Central Division first round (C1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (C4) Nashville Predators The Carolina Hurricanes finished first in the Central Division earning 80 points. Nashville finished as the fourth seed in the Central Division, earning 64 points. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Carolina won six of eight games in this year's regular season series. The Hurricanes defeated the Predators in six games. Hurricanes captain
Jordan Staal scored twice in game one to give Carolina a 5–2 victory. In game two,
Alex Nedeljkovic made 32 saves for the Hurricanes in a 3–0 shutout victory. Back in Nashville for game three,
Juuse Saros stopped 52 shots and
Matt Duchene scored at 14:54 of double-overtime for the Predators to emerge victorious 5–4. In game four, Juuse Saros made 58 saves for the Predators, defeating the Hurricanes 3–2 in double-overtime on
Luke Kunin's snap shot goal. The Hurricanes forced overtime in game five, and in the extra period, Jordan Staal scored during a 4-on-4 to defeat the Predators 3–2 and take a 3–2 series lead. In game six, the Hurricanes overcame a two-goal deficit to force overtime, where
Sebastian Aho scored on a deflected shot to send Carolina to the second round.
(C2) Florida Panthers vs. (C3) Tampa Bay Lightning The Florida Panthers finished second in the Central Division with 79 points. The Tampa Bay Lightning earned 75 points to finish third in the Central Division. This was the first playoff meeting between these two
rivals. Florida won five of eight games in this year's regular season series. This was also the first postseason match-up between two Florida-based professional sports teams since the National Football League's
1999 AFC Divisional playoffs where the
Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the
Miami Dolphins. The Lightning defeated the Panthers in six games. Upon his return from hip surgery in game one, Tampa Bay forward
Nikita Kucherov scored twice and
Brayden Point, on a breakaway attempt, scored with 1:14 left in the game to give the Lightning a 5–4 victory. In game two, Lightning goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves for Tampa Bay as they defeated Florida 3–1 to take a 2–0 series lead. In game three, the Panthers gave up five goals in the second period; however, after a goalie change, Florida forced overtime where
Ryan Lomberg scored to end the game 6–5 for the Panthers. The goaltending woes of the Panthers continued in game four when
Sergei Bobrovsky allowed five goals on fourteen shots giving the Lightning a 3–1 series lead after a 6–2 rout. In game five, Florida opted to start rookie goaltender
Spencer Knight whose 36 saves paid dividends for the Panthers in a 4–1 victory and extending a sixth game. Vasilevskiy held the fort for the Lightning in game six, posting a 29–save shutout in a 4–0 victory, advancing his team to the Second Round.
East Division first round (E1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (E4) New York Islanders The Pittsburgh Penguins finished first in the East Division earning 77 points, winning the tiebreaker against Washington with 34 . The New York Islanders earned 71 points to finish fourth in the East Division. This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with New York winning four of the five previous series. They last met in the
2019 Eastern Conference first round, which New York won in a four-game sweep. Pittsburgh won six of eight games in this year's regular season series. The Islanders defeated the Penguins in six games. In game one, with
Semyon Varlamov out as goaltender for New York,
Ilya Sorokin stepped in and made 39 saves for the Islanders, defeating Pittsburgh in overtime on
Kyle Palmieri's goal.
Tristan Jarry made 37 saves for the Penguins in game two who emerged victorious by the score of 2–1. The Islanders attempted a rally in the third period of game three after being down by two goals. The comeback was spoiled at 16:24 when Penguins forward
Brandon Tanev scored to make it 5–4. The Islanders played defensively in game four with Sorokin stopping 29 shots in a 4–1 victory, tying the series 2–2. In game five, heading into double-overtime,
Josh Bailey scored 51 seconds into the period for the Islanders to give his team a 3–2 series lead in a 3–2 victory.
Brock Nelson scored twice and provided an assist in New York's game six victory, advancing to the Second Round with a 5–3 triumph.
(E2) Washington Capitals vs. (E3) Boston Bruins The Washington Capitals finished second in the East Division with 77 points, losing the tiebreaker against Pittsburgh with 33 . The Boston Bruins earned 73 points to finish third in the East Division. This was the fourth playoff series between these two teams, with Washington winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the
2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, which Washington won in seven games. Washington won their round-robin game in the
previous year's Stanley Cup Qualifiers 2–1. These teams split their eight-game regular season series. The Bruins defeated the Capitals in five games. In game one, with the teams tied at two a-piece after the third period, Capitals forward
Nic Dowd scored at 4:41 of overtime to give Washington their first victory of the series. With game two tied 3–3 and heading into overtime again, the Bruins'
Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into the first overtime period to tie the series 1–1. In game three, the two teams extended into overtime for the third consecutive game where Capitals's goalie
Ilya Samsonov misplayed the puck behind the net and Bruins forward
Craig Smith scored in double overtime to give Boston a 3–2 victory.
David Pastrnak scored a goal and provided an assist in Boston's 4–1 victory of game four, taking a 3–1 series and a chance to advance in game five. In game five, captain
Patrice Bergeron scored twice for the Bruins, ending the series with a 3–1 victory.
