{"id":607628,"date":"2026-04-16T08:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607628\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T08:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:55:13","slug":"canadian-teams-look-to-end-stanley-cup-drought-as-nhl-playoffs-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607628\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian teams look to end Stanley Cup drought as NHL playoffs begin"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NHL<\/a> playoffs are set to begin Saturday, with three Canadian teams hoping to end the country\u2019s 33-year Stanley Cup<\/a> drought.<\/p>\n

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The Ottawa Senators<\/a>, Montreal Canadiens<\/a> and Edmonton Oilers<\/a> are all in the post-season, with fans across the country looking for a long-awaited championship run.<\/p>\n

In Ottawa, excitement is building as the Senators prepare for the first round.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited. I think Sens fans show up every time they are in the playoffs, but I\u2019m a lifelong Sens guy,\u201d one fan told Global. \u201cI hope we do better than last year, obviously, but it should be fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Senators face a difficult opening matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

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Montreal is also generating optimism among fans, with some suggesting the Canadiens could offer Canada its best chance at ending the drought. The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was Montreal in 1993.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey have great elements throughout the team, great goaltending lately,\u201d said one fan. \u201cThey\u2019re a fun team to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Edmonton, the Oilers are once again in contention after coming close to winning the Stanley Cup in recent years. The team, led by captain Connor McDavid, is aiming to build on those deep playoff runs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t fathom the amount of heartbreak that that poor guy has felt in the past two years \u2014 two Stanley Cup final losses,\u201d said Quinn Phillips, co-host of The Bits Podcast.<\/p>\n

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Beyond the teams themselves, the playoffs are expected to bring a boost to bars and restaurants, particularly if a Canadian team advances to the later rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecond, third round\u2026 that\u2019s when things get really great,\u201d said Ernie Tsu of the Alberta Hospitality Association.<\/p>\n

With only three Canadian teams in the playoffs, fans in other cities will be watching closely and likely cheering for a team outside their home market.<\/p>\n

For many, the hope remains the same \u2014 that this year, a Canadian team will finally bring the Stanley Cup back north of the border.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NHL playoffs are set to begin Saturday, with three Canadian teams hoping to end the country\u2019s 33-year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[49,48,453,743,448,744,82,2902],"class_list":{"0":"post-607628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-edmonton-oilers","11":"tag-montreal-canadiens","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-ottawa-senators","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-stanley-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}