Tim Kavanagh, ESPN.comMar 23, 2024, 08:00 AM ET
CloseTim Kavanagh is a senior editor for ESPN digital editorial. He’s a native of upstate New York.
Saturday’s NHL schedule features a number of tantalizing matchups, whether it’s for playoff positioning — such as Edmonton Oilers-Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+) — or better odds in the draft lottery, as is the case with Chicago Blackhawks-San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+).
But the game we’ve got circled as Saturday night’s main event is the Florida Panthers’ visit to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET, ABC and ESPN+). Given that these are two of the league’s top four teams in the standings — and the other two, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, are in action as well — it’s time to take a look at the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.
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The obvious caveat here: The Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the team with the most points in the standings in the regular season, is not necessarily a good-luck charm when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup that season (at least recently). Since the trophy was first awarded in 1985-86, only eight teams have won the regular-season points race and the Cup in the same campaign, the most recent being the Chicago Blackhawks in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. A recent trend is for a team to make its big run to the Cup one year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy:
The Washington Capitals led the league in points in 2015-16 and 2016-17, then won the Cup in 2018.
The Tampa Bay Lightning dominated to the tune of 128 points in 2018-19, then won two Cups in a row (2020, 2021).
The Colorado Avalanche earned the Presidents’ Trophy in the wonky 2020-21 season, then won the Cup in 2022.
The Panthers raced out to 122 points in winning the regular-season points race in 2021-22, then made the Cup Final in 2023.
So is this the Bruins’ year after their first-round flameout last spring? The B’s come…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39787239/nhl-playoffs-bracket-standings-2024-presidents-trophy-rangers-bruins-panthers-canucks
Author : Tim Kavanagh
Publish date : 2024-03-23 13:21:45
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