North Division first round (N1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (N4) Montreal Canadiens The Toronto Maple Leafs finished first in the North Division earning 77 points. The Montreal Canadiens earned 59 points to finish fourth in the North Division. This was the sixteenth playoff meeting between these two
rivals, with Montreal winning eight of the fifteen previous series. They last met in the
1979 Stanley Cup quarterfinals, which Montreal won in a four-game sweep. Toronto won seven of ten games in this year's regular season series. The Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs in seven games after being down 3–1 in the series. In game one, Maple Leafs captain
John Tavares got upended by
Ben Chiarot; while falling to the ice, Canadiens forward
Corey Perry attempted to jump over Tavares' head; however, Perry's knee clipped the Toronto captain in the head. Ultimately, Tavares required a stretcher to leave the ice and was transported to the hospital. After the game, Perry expressed sincere remorse for his actions stating "I don’t know what else to do there. I tried to jump. I know Johnny pretty well and just hope he’s OK." The Canadiens won the game 2–1 on
Carey Price's 35 saves along with
Paul Byron's shorthanded game-winning goal in the third period. In game two,
Auston Matthews scored a goal and two assists in the Maple Leafs' 5–1 victory to tie the series 1–1. The victory was their first playoff win over Montreal since their Stanley Cup-clinching game. In game three, the Maple Leafs scored twice in the second period, and with
Jack Campbell's 28-save performance, secured a 2–1 victory. Campbell continued his goaltending prowess into game four with a 4–0 shutout victory, stopping all 32 shots he faced and granting the Maple Leafs a 3–1 series lead. In game five, the Canadiens grabbed a 3–0 lead in the second period, however, the Maple Leafs tied the game with 8:06 left in the third period to force overtime. In overtime, Toronto forward
Alex Galchenyuk gave the puck away causing a 2-on-0 break for rookie
Cole Caufield and
Nick Suzuki, the latter of which scored to spoil the Maple Leafs comeback and forced a sixth game. The first two periods of game six remained scoreless until the third period where Montreal scored two power-play goals. In the final nine minutes, Toronto evened the score to send it to overtime where Maple Leafs defenceman
Travis Dermott gave the puck up to Paul Byron who passed it towards
Jesperi Kotkaniemi for the game-winning goal at 15:15, tying the series 3–3 with a 3–2 victory. Canadiens goalie Carey Price made 30 saves in game seven, defeating Toronto 3–1 and completing a 3–1 series comeback. With the victory, Montreal ties the NHL record for most series victories after being down 3–1 in a series.
(N2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (N3) Winnipeg Jets The Edmonton Oilers finished second in the North Division with 72 points. The Winnipeg Jets earned 63 points to finish third in the North Division. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was also the first Stanley Cup playoff meeting between these two cities since the
1990 Smythe Division semifinals. Edmonton won seven of nine games in this year's regular season series. The Jets defeated the Oilers in their first four-game sweep in franchise history. In game one,
Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for the Jets, defeating the Oilers 4–1. Hellebuyck continued to his goaltending dominance in game two as the Oilers poured off 38 shots and no goals in a 1–0 overtime shutout loss. In game three, the Oilers jumped out to a 4–1 lead in the third period; the Jets were able to tie the game less than ten minutes later, with all three goals coming in a span of just over three minutes to force overtime. In overtime,
Nikolaj Ehlers, who had been injured up to this game, scored to complete the comeback and snatch a 3–0 series lead. With game four headed into triple-overtime, the Jets ended the marathon with
Kyle Connor's series-clinching goal at 6:52, sweeping the Oilers in four games upon a 4–3 victory.
West Division first round (W1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (W4) St. Louis Blues The Colorado Avalanche earned the
Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team with 82 points, winning the tiebreaker against the Vegas Golden Knights with 35 . St. Louis finished as the fourth seed in the West Division, earning 63 points. This was the second playoff series between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the
2001 Western Conference Final, which Colorado won in five games. Colorado won their round-robin game in the
previous year's Stanley Cup Qualifiers 2–1. Colorado won five of eight games in this year's regular season series. The Avalanche defeated the Blues in a four-game sweep. In Game 1, the Avalanche shot the puck 50 times throughout the game with
Nathan MacKinnon potting two goals and an assist in a 4–1 victory. MacKinnon scored a hat-trick in Game 2 as the Avalanche defeated the Blues 6–3. During the game, Avalanche forward
Nazem Kadri hit Blues defenceman
Justin Faulk in the head. Kadri would be suspended for eight games for the hit, although he filed an appeal, the suspension was upheld on May 31. In Game 3, Avalanche defenceman
Ryan Graves scored a goal and two assists and
Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves to defeat the Blues 5–1 and take a commanding 3–0 series lead. In Game 4, the Avalanche offensively drained the Blues with 34 shots and, with two empty-net goals, Colorado defeated St. Louis 5–2 to advance to the Second Round.
(W2) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (W3) Minnesota Wild The Vegas Golden Knights finished second in the West Division with 82 points, losing the tiebreaker against Colorado with 30 . The Minnesota Wild earned 75 points to finish third in the West Division. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Minnesota won five of eight games in this year's regular season series. The Golden Knights defeated the Wild in seven games after having a 3–1 series lead. Vegas goalie
Marc-Andre Fleury made NHL history in Game 1, becoming the first goaltender to start at least one game during the playoffs in fifteen consecutive seasons. However, his team ended up losing the game in an overtime shutout via Wild goalie
Cam Talbot's 42-save performance and
Joel Eriksson Ek's goal. In Game 2,
Alex Tuch scored twice for the Golden Knights, winning the match 3–1. In Game 3, the Golden Knights scored five straight after being down 2–0 in the first period en route to a 5–2 victory. Fleury shut out the Wild in Game 4, stopping all 35 shots he faced in a 4–0 victory taking a 3–1 series lead. On the brink in Game 5, the Wild were minimized to 14 shots, however, they scored 4 times and turned away 38 shots to win 4–2 and extend the series to a sixth game. The Wild staved off elimination in Game 6, scoring three goals in the third period of Cam Talbot's 23-save shutout to win 3–0. In Game 7,
Mattias Janmark scored a hat-trick for the Golden Knights, preventing the Wild from completing a 3–1 series comeback with a 6–2 rout. ==Second round==