National Hockey

WINNIPEG — Holding a 2-1 lead in the third period in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series in Winnipeg, the Minnesota Wild knew they had to keep the puck away from Patrik Laine. They failed.

PITTSBURGH — The sluggish opening three months. The so-so finish. The only occasional attention to detail on defence . None of it matters anymore. The playoffs are here. The champs are, too.

SEATTLE — During his first stint in Seattle, Tod Leiweke helped develop the Seattle Seahawks into a benchmark franchise. He's returning to the Northwest this time with a chance to build a franchise from scratch — pending NHL approval.

NASHVILLE — The moment the Predators have been waiting for since June 11 finally is here. After failing to force a Game 7 for the Stanley Cup, Nashville is back in the post-season eager to chase hockey's ultimate prize once again.

TAMPA, Fla. — The top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning are well aware that the speedy New Jersey Devils are a dangerous opponent that can't be taken lightly in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Having known mostly success over the past decade with the Penguins, Jason Botterill received a sobering introduction to life at the bottom of the NHL during his first season as Buffalo Sabres general manager.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Although the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks both have been regular Stanley Cup playoff participants for the past 15 years, the California rivals somehow met in the post-season only once before this week.

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins remember what happened last time they met Toronto in the NHL playoffs. They also realize they can't count on it happening again.

NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils are heading into the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and not surprisingly half the roster has never competed in a NHL post-season game. The newbies in the Cup chase include leading scorer Taylor Hall, No.

Sidney Crosby saw Jakub Voracek's glove on the ice and wasn't going to let his opponent pick it up easily.