Nick Paul scored twice, including a stunning individual goal late in the second period, as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in Game 7 on Saturday.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions came from a goal down in the previous two games, and had to do it again on the road at the Scotiabank Arena after Thursday's overtime win to level the series.

Morgan Reilly scored for Toronto but Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped an eventual 29 shots to keep the Lightning in the game, before Paul's brace secured the series win.

The Leafs were condemned to their seventh consecutive playoff series loss, and have not made the second round since 2004. After the match, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe commended the reigning champions on their series win.

"They [Tampa Bay] don’t get a lot of credit because you don’t really think of them this way, but we knew coming into this series that going into third periods down against this team was going to be a challenge," he said post-game.

"They are the number-one team in the NHL when it comes to limiting chances against when up a goal in the third period. All regular season, they were that.

"That is sort of the hallmark of their success. That is championship hockey. They didn’t give us a great deal in that third period tonight. Those are the things I take away - just how hard they defend and how they prioritise defending."

In Saturday's other results, the Carolina Hurricanes won their series-deciding game at home to the Boston Bruins 3-2, while the Edmonton Oilers claimed Game 7 against the Los Angeles Kings with a 2-0 win.

Brayden Point scored the winning goal in overtime and forced a Game 7, as the Tampa Bay Lightning secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, but they had to battle until 1:56 remaining in overtime for Point's sealer.

The Lightning had to fight their way back from 3-2 down in the final period with their season on the line, after Leafs captain John Tavares scored twice in the second period's closing 34 seconds.

With his side dropping a lead for the second straight game, Tavares said the focus is now on regrouping as the series heads back to Toronto for the decider.

"We worked hard all year to earn home ice and we've got a great opportunity going home in front of our fans to try to close this thing out," he said.

"So just regroup here, and look forward to the opportunity. This is what the game's all about."

The Boston Bruins also forced a Game 7 after they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2, while the St. Louis Blues advanced to the second round, beating the Minnesota Wild 5-1 in Game 6.

In Thursday's final game, the Edmonton Oilers evened their series up with the Los Angeles Kings in Game 6, winning 4-2.

Auston Matthews says his game-winner was "pretty special" after the Toronto Maple Leafs battled back from two goals down to win 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL playoffs on Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs trailed 2-0 after the first period but rallied with Matthews settling the contest with their third goal in the third period.

The win means Toronto lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven series against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

"It was pretty special," Matthews told reporters, speaking about the goal. "To battle back from down two goals, and never losing hope and competing, that was big."

Matthews led the NHL across the regular season with 60 goals but he had not scored in the playoffs since Game 1 of the series.

Teammate John Tavares, who pulled one back during the second-period power play, praised the NHL's back-to-back Rocket Richard Trophy winner Matthews, who was also credited with seven hits.

"His whole game is all just really good," Tavares said. "When you score 60 goals, that's going to get [discussed], and how he scores it in different ways and the uniqueness of his shot in his abilities, but his all-around game is as good as anybody's in the league.

"He's going to play hard and compete because they're making it hard on him to earn his ice and opportunities, so good for him to play them hard."

The victory means Toronto are one win away from the franchise's first playoff series victory since 2004.

"I just think we needed to possess the puck a little bit more," Matthews said. "Get on top of them and be forechecking and not giving them as much time and space. We were on top of them and had our heads up to make plays."

Elsewhere, Adrian Kempe's over-time goal earned the Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers, having blown a 3-1 lead.

The goal was Kempe's second of the game, as he finished with a three-point performance. The result puts the Kings up 3-2 in the series.

The Carolina Hurricanes also moved up 3-2 in their series against the Boston Bruins with an emphatic 5-1 win after losing their past two.

Rookie Seth Jarvis scored twice and Antti Raanta finished with 34 saves.

The St Louis Blues piled on three third-period goals, all from a Vladimir Tarasenko hat-trick, to secure a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild to lead their series 3-2.

Tony DeAngelo saved special praise for rookie goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov after the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday.

Kochetkov was thrust into the spotlight for his playoff debut as the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in what is becoming a fiery series.

