Author: Mike Brehm, USA TODAY

USA TODAY Sports has everything you need to know about the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs, including first-round matchups.

Washington Capitals coach Peter Laviolette won’t be back next season after the team’s eight-season playoff streak came to an end.

Three NHL division titles, playoff matchups and the best draft lottery odds are up for grabs as the league plays a 15-game schedule on Thursday.

The NHL playoffs will not feature the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time since 2006. What went wrong for Sidney Crosby and Co. this season?

The Boston Bruins entered the season with concerns about injuries to two star players. They survived that and set the NHL record for wins in a season.

Saturday was already a record day with 16 NHL games for the first time. Several milestones on the ice provided an exclamation point.

The Seattle Kraken bounced back from a last-place finish in their inaugural season to secure a NHL playoff berth in the franchise’s second season.

LSU’s victory against Iowa on ABC Sunday afternoon had a peak of 12.6 million viewers and averaged nearly 10 million, ESPN announced.

Carson Briere, who has been charged in the wheelchair incident at a bar in Erie, Pennsylvania, was dismissed from the Mercyhurst hockey team.

USA TODAY Sports is here with everything you need to know about the NHL playoffs, including potential first-round matchups.