The NHL (National Hockey League) playoffs commenced on April 17th. The NHL playoffs work similarly to the NBA playoffs where they play a best-of-seven series and four rounds make up the tournament. 

The teams in the playoffs this year are the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Seattle Krakens, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and the Los Angeles Kings. 

The team the league has been talking about this season is the Boston Bruins. The Bruins have had a historic season, slaying record after record. They surpassed the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning for most wins in a regular season at 63, they beat the record for most points scored in a season, and many other impressive records. The Bruins finished the season with a record of 65-12. 

This is also the first season for the new head coach of the Bruins, Jim Montgomery. It is extremely impressive to see how he was able to turn the Bruins into the unstoppable machine they are today in one year. 

In the first round of the playoffs, the Bruins faced token opposition, the Florida Panthers, whom they currently lead in the series 3-1. 

The Wild are tied in the series currently against the Stars at 2-2. The Devils are also currently tied against the Rangers as are the Oilers and Kings. The Avalanche are losing to the Krakens 2-3 in the series and the Golden Knights lead the Jets 3-1. Finally, the Hurricanes lead the series 3-1 against the Islanders. 

Last year the Hurricanes knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs in game seven of the 2021 season. 

It will be interesting and exciting to see how the playoffs continue to unfold this year, especially with such a historic season it’s been for the league.