With Frederik Andersen already down, tempers boiled over as the Canes had to turn to Kochetkov after Antti Raanta was struck in the head by David Pastrnak's glove as he skated past.

The two teams traded words and big hits throughout, and defenseman DeAngelo made it clear where the Hurricanes stand with the Bruins in this series.

"We're not going to get pushed around, I guarantee you that," he said.

DeAngelo was glowing of Kochetkov's demeanour after the first-period change and his ability to keep it simple in a heated environment, making 30 saves.

"I think he's real calm," his team-mate said. "You don't see any jitters, at least in my eyes. I don't know what he's feeling inside. I'm sure he's a little nervous. Anybody would be, right?

"But I thought he was real calm in the net. He made a lot of saves, wasn't trying to do too much. He was calm. Coming into goal in the first period in a playoff game as a rookie after coming here a few weeks ago, he was really good."

Elsewhere on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Minnesota Wild tied up their respective series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the St. Louis Blues with wins.

The Edmonton Oilers also tied up their series, smashing the Los Angeles Kings in a 6-0 shutout.

The NHL's leading goal-scorer and MVP candidate Auston Matthews slotted home two more in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 5-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of their playoff series.

Matthews – who is first player since 2011-12 to score 60 goals in a season – got on the scoresheet early in the second period to make it 2-0 for Toronto after Jake Muzzin's opener to close the first frame.

Mitchell Marner assisted the first Matthews goal and also set up David Kampf to make it 3-0, before he got on the scoresheet himself to make it four, capping off a brilliant second period.

Matthews scored his second goal of the game to round out the rout in the last period, with Morgan Reilly collecting his second assist in the process.

Speaking to post-game media, Matthews gave plenty of credit to the Maple Leafs' penalty-killing unit after the Lightning failed to score from five power-play attempts, as well as his running-mate Marner.

"I thought we played fast, we played through the contact," he said. "Our penalty-kill [unit] was huge tonight, I thought that brought us a lot of momentum.

"I thought [Marner] was incredible. He was all over the puck – so much poise – he's just doing his thing out there. 

"It's fun to watch, and fun to be out there with him. I know he's going to continue to elevate, so we've got to look for everybody to do that as well.

"We were able to capitalise on some chances, so I thought it was a really good effort by us. But it's a series – it's going to be a long series – and there's a really good team on the other end. 

"They'll be ready to go next game, so we've got to watch this one, learn from it, and move on to the next one."

Matthews also highlighted the energy inside the building as the Toronto crowd tries to will their team to their first series win since 2004.

"It was humming here tonight," he said. "It was just electric through all 60 minutes.

"I think that's what playoff hockey is all about, the atmosphere and everything. 

"It's been a while since we've been in front of our fans in front of a full arena in the playoffs, so there's a lot of excitement, and the guys fed off the energy."

It was a similarly dominant showing for the Carolina Hurricanes, as they beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 at home.

There were five individual goal-scorers for the Hurricanes as Seth Jarvis, Nino Niederreiter, Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck and Andrei Svechnikov put in one each.

The St Louis Blues collected an important road win against the Minnesota Wild, scoring twice in the opening period on the way to a 4-0 result.

David Perron was the man of the hour for the Blues, capping off his hat-trick with the final goal of the game, while Torey Krug had three assists.

The most competitive game of the night was the Los Angeles Kings' trip to take on the Edmonton Oilers, escaping with a 4-3 road win.

After two action-packed periods the sides were tied at 3-3 going into the last, with a late Phillip Danault goal proving to be the difference.

Composure was the key to the St Louis Blues stunning three-goal comeback after defeating back-to-back champions Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in a shootout win in the NHL on Tuesday.

The Blues trailed 3-0 at 5:29 in the opening period as Erik Cernak and Corey Perry scored five seconds apart for the Lightning.

St Louis rallied with two second period goals while Jordan Binnington made 30 saves and was perfect in the shootout.

Blues scorer Ryan O'Reilly told reporters: "The coaching staff was positive with us and had a good message of just sticking with it and build it up and knowing that there's a lot of game left. That's exactly what we did.

"I thought everyone did a good job at not being fazed. It's not what we wanted but it's a long game."

