All eight first-round matchups in the NHL playoffs are set after the last day of the regular season flipped two of the biggest series in the West.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will open against West top seed Dallas. Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings, a team they’ve defeated each of the past two years in the same round.
In the East, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers begin their championship pursuit against Washington. Cup favorite Carolina faces the New York Islanders in the first round, but any of nearly a dozen teams could win it all.
A glance at the first-round series (times Eastern):
Game 1: Sunday at New York, 3 p.m.
New York was the best team in the league. Washington needed to win its regular-season finale to get into the playoffs, doing so with an unusual empty-net goal.
Censors block blogger after caller asks 'Is Xi Jinping a dictator?' — Radio Free Asia
VOX POPULI: Manga artist exposes the juicy dynamics behind ‘oden’ factions
Weather updates: Warnings across South Island, Taranaki, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty
Iceland violent volcanic flare
China's BYD adds new dealership in Tokyo
VOX POPULI: LDP lawmakers’ remarks about political funds create a paradox
VOX POPULI: ‘Dandara’ puns still entertain amid destroyed shops of Wajima
Braves ace Spencer Strider begins recovery from elbow surgery, says team can win World Series
China is drilling some of the deepest holes in hunt for natural resources
Thai leaders ready to increase humanitarian aid in Myanmar — Radio Free Asia
Russia election: Arrests for vandalism as ballot boxes targeted in Putin vote