playoffs last season, and that's the only postseason head-coaching experience for the long-tenured assistant who took over from Bruce Boudreau last season. The offseason free-agent addition played 41 games due to injury and a stint in the COVID protocols, and ended up with his lowest points-per-game rate (0.56) since 2015-16. Fill out 25 brackets to compete for more cash! 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%). Playoff chances: 0% Here are our expert picks for the winners of all of the 2022-23 men's college basketball . Next game: @ CBJ (May 8) Complete your bracket by selecting the winner in each of the games in the NCAA tournament. NHL Playoffs Central: Schedules, scores, highlights, analysis Advantage: Vegas. ESPN's Tournament Challenge is back for the 2023 NCAA College Basketball Tournament! Regulation wins: 15 Sam Bennett has been a seamless fit since coming over from Calgary, specifically thriving alongside Jonathan Huberdeau. 4 and No. Tragic number: 1, Points: 47 Regulation wins: 11 The Predators are comfortable starting either goalie, but Saros (.945 save percentage at 5-on-5, best among goalies with at least 15 starts) is the No. First line: Florida's top line is all about Aleksander Barkov, one of the best two-way players in the game -- but really, just one of the best players in this game. 3 Florida Panthers, No. How will the matchups play out? Advantage: Vegas, Health: Pacioretty, Martinez, Nosek and Reaves all missed time down the stretch for Vegas, but all should play in the first round. Regulation wins: 27 Series pick: Islanders in seven. 3. You only need 5 minutes to fill out your bracket and then compete against friends, family, and other fans. Advantage: Even, Defense: Cale Makar finished the season as the only regular NHL defenseman who averaged a point per game. That line had a nice 69.0% expected goals percentage with outstanding underlying defensive numbers. The Jets averaged 3.15 goals per game with him, and 2.25 goals per game since he left the lineup. Hedman's health is of concern, especially after a precipitous drop off in performance to end the season.