All eight first-round matchups in the NHL playoffs are set after the last day of the regular season flipped two of the biggest series in the West.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will open against West top seed Dallas. Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings, a team they’ve defeated each of the past two years in the same round.
In the East, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers begin their championship pursuit against Washington. Cup favorite Carolina faces the New York Islanders in the first round, but any of nearly a dozen teams could win it all.
A glance at the first-round series (times Eastern):
Game 1: Sunday at New York, 3 p.m.
New York was the best team in the league. Washington needed to win its regular-season finale to get into the playoffs, doing so with an unusual empty-net goal.
The Rangers are heavily favored, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. But Capitals center Dylan Strome pointed out the teams not only split four games but each scored and allowed nine goals in the season series.
“Anything can happen in playoffs,” Strome said. “You saw what happened last year: The best team in regular-season history (Boston) loses to Florida because they had a good end of the season and they kind of carried it towards playoffs. We’ve won three in a row, we’re feeling good. The momentum’s kind of with us, and obviously we feel good.”
Game 1: Saturday at Carolina, 5 p.m.
This is a rematch from last year, when the Hurricanes beat the Islanders in six games. It's also another series pitting Carolina's Sebastian Aho (a Finnish forward) against New York's Sebastian Aho (a Swedish defenseman), no relation.
What has changed: The Islanders upgraded at coach, hiring Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy midseason, and won seven of eight games down the stretch to make a surprise run to the playoffs. Speaking of goaltending, Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen is 9-1-0 with a 1.30 goals-against average and .951 save percentage since returning from blood-clotting issues.
Game 1: Sunday at Florida, 12:30 p.m.
Defending Eastern Conference champion Florida looked on track to play Toronto in the first round until the Panthers came back to beat the Maple Leafs on Tuesday while Boston lost to Ottawa. So now they will face cross-state rival Tampa Bay.
The Lightning have 2019 Vezina Trophy winner and 2021 playoff MVP Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, while Florida has two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky. The play of the Russian goalies could decide the series.
Game 1: Saturday at Boston, 8 p.m.
A year removed from setting NHL records for the most wins and point in a season and losing in the first round, coach Jim Montgomery hopes the Bruins learned “how to handle adversity when it smacks you in the face.” That could come in the form of 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews or any of the Leafs' other elite offensive players.
Facing Boston is a chance for Toronto, which has one playoff series victory with its current core, to slay a dragon that has tormented the team. The Bruins eliminated the Leafs in 2018 and '19.
Game 1: Monday at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Congratulations on clinching the top seed in the Western Conference, Dallas. Your reward is the reigning champs getting captain Mark Stone back from a lacerated spleen just in time to make another run.
The Stars, who lost to the Golden Knights in the West final last year, have been “a wagon” down the stretch, in the words of Colorado coach Jared Bednar, looking like the class of the conference with a deep roster and a mountainous goalie in Jake Oettinger. Starting with Vegas is a steep test.
Game 1: Sunday at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
The first matchup to get locked in was Winnipeg vs. Colorado, a classic clash in styles. The high-octane Avalanche tend to overwhelm opponents but went 0-3 against the Jets this season, outscored 17-4 and never putting up more than two goals in any game and looking absolutely smothered by the best defensive team in the league in terms of goals allowed.
The most recent game was a 7-0 Jets rout in Denver, but the Avalanche, with their core mostly intact from their 2022 Cup run, know how to flip a switch when the playoffs arrive. That starts with MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon, who finished second to Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov in the scoring race and is motivated to win another championship.
Colorado's biggest question is in goal, where Alexandar Georgiev has been up, down and inconsistent. The same cannot be said of his standout counterpart, the Jets' Connor Hellebuyck.
Game 1: Sunday at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Rick Tocchet-coached Vancouver was one of the biggest surprises of the season. In October, making the playoffs would have made it a good year for the Canucks, but now they're Pacific Division champions and have their sights set on making it through the West.
Nashville stands in the way of that after a late-season 16-0-2 surge propelled the Predators into a wild-card spot in their first year under coach Andrew Brunette and with Barry Trotz in charge as general manager.
Game 1: Monday at Edmonton, 10 p.m.
Here we go again. This is the third consecutive year Edmonton and Los Angeles have played in the first round. The Oilers won each of those series and are favored to advance to face either Vancouver or Nashville after winning 46 of 69 games since the coaching change from Jay Woodcroft to Kris Knoblauch.
This could be three-time MVP Connor McDavid's chance to carry the Oilers to their first title since 1990. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl talk and look a lot like MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog did before Colorado won it all two years ago.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson, bottom, falls to the ice as Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) controls the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Dallas. All eight first-round matchups in the NHL playoffs are set after the last day of the regular season flipped two of the biggest series in the West. The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will open against the conference-champion Dallas Stars. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
The Sept. 2, 2019, blaze was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history, and prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and several ongoing lawsuits.
Captain Jerry Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer last year. The charge is a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter. It was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.
Family members pleaded with U.S. District Judge George Wu to give Boylan the maximum 10-year sentence in an impassioned hearing. Many cried, and Robert Kurtz, father of the sole deckhand killed, Alexandra Kurtz, brought a small container with him up to the lectern to address Boylan and the court.
