Patrick Kane headlines long list of ex-Blackhawks in Stanley Cup playoffs

It's Christmas in April every year for hockey fans.

As soon as the regular season ends, they are besieged with a smorgasbord of juicy, enticing Stanley Cup playoff matchups that make the mouth water.

Anything is possible right now, which is what makes the league's postseason the most compelling in sports.

It's a feeling Blackhawks players haven't truly felt in six years when they were stunned and swept by the Nashville Predators. (Yes, the Hawks qualified for the bizarre bubble playoffs in 2020, but that was a joke considering they finished 24th out of 32 teams).

While the Hawks likely will not experience this feeling again for a few years, some of their former players are raring to go.

Tops among them is Patrick Kane, who will attempt to help the New York Rangers navigate a tough first-round series against the New Jersey Devils.

"You can kind of forget how things are when you're winning," Kane told the Athletic. "The coaches and players here, the attention is all on the games. The past few years for me, the focus has been more on practice, on development, getting young guys better. ...

"Here, it's all about the games. It's nice to be back in that world."

Kane waived his no-movement clause so that Hawks GM Kyle Davidson could engineer a trade with the Rangers. Kane hasn't returned to superstar status in New York, but he did have 5 goals and 7 assists in 19 games. He sat out the last two contests to rest his hip.

Keep an eye on how the Rangers fare on the power play against the Devils. Coach Gerard Gallant has obviously felt compelled to put Kane on the top unit, but chemistry is a fickle thing and it seems like Vladimir Tarasenko is jelling better with Artemi Panarin.

It would be controversial, but Gallant may want to consider moving Kane to the second unit if the PP fizzles against New Jersey.

Plenty of other former Hawks could play large roles in the playoffs. Chief among them are:

• Brandon Hagel, who scored 30 goals for Tampa Bay. The Lightning are attempting to reach the Stanley Cup Final for a fourth straight time.

• Max Domi (20 goals), who was traded to Dallas at this year's deadline. The Stars will have their hands full with Ryan Hartman (15 goals in 59 games), Marc-Andre Fleury (.908 save percentage, 2.85 GAA) and the Minnesota Wild.

• Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty, who were traded to Toronto. The Maple Leafs are trying to get out of the first round for the first time since 2004.

• Veteran defenseman Jack Johnson, who returned to Colorado and will try to help the Avs repeat as champs.

• Teuvo Teravainen, who had a disappointing 12-goal season. Teravainen, who won a Cup as with the Hawks in 2015, needs to be at his best or the Hurricanes could get upset by the Islanders.

There are a few others, but most Hawks fans will be watching - and likely rooting - for Kane. If the Rangers advance to the conference finals, the second-round pick the Hawks acquired for Kane will become a first-rounder.

So what about former teammate Jonathan Toews? Will he cheer on the Rangers?

Sounds like yes - as difficult as that is to admit.

"Early on in our career, there was always some healthy competition - maybe sometimes not so healthy," Toews said with a smile after the Hawks' season finale. "But we're both at that point in our lives where we're happy for each other's success.

"I wish him all the best and I don't want to sit here and admit I'm going to be a Rangers fan, but I'll always be a Patrick Kane fan. Hope to see him do well in the postseason this year. ...

"He's a competitor, just a true professional, and I like any chance I get to mention how much of an impact he's had on the game. I don't know if he gets quite the credit he deserves for how he's influenced the young players nowadays. ...

"It says so much about what he's accomplished in this game. So yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing him have more success and do what he does best down the stretch here."

Stanley Cup playoffs: First-round predictions by John Dietz

<b>WESTERN CONFERENCE</b>Seattle (46-26-8) vs. Colorado (50-24-7)

The skinny: Those who believe the Avs (16-2-1 last 19 games) are going to waltz into the second round need to realize the Kraken are perhaps the league's most well-balanced team. Seattle has six 20-goal scorers and a dozen who have 13-plus. That incredible depth could serve the Kraken well, but it's hard to imagine they can beat the Avs four times with goalies Martin Jones and Philipp Grubauer.

Prediction: Avs in 5

<b>Dallas (47-21-14) vs. Minnesota (46-25-11)</b>The skinny: Dallas sports one of the best lines in the league in Jason Robertson (46 goals, 63 assists), Roope Hintz (37G, 38A) and Joe Pavelski (28G, 49A), but the Stars' offense falls off pretty quickly after that. Meanwhile, Minnesota has Kirill Kaprizov (40 goals), Matt Boldy (31 goals) and goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. Should be a back-and-forth series that goes down to the end.

Prediction: Stars in 7

<b>Vegas (51-22-9) vs. Winnipeg (46-33-3)</b>The skinny: The Golden Knights, who won the Pacific Division for the third time in their six-year existence, are extremely deep defensively and should be able to contain the high-flying Jets. Keep an eye on blue-liners Alex Pietrangelo (11 goals, 24 minutes average time on ice), Shea Theodore (8 goals, 21:26 ATOI), 35-year-old Alec Martinez (19:13 ATOI) and former Chicago Wolves Zach Whitecloud (5 goals, 17:07 ATOI) and Nicolas Hague (18:05 ATOI).

Prediction: Golden Knights in 6

<b>Edmonton (50-23-9) vs. Los Angeles (47-25-10)</b>The skinny: Not only did Connor McDavid put together a ridiculous 153-point season, but teammates Leon Draisaitl (52G, 76A) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (37G, 67A) also eclipsed the 100-point plateau. Edmonton's defense and goaltending isn't Grade A, but this team is too talented to be eliminated in the first round.

Prediction: Oilers in 5

<b>EASTERN CONFERENCE</b><b>Florida (42-32-8) vs. Boston (65-12-5)</b>The skinny: This series could be closer than many think as these teams split their season series (Florida winning once in OT). The Panthers closed the season on a 6-1-1 run and have a pair of 40-goal scorers in Carter Verhaeghe (42) and Matthew Tkachuk (40). Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (40-6-1, .938, 1.89) is going to be tough to beat four times, however.

Predictions: Bruins in 6

<b>Tampa Bay (46-30-6) vs. Toronto (50-21-11)</b>The skinny: This might be the most entertaining series in the opening round as both squads boast four 30-goal scorers. Brayden Point led the way for the Lightning with 51 tallies and former Hawks forward Brandon Hagel poured in 30. Tampa Bay, however, closed the season losing eight of 12. Still, the Maple Leafs have dropped six straight first-round series and haven't advanced to the second round in 19 years.

Prediction: Lightning in 7

<b>New York Islanders (42-31-9) vs. Carolina (52-21-9)</b>The skinny: The Hurricanes were one of the most dominant teams in the league, but losing Andrei Svechnikov to a season-ending injury is a big issue. Meanwhile, the Islanders are getting Matthew Barzal (37 goals in 58 games) back, and goaltender Ilya Sorokin has been terrific since mid-February, going 14-5-3 with a .926 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average. Should be an intense, low-scoring series with multiple overtime games.

Prediction: Islanders in 7

<b>New York Rangers (47-22-13) vs. New Jersey (52-22-8)</b>The skinny: The Rangers have a whopping nine players who scored 15 or more goals, including newcomers Patrick Kane (21) and Vladimir Tarasenko (18). The playoffs, however, are normally about defense and staying healthy. So how is Kane doing? His health will be key for the Rangers in this series and beyond.

Prediction: Rangers in 6