Choose your own adventure

The GIST: The first rule of the playoffs is to stay in the playoffs, but that’s easier said than done. As the first round rages on in both the NHL and NBA here’s a round-up of the eliminated teams and the squads who could be next.

🏒 On the ice: Two teams eliminated

• ❤️ The Ottawa Senators were the first team sent packing, falling 4–2 to the Eastern Conference–best Carolina Hurricanes in Saturday’s feisty Game 4. A sweeping storm surge.

• 👑 The LA Kings also fell victim to the broom, losing 5–1 to the Presidents’ Trophy–winning Colorado Avalanche yesterday. Curse? What curse?

• ❌ Three more teams could see their seasons end before our next newsletter: the Boston Bruins (down 3-1 to the Buffalo Sabres), Pittsburgh Penguins (down 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers), and the Edmonton Oilers (down 3-1 to the Anaheim Ducks).

🏀 On the court: Five teams on the cusp of elimination

• 🚀 The Houston Rockets (down 3-1) staved off elimination with last night’s 115–96 win over the LA Lakers, forcing a Game 5 on Wednesday. Houston, no problems just yet.

• ☀️ The Phoenix Suns are topping the NBA spring cleaning list, down 3-0 to the defending champ Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of tonight’s 9:30 p.m. ET Game 4.

• 👀 Other squads on the chopping block include the Philadelphia 76ers (down 3-1 to the Boston Celtics), the Denver Nuggets (down 3-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves), and the Portland Trail Blazers (down 3-1 to the San Antonio Spurs after a historic collapse).

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The GIST: The regular season is in the books and the playoff matchups are officially set ahead of postseason puck drop on Thursday. That means it’s time for the league’s innovative rule book to really shine — let’s brush up.

🫨 No. 1 seed Montréal Victoire chooses No. 3 Minnesota Frost as semifinal opponent: Finishing atop the regular-season standings not only secures home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs — the No. 1 seed also earns the right to choose whether they’ll face the third or fourth seed in the best-of-five semis.

• Montréal picked the two-time defending champ Frost, a team they went undefeated against in the regular season, leaving the No. 2 Boston Fleet to face the No. 4 Ottawa Charge.

• Notably, the top seed was bounced by their semis opponent in the previous two PWHL seasons. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

⭐ Vancouver Goldeneyes land No. 1 pick in 2026 PWHL Draft: The expansion team Goldeneyes earned the right to draft generational talent Caroline Harvey after defeating Minnesota 4–3 in overtime during Saturday’s regular-season finale. Here’s why:

• The PWHL rewards effort from already-eliminated playoff teams, granting draft points for late-season wins as part of a system called the Gold Plan. Perhaps some other leagues should take note.

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