Blues coach Craig Berube said: "You've got to feel what's going on in the game. You've got to stay composed. I just told our team there's a lot of hockey, stay with it. we've got to get one back. Get some momentum going."

The Lightning had a chance to win the game in over-time after Blues forward Jordan Kyrou's penalty but could not clinch it.

"We went to overtime, we had our chances, but we didn't get it done," Lightning coach Job Cooper said. "We were a tired group at the end there."

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper says his side were motivated to win before the group likely breaks up this offseason after lifting the Stanley Cup on Wednesday.

The Lightning won 1-0 over the Montreal Canadiens at Tampa's Amalie Arena to clinch a 4-1 Stanley Cup Finals triumph, lifting the trophy for the third time in franchise history.

Ross Colton, who along with David Savard has been linked with an offseason move away from Tampa, scored the only goal of the game in the second period to seal the back-to-back Stanley Cup triumphs.

"We didn’t talk about it publicly, the team knows they are probably not going to be together next year," Cooper said post-game.

"It was led by Ryan McDonagh, [Patrick] Maroon and [David] Savard, that was the conservation, 'don’t let this end, it's too special a group'.

"They weren’t going to go out without raising the trophy."

The Lightning's domination in recent years has seen them not lose consecutive playoff games since the first round of the 2019 series.

Cooper added: "It's a culmination of your whole life's work. Character that can trump skill. This group has it, gamers all over the place. The players did it. I just sat their chewing gum."

Maroon earned special praise, as he celebrated lifting his third consecutive Stanley Cup, after the left-winger triumphed with the St Louis Blues in 2018-19.

"This was one special," Maroon said. "It's hard to win. [I'm] Blessed to be a part of good teams.

"It's hard to go back-to-back. To be a part of a group that's so special, it's really good.

"You can put me in some good company. I'm truly blessed."

The Montreal Canadiens are still believing after Josh Anderson's overtime goal helped them stave off a rare Stanley Cup Final series sweep with a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

The Canadiens killed off a four-minute penalty to captain Shea Weber in overtime before Anderson's goal forced a Game 5 in Tampa, with the series at 3-1 in favour of the reigning NHL champions.

Montreal would have become the first side to suffer a clean sweep defeat in the Final series since 1998, when the Detroit Red Wings won 4-0 over the Washington Capitals.

Instead, the Canadiens are the first team to score in overtime to avoid a sweep in the Stanley Cup Final since the Bruins did it in 1946 against the Canadiens.

"We didn't want to end it tonight in front of our fans," Anderson said at the post-game news conference. "We expected to go to Tampa.

"I think everybody in that locker room packed their bags this afternoon. We just had that feeling that we were going to win tonight and give ourselves a chance to go there, take care of business, and come home in front of our fans. We're in a good position now."

If Montreal can win Game 5 in Tampa, they will have home rink advantage for Game 6 at the Bell Centre. Montreal are 4-0 when facing elimination this postseason.

Anderson said the Canadiens' grit to hang on during Weber's four-minute penalty showed they could overcome adversity.

"Our penalty kill has been outstanding all playoffs, so we came back to the room and we just believed in each other," Anderson said.

"We weren't down. It was all positive things in the room. We just had to execute. I thought we did a phenomenal job.

"Carey [Price] was a wall tonight. He gave us that chance to finish it in overtime. Everyone stuck together and did their jobs."

Interim Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme added: "We're proud of what we accomplished tonight, but we don't want to just avoid seeing the Lightning players holding the Stanley Cup.

"We have no intention of stopping now. We want to go to Tampa and come back to play another game here."

Game 5 is at Tampa's Amalie Arena on Wednesday.

Reigning NHL champions the Tampa Bay Lightning are focused on closing out their Stanley Cup Final series against the Montreal Canadiens in Monday's Game 4. 

The Lightning moved to the brink of a sweep with their 6-3 win in Montreal on Friday, but have been confined to their hotel rooms for most of their stay in Canada due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

Tampa Bay know they will be heading home after Monday's game regardless, either for Game 5 on Tuesday or as back-to-back Stanley Cup winners, but the Lightning have left no doubt which option they prefer. 

