Los Angeles: The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to win their third straight Stanley Cup and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights get their first taste of the postseason as the puck is ready to drop on the NHL play-offs.
The battle for first place in the Eastern Conference went down to the wire as the Boston Bruins failed to lock down the top seed on the final night of the regular season, when they lost 4-2 on Sunday to the Florida Panthers.
Boston had trailed the Tampa Bay Lightning by one point and needed a win over the Panthers to vault into first place.
The loss to Florida means the Bruins will open the play-offs against another Original Six team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are trying to end a 51-year Stanley Cup drought.
Tampa Bay shutout Boston 4-0 last Tuesday to record their first win this season over the Bruins.
Tampa opens their play-off series at home against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, the same night Boston and Toronto kick off.
The play-offs begin on Wednesday with the Penguins on tap to play the Philadelphia Flyers and the Golden Knights taking on the Los Angeles Kings.
The Sidney Crosby-led Penguins are trying to become the first team in 35 years to win three straight Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders won four consecutive in the early 1980s.
