The Washington Capitals just missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025-26. With the season coming to an end, the focus is moving to the offseason and the future of Alex Ovechkin with the Capitals.

With the conclusion of the NHL’s regular season, the 2025-26 Stanley Cup Playoffs are on the horizon. The local Pittsburgh Penguins have qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-2022 season,

Sidney Crosby voiced a straightforward message after the Pittsburgh Penguins avoided being swept by the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The NHL teams are set to face off for this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, with games starting on Saturday. It's a bit of a shakeup this year, with more than five teams qualifying that didn't make the cut last year and the back-to-back championship team failing to secure a spot.

The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years, hoisting the trophy in both 2024 and 2025. A team has not three-peated the Stanley Cup since the Islanders won four straight from 1980-1983. But with the Panthers out of playoff contention and a three-peat off the table, a new team will be named champion at the end of the postseason.

The Penguins won that series in five games, the first-ever playoff series win against the Flyers in Pittsburgh's history. A year later, in the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the Penguins beat the Flyers again, winning the series 4-2 en route to winning the Stanley Cup.

Lindy Ruff has aimed to keep a measured, small-picture approach as he’s helped steer the Buffalo Sabres through the early stages of these 2026 playoffs. Going on the road and responding to a frustrating Game 2 loss was one test.