"I think for us, we've been in this position before," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos told reporters on Sunday. "We understand the magnitude of the game and we understand that we really are, as much as it's cliché to say, we're focussed on the start of next game.

"All those other things work themselves out. You never know what's going to happen in the course of a game or a series. We're focussed on our start next game. We want to come out extremely hard. We realise, both teams understand the situation that they're in. We're excited for the challenge."

In last season's Final, the Lightning had a chance to clinch at home in Game 5 as they held a 2-1 lead in the third period but saw the Dallas Stars tie the contest, then win it in double overtime on a goal by Corey Perry, who is now with the Canadiens. 

Tampa Bay would emerge victorious in Game 6 to take the Cup and would love nothing more than to do so again this year without all the drama. 

"It's a learning process to go through that," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. "By no means does that guarantee the results of what's going to happen in [Monday's] game, but I know our mindset's different going into these closeout games. ...

"It's about winning, it's not about where you win. And that's all we care about."

Sweeps are rare in the Stanley Cup Final, as the Detroit Red Wings were the last to do it in 1998 against the Washington Capitals, but history is on Tampa Bay's side. 

The only NHL team to blow a 3-0 lead in the Finals are the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who ultimately fell to the Red Wings in seven. 

On the verge of a second straight Cup, the Lightning do not need to be reminded of the stakes. 

"You're in the Stanley Cup Final. You're playing against a great team over there," Stamkos said. "We've said it from whether it's the first round or the Stanley Cup Final, the fourth game is always the hardest to win. And that's the mentality we've had.

"Sometimes it takes four games. Sometimes seven. We expect that this group is going to be ready to play, and we expect that their group is going to be ready to play. No games are easy at this time of the year.

"I think for us, it's easy not to look past that. We know the difficulty of the Montreal Canadiens and what they bring to the table, and for us, it's another game."

The Tampa Bay Lightning moved to the brink of a second successive Stanley Cup triumph after a fast start helped them overcome the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3.

Jan Rutta and Victor Hedman both scored to give the Lightning an early 2-0 lead, in the process making it the first game in finals history where a team has got multiple goals from defensemen within the opening five minutes.

The Canadiens managed to halve the deficit but conceded twice more at the start of the second period, leaving them with a task they were unable to scale.

Tyler Johnson grabbed a brace as Tampa Bay ran out 6-3 winners, a result that leaves them on the cusp of glory in the best-of-seven series. However, Hedman insists there is still work to do, with Game 4 in Montreal on Monday.

"We're not there yet," Hedman, who also registered an assist, said. "We put ourselves in a good position obviously, but the fourth one is the hardest one to get. 

"We're going to do whatever it takes to win the next game. We've got more work to do, and we're not satisfied until we're done."

Montreal managed more shots on goal (35-30), though the disparity was not quite the same as in Game 2. The Canadiens had 43 attempts in the previous encounter compared to Tampa Bay's total of 23, yet still lost 3-1.

Phillip Danault, Nick Suzuki and Corey Perry were on target for Montreal in a losing cause on Friday, though they left themselves with too much to do after a disastrous start to proceedings.

"We put ourselves in a hole early, and it's tough to dig yourself out of a hole against a team like that, that plays pretty stingy," Canadiens captain Shea Weber said.

However, there is still hope for the Canadiens, who were down 3-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs before rallying to keep their season alive.

Dominique Ducharme is in interim charge after Claude Julien was fired during the regular season, though the former had been absent for the first two games of the finals while self-isolating following a positive COVID-19 test result.

"We didn't quit the whole year, no matter what was being said," center Danault said. "When it was 3-1 Toronto we didn't quit. And I can guarantee that nobody on the team is going to quit now."

The Tampa Bay Lightning acknowledged they were not at their best in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, with one critical exception. 

Another brilliant showing from goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy bought Tampa Bay enough space to scratch out a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Amalie Arena and take a 2-0 series lead. 

While the Canadiens dominated the flow of play and were the more aggressive team throughout, putting 43 shots on goal to Tampa Bay's 23, the Lightning had the decisive advantage. 

