THE ULTIMATE HOCKEY SPECTACLE BEGINS: 16 TEAMS EMBARK ON THE JOURNEY FOR THE STANLEY CUP

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April 19, 2025

Hold your breath – the most-watched hockey event of the year is finally here! The 2025 NHL playoffs kick off on Saturday, offering fans worldwide two months of intense battles, unexpected twists, and hockey magic at the highest level. From the opening face-off to the final siren – every game, every shift, and every goal counts.

"The regular season and playoffs are two completely different worlds," says Connor Bedard, the star forward of the defending champions Florida Panthers. "In the playoffs, you must be prepared for absolute self-sacrifice. Every blocked shot, every board battle, every second on the ice decides whether you advance or your season ends."

The Panthers enter the elimination rounds as the defending champions. The Florida team, led by captain Aleksander Barkov and last year's first overall draft pick Connor Bedard, will want to prove that last year's triumph was no fluke. Their journey to the Stanley Cup in 2024 wrote one of the most surprising stories in modern NHL history – as a wild card team, they marched all the way to the absolute pinnacle.

"Nobody believed in us, everyone wrote us off. This year the situation is different; we're under scrutiny, and opponents are preparing for us extra carefully," admits Panthers coach Paul Maurice. "But our mentality remains the same – we focus only on the next game and don't worry about anything else."

The playoff system remains traditional – 16 teams (8 from each conference) will compete in series played to four wins. The first round is seeded according to regular season standings, with division winners playing against wild card teams and second-place teams facing third-place finishers within their divisions.

Hockey fans will certainly appreciate that in case of a tie after regulation time, overtime follows in a 5-on-5 format, played in twenty-minute periods until a decision is reached. This aspect makes the NHL playoffs an absolutely unique spectacle – it's not uncommon for teams to go through double or triple overtime, placing extreme demands on players' physical and mental resilience.

An interesting point frequently discussed in hockey circles is the so-called "Presidents' Trophy curse." The team that wins the regular season and earns this trophy has home-ice advantage for all playoff series, but statistics show this is far from a guarantee of success. Since 2000, only three regular season champions have subsequently managed to win the Stanley Cup.

"The trophy is nice, but we all know what we're really going for," commented the captain of the team with the best regular season record. "In the playoffs, we all start from zero, and the difference between victory and defeat is often found in the details."

The NHL elimination battles rank among the most demanding sporting events in the world. Teams must overcome four opponents on the path to the silver grail, which in total means needing to win 16 games. When you add the physical demands of hockey, frequent travel across North America, and enormous pressure, it's no wonder that winning the Stanley Cup is considered one of the most difficult achievements in the world of sports.

For European fans, the playoffs are associated with late-night broadcasts and sleepy mornings at work or school. Games usually begin between 1:00 and 4:00 AM Central European Time, but dedicated followers of the sport won't miss even a minute of the elimination battles.

Regardless of which team you support, one thing is certain – the next two months will offer the best that world hockey can provide. Unforgettable moments, dramatic twists, and stories that will be talked about for many years to come. It all starts this Saturday!

Photo: source XYZ