Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

Here are the series-by-series schedules for the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The second round consists of four best-of-7 series, two in the Eastern Conference and two in the Western Conference.  EASTERN CONFERENCE Toronto Maple Leafs (A2) vs. Florida Panthers (WC2) Panthers lead series, 1-0 Game 1: Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 2 Thu., May 4: Panthers at Maple Leafs; 7 p.m.; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS Sun, May 7: Maple Leafs at Panthers, 6:30 p.m.; TBS, SN, CBC, TVAS Wed., May 10: Maple Leafs at Panthers, 7 p.m.; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS *Fri., May 12: Panthers at Maple Leafs, TBD; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS *Sun., May 14: Maple Leafs at Panthers, TBD; SN, CBC, TVAS *Tue., May 16: Panthers at Maple Leafs, TBD; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS Carolina Hurricanes (M1) vs. New Jersey Devils (M2) Hurricanes lead series, 1-0 Game 1: Hurricanes 5, Devils 1 Fri., May 5: Devils at Hurricanes, 8 p.m.; TNT, SN, TVAS Sun., May 7: Hurricanes at Devils, 3:30 p.m.; TBS, SN1, TVAS Tue., May 9: Hurricanes at Devils, 7 ...

For several years now, NHL fans have been complaining about the NHL's current playoff format which has without a doubt had an impact on the outcome of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now, one of the league's top stars, Sidney Crosby, has echoed those sentiments stating how he missed the league's old playoff format, and that it would be the best way to reward the best teams over the course of the regular season. To refresh everyone's memory, From 1993 to 2013, the NHL had three divisions in each conference, with the three division winners grabbing the top three seeds. After that, it was just based on overall points, with the No. 1 seed playing the No. 8 seed, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No, 5. The teams would also re-seed after the first round. The current NHL Playoff format has the 1 seed in each conference playing the 2nd wildcard team, 2nd the seed team in each conference plays the 1st wildcard team; After that, the other two first-round matchups were ba...