“Thankfully, there was one guy that had his level where it needed to be," Lightning veteran Ryan McDonagh said of Vasilevskiy.

Tampa Bay's netminder was beaten only on Nick Suzuki's power-play goal midway through the second period.

He has stopped 60 of Montreal's 62 shots through the first two games and has defeated the Canadiens 10 straight times, but said he found success by keeping his mind clear. 

"I'm trying not to think much during the games," Vasilevskiy said. "Whatever happens, win or lose, I'm just trying to go out there and play my best game, and now we’re up two games.

"It doesn’t matter -- up two games, down two games, it’s the same routine, same compete level.”

The 26-year-old Russian has been so good that it was jarring to see Suzuki's shot scoot past him and level the score after Anthony Cirelli had given Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead four minutes earlier. 

The moment that turned the game the Lightning's way, though, came in the closing seconds of that second period, when Barclay Goodrow stole the puck at center ice and delivered it to Blake Coleman, who managed to get a shot off with one arm while diving through the air. 

It got past Carey Price with 1.1 seconds remaining to send the Tampa crowd into a frenzy and give the Lightning a lead they would not relinquish. 

"It's definitely something you don't want to do, give up goals in the first or last minute of periods," said Canadiens captain Shea Weber. 

Despite that frustrating setback, Weber and his team will return to Montreal for Friday's Game 3 knowing they played better overall than in their 5-1 defeat to open the series. 

"I thought we played a pretty solid game all around, to be honest," Weber said. 

"We did make a couple mistakes that obviously hurt us. They're an opportunistic team that make you pay, but we probably deserved a little bit better tonight."

Andrei Vasilevskiy was labelled the "best in the world" after guiding NHL champions the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final.

Lightning goaltender Vasilevskiy starred after stopping all 18 shots he faced as the Lightning outlasted the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of the semi-finals on Friday.

Vasilevskiy produced his second shutout in three games, while Yanni Gourde scored shorthanded in the second period for the Lightning – who will face the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos hailed Vasilevskiy after the Islanders – who were trying to reach the Cup Final for the first time since 1984 – were shut out in a Game 7 for the firs time.

"I don't think we can say anything more about him," Stamkos said. "He's the best in the world for a reason. He's the steady rock that allows us to play with pace, play with confidence and play with a lead."

Canadiens star Carey Price and Vasilevskiy will be the first former Vezina winners to face each other in the Stanley Cup Final since Ed Belfour (Dallas Stars) and Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) in 1999, according to Stats Perform.

Tampa Bay's Brayden Point fell short of an NHL record after failing to score a goal in a 10th straight Stanley Cup playoff game.

Point was unable to match Philadelphia Flyers forward Reggie Leach, who scored a goal in 10 successive postseason games in 1976.

"We've come such a long way; I've been with this group for a while," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. " … It's so [darn] hard to win in this League, but last year, I just found we could win in different ways, but in the end, just the warrior mentality this group had, and it was prevalent tonight.

"After a really tough loss the other night [in Game 6], you just can't count them out. They've just learned how to defend, and again another masterful performance in the defensive zone to win a huge Game 7 for us."

The Lightning will host the Canadiens – featuring in the showpiece for the first time since 1993 – in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday.

Anthony Beauvillier says the New York Islanders had no doubt they would overturn a two-goal deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning and force a Game 7 decider in their Stanley Cup semifinal series.

Things were looking cosy for the Lightning as Brayden Point scored for an impressive ninth straight game, while Anthony Cirelli registered an assist and a goal – the only blot to that point being the loss of playoff-scoring leader Nikita Kucherov to injury in the first period.

Staring down the barrel of defeat, Jordan Eberle started New York's recovery late in the second period and Scott Mayfield levelled it up with eight minutes and 44 seconds remaining in the third with an effort that went in off the crossbar.

Beauvillier was then the hero with a first career overtime goal that proved enough for the Islanders to force a deciding game, producing an impressive response to an 8-0 loss in Game 5.

"We knew we were going to bounce back," Beauvillier said. 

"Even going down 2-0, I thought we were still on top of our game. We were having good shifts and we just stuck with it. Obviously a huge character win."

