Breaking down the five postseason-bound Canadian teams

The GIST: Count ’em — not one, not two, not three, not four, but five Canadian NHL teams are playoff-bound this season, the most since 2017. That means five chances to end Canada’s 32-year Stanley Cup drought. Eh-xcellent.

The Battle of Ontario takes center stage: A squad from the Great White North will definitely advance to the second round because the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators will face off in the playoffs (starting Sunday at 7 p.m. ET) for the first time since 2004. And that series was a real treat, needing a spicy series-deciding seventh game. More of that, please.

• The Leafs won that series, and all four previous postseason meetings of the provincial rivals. They also boast the higher seed this season, but the Sens can’t be underestimated: Ottawa swept the Buds across their three regular-season games.

Presidents’ Trophy–winning Winnipeg Jets skating for bigger prize: The Jets were the top regular-season squad this season, earning home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, including for tomorrow’s 6 p.m. ET series-opener vs. the St. Louis Blues. But the Presidents’ Trophy curse is no joke: Since the inception of the award in 1985, only eight winners have gone on to win the Cup.

Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens complete Canadian contingent: The two most recent Canadian Stanley Cup finalists, Edmonton’s hoping to return to the promised land after falling in seven games to the defending champ Florida Panthers last year, while the Habs are making their first postseason appearance since their finals trip in 2021.

• Montreal will have their work cut out for them vs. the beast-of-the-East Washington Capitals Monday at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the Oilers taking on their divisional foe, the LA Kings, at 10 p.m. ET. Sleep? Never heard of her.