National Hockey

From rivalries to repeats, there'll be a lot on the line when the NHL playoffs begin on Wednesday.

Mike Smith and David Rittich helped the Calgary Flames finish first in the Western Conference. Yet there are still questions about how far those goalies can carry their team in the playoffs.

Henrik Lundqvist liked how he started the season. The 37-year-old New York Rangers goalie wasn't so pleased with how he played toward the end. He was 15-12-7 with a 3.

CHICAGO — Patrick Kane dazzled once again. Jonathan Toews put together one of his best seasons, and Alex DeBrincat took another step forward. And it didn't matter all that much. Not to them, anyway.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres' dreadful second-half free-fall left general manager Jason Botterill no choice but to fire coach Phil Housley after his second year on the job.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Tom Wilson tries not to read everything about him on social media. You'd think being on the receiving end of endless tweets and messages that are, well, not suitable for work would be reason enough to skip them.

As the Minnesota Wild crawled to the end of this fruitless season, there was no more fitting way to finish. Back-to-back blanks.

DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings ended a third straight season without a post-season bid, counting on a core of players 24 years old and younger to end the post-season drought next year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Through an odd, erratic season for the Columbus Blue Jackets, nobody has had a bumpier ride than star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. A high-profile contract issue, a slump, a disciplinary suspension and a humiliating healthy scratch.

With the NHL playoffs set to begin Wednesday, The Canadian Press takes a look at all eight first-round series.