Editors:
To help you with NHL postseason coverage, here are some of AP’s plans with games starting April 18. Please direct questions to Dave Zelio (dzelio@ap.org). For up-to-the-minute information on daily coverage throughout the playoffs, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477. All times Eastern.
— AP will provide coverage of every game, with in-person photo staffing, and final updates of about 500 words. Sidebars on merit.
— Season wrapups on individual teams will move on merit only.
— Each playoff series will get a preview the day before Game 1, approximately 600 words with photos.
— During the first two rounds, we plan to send a daily HKN--FACEOFF fixture, featuring the top storylines looking ahead to the next day’s games. Other stories will move on merit.
— A playoff guide is planned and will be updated periodically throughout the playoffs.
HKN--PLAYOFF MATCHUPS — The eight first-round matchups get set on the final day of the regular season, and unlike previous years, none of the series have been known for several months. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. Text, photos April 15.
HKN—EAST PREVIEW — The Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning are the most seasoned playoff teams in an Eastern Conference field with lots of new blood. That includes the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders following unexpectedly quick turnarounds, and Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are back after a three-year absence. It’s anyone’s guess who gets through to the Stanley Cup final. By Hockey Writer John Wawrow. Text, photos. April 16.
HKN—WEST PREVIEW — Three of the NHL’s top five teams are all in the Central Division, a brutal test for the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild. Then there’s Connor McDavid and the back-to-back Western Conference-champion Edmonton Oilers looking to finally break through and win the Stanley Cup, doing so on a Pacific Division side that looks like an easier path through the playoffs. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. Text, photos April 16.
HKN—PLAYOFFS-BY THE NUMBERS — A numerical look at the 2026 NHL playoffs, from the favorites to the long shots and what to expect in the four-round tournament for the Stanley Cup. Text, photos April 17.
HKN—PLAYOFFS-THINGS TO KNOW — The back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are not in the playoffs, the first to miss the year after winning in over a decade. Neither are the Winnipeg Jets, a season after being atop the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche have been the league’s best team this season, but they will have to earn their way through a stacked Western Conference. A new Cup winner will be crowned, with serious potential to have a team hoist it that has not in a long time. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. Text, photos April 12. With HKN—PLAYOFFS GUIDE.
HKN—AWARDS WATCH — Who wins the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP is a test of whether the award goes to the best hockey player in the league or the most valuable. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid are tops in points, while San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini and the New York Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer are outsized reasons why their teams were way better than most expected. By Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow. Text, photos April 13.
HKN--PLAYOFF RULES-EXPLAINER -- Why is one of the top five teams in the NHL guaranteed to be eliminated in the first round? What do teams need to do now that a playoff salary cap is in place? A look at rules new and old on the way to the Stanley Cup being awarded. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. Text, photos April 14.
HKN--GOALTENDING ADJUSTMENT — NHL goaltenders are stopping fewer shots than at any point this century The average save percentage is under .900 for the first time since 1996 and may be the lowest since ’94. Goalies have only gotten better, but improvement of skilled shooters and the speed of hockey is forcing a recalculation of what is considered success at the sport’s most important position. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. Text, photos April 14.
HKN—SABRES-DROUGHT IS OVER — When Taylor Hall signed with the Sabres several years ago, he said the NHL is better when Buffalo is good. It has been a while since that was the case. For Hall and many others who endured part or all of a decade of losing in one of hockey’s best markets, there is joy from afar in seeing the Sabres end the longest playoff drought in league history. By Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno. Text, photos. April 15.