“This is all I have of my daughter,” he said.
Yadira Alvarez is the mother of 16-year-old Berenice Felipe, who volunteered at an animal shelter and dreamed of becoming a marine biologist, and was the youngest of the 34 victims killed on the boat.
“He’s not a victim. He is responsible for my daughter not being here,” Alvarez said, while sobbing in court. “Can you imagine my pain?”
The Conception was anchored off Santa Cruz Island, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet (30 meters) from shore.
Thirty-three passengers and a crew member died, trapped in a bunkroom below deck. Among the dead were the deckhand, who had landed her dream job; an environmental scientist who conducted research in Antarctica; a globe-trotting couple; a Singaporean data scientist; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.
Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived.
During the hearing, Boylan’s attorney read a statement aloud to the court in which he expressed his condolences and said he has cried every day since the fire.
“I wish I could have brought everyone home safe,” the statement said. “I am so sorry.”
In determining a sentence, Wu said he took into account Boylan’s age, health, the unlikelihood of recurrence and the need for deterrence and punishment.
He said while Boylan’s behavior was reckless, the guidelines for sentencing would not warrant a 10-year sentence.
“This is not a situation where the defendant intended to do something bad,” Wu said.
The defense had asked the judge to sentence Boylan to a five-year probationary sentence, with three years to be served under house arrest.
Boylan’s appeal is ongoing.
Hank Garcia, whose son Daniel was among the victims, said he is not a vengeful person but he and other family members don’t want something like this to ever happen again.
“We all have a life sentence,” he told the court. “We are having a life sentence without these people that we love.”
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement: “While today’s sentence cannot fully heal their wounds, we hope that our efforts to hold this defendant criminally accountable brings some measure of healing to the families.”
Thursday's sentencing was the final step in a fraught prosecution that’s lasted nearly five years and repeatedly frustrated the victims’ families.
A grand jury in 2020 initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter, meaning he could have faced a total of 340 years behind bars. Boylan’s attorneys argued the deaths were the result of a single incident and not separate crimes, so prosecutors got a superseding indictment charging Boylan with only one count.
In 2022, Wu dismissed the superseding indictment, saying it failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence. Prosecutors were then forced to go before a grand jury again.
Although the exact cause of the blaze aboard the Conception remains undetermined, the prosecutors and defense sought to assign blame throughout the 10-day trial last year.
The government said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 75-foot (23-meter) boat.
But Boylan’s attorneys sought to pin blame on Glen Fritzler, who, with his wife, owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other scuba dive boats, often around the Channel Islands. They argued that Fritzler was responsible for failing to train the crew in firefighting and other safety measures, as well as creating a lax seafaring culture they called “the Fritzler way,” in which no captain who worked for him posted a roving watch.
The Fritzlers have not spoken publicly about the tragedy since an interview with a local TV station a few days after the fire. Their attorneys have never responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
With the conclusion of the criminal case, attention now turns to several ongoing lawsuits.
Three days after the fire, Truth Aquatics filed suit under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the value of the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers to show they were not at fault.
That case is pending, as well as others filed by victims’ families against the Coast Guard for what they allege was lax enforcement of the roving watch requirement.
After the sentencing Thursday, Susana Solano, who lost three of her daughters and their father on the boat, said she and the other family members hoped the judge would listen to their pleas.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” she said. “It’s just heartwrenching.”
Barbara Chan talks to the media about her brother, Scott and niece Kendra who were both killed in the Conception boat fire in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
United States Attorney Martin Estrada joined by law enforcement officials and victim's family talks to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Barbara Chan who's brother, Scott and niece, Kendra who were both killed in the Conception boat fire holds a composite photo of the victims in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen and Clark Mcllvain whose son Charlie died in the dive boat fire breakdown while talking to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Family members holding photos of their loved ones who died in the Conception dive boat fire leave the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen and Clark Mcllvain whose son Charlie died in the Conception dive boat fire talk to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Susana Solano-Rosas, left, talks to the media about her daughters who died in the Conception dive boat fire in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Boylan the scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen Mcllvain sheds tears while holding a photo of her son Charlie while talking to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Kathleen and Clark Mcllvain whose son Charlie died in the dive boat fire breakdown while talking to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the scuba dive boat captain, Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
United States Attorney Martin Estrada joined by law enforcement officials and victim's family talks to the media in front of the U.S. Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain Jerry Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Boylan the scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, left, followed by his defense team leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Boylan to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
FILE - A photo collage of the 34 victims of the Sept. 2, 2019 fire aboard the dive boat Conception, at Santa Cruz Island, is held by a family member arriving at federal court in Los Angeles, Oct. 25, 2023. The captain of the boat is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Barbara Chan, whose brother Raymond "Scott" Chan was among the 34 victims of a fire on the scuba dive boat Conception, holds up a photo of the victims, Oct. 24, 2023, in Los Angeles. The captain of the boat is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)
FILE - Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, right, arrives at federal court in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. The scuba dive boat captain is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a fire aboard the Conception dive boat fire in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of Southern California on Sept. 2, 2019. A scuba dive boat captain is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in the fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago. (Ventura County Fire Department via AP, File)