Islanders' star center Mathew Barzal said the team was relaxed despite the perilous situation.

"We knew we had a lot of time on the clock still," he added. 

"Just stuck with it and fortunate enough to get two goals and tie it up, and obviously win in overtime."

The Islanders are set to move to a new venue at UBS Arena next season and with this potentially their last at Nassau Coliseum, spectators celebrated by launching beer cans and bottles onto the rink.

"I've never seen anything like that. A little dangerous, but you don't see that too often, so we embraced it," Barzal said.

"That's the Islanders faithful – they're passionate, they get excited, and it was good stuff."

The two sides will lock horns one last time in the series in Friday's decider in Tampa.

Like everything else over the past year, the hockey world has been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic. The 2019-20 season was completed with teams playing in bubble locations in Toronto and Edmonton and the 2020 campaign will open without fans as part of a condensed 56-game season, among a slew of other changes. 

With the previous season extending several months past the normal ending date, the league had little choice but to delay the start of 2021 and to find a way to make a shortened season work. The new plan is for the regular season to end on May 8, with the Stanley Cup awarded no later than July 9. 

Of course, nothing is set in stone anymore and the NBA and NFL have had to deal with countless COVID-19 issues, so the NHL expects similar problems to arise with the pandemic experiencing another surge. The league knows it may have to adapt and games will very likely need to be rescheduled. 

The NHL has already dealt with this, as the start of the season for the Dallas Stars had to be pushed back to January 19 after six players and two staffers tested positive for coronavirus. While the completion of last season in the bubble locations was virtually flawless, teams are playing in home arenas this season, increasing the chances of players becoming infected. 

To combat this, teams will be allowed to carry taxi squads of four to six extra players who will practice and be prepared to step in when needed. 

While there is less hockey to enjoy, there are some tweaks to the upcoming season that fans will enjoy. 

The four divisions have been realigned and they include an all-Canada division of seven teams, made necessary by border restrictions. The other three divisions are mostly based on geography, but St Louis and Minnesota were shuffled into a division with the three California teams, Vegas, Arizona and Colorado. 

The Chicago-Detroit rivalry gets renewed with the Red Wings moving into the Central Division, and Tampa Bay and Dallas – last season's Stanley Cup Final participants – are now together in the Central.  

There should be no shortage of intensity this season with teams scheduled to play mostly back-to-back sets solely against teams in their own division. So, the Flyers and Penguins will meet eight times, as will the Islanders and Rangers and Kings and Ducks. The teams in the all-Canada division will face each other nine or 10 times.  

The first two playoff rounds will be played within the division, meaning the bad blood that started in the regular season could grow even deeper. The division winners will then advance to the semifinals but seeding will be based on points rather than geography.  

The new setup raises the possibility of a Stanley Cup Final between traditional East teams like the Capitals and Penguins or Canadian rivals Montreal and Toronto.   

To recoup some of the money lost by having no fans or limited fans at the start of the season in some cities, the NHL is allowing teams to include a sponsor name on their helmets and each division will also include the name of a corporate sponsor. 

The condensed season was preceded by an abbreviated training camp without exhibition games and there is concern that the start of the season will be marred by sloppy play. This could be especially true for the seven teams that have not played a game since March after they did not qualify for the expanded playoffs.  

As in any offseason, several big-name players changed teams. It will be jarring to see 43-year-old Zdeno Chara in a Capitals uniform and Joe Thornton playing for the Maple Leafs after 14 seasons in San Jose. Henrik Lundqvist would have looked strange as a member of the Capitals following an 887-game run with the Rangers, but he decided not to play this season due to a heart condition. 

Injuries will also keep some marquee players off the ice for a while. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov – the 2018-19 scoring leader – will miss the entire regular season due to hip surgery and the Stars could be without top forward Tyler Sequin (hip) and goaltender Ben Bishop (knee) until at least March.  

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is out indefinitely with an unknown illness and there is no word on whether the 12-time 20-goal scorer will play this season. 

While this season is full of unknowns and will be like no other before it, the potential is there for it to be one of the most exciting in recent memory.