Nikita Kucherov

The last time the Pittsburgh Penguins came into the playoffs as two-time defending Stanley Cup champions was in the spring of 1993. They did so with an NHL-best 119 points during the regular season, and rode a league-record 17-game winning streak into the postseason. But the Penguins were eliminated in the second round by the New York Islanders. Which only goes to prove that the playoffs are anybody's game.

If someone asked you who owned the Detroit Red Wings and the answer you came up with was the Ilitch family, you'd be correct. The pizza barons have owned the club since the early 1980s. But you know who else owns the Wings? The Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay has won 10 in a row from Detroit, and 17 of the last 21 since the start of the 2013-14 season.

When the NHL season got underway, not many would have touted the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils as contenders, but both teams find themselves situated in playoff positions today as they clash at the the Prudential Center. On the other hand, the vast majority would have pegged the Chicago Blackhawks as postseason certainties, but as they face the Dallas Stars, the Blackhawks are seven points of a playoff position.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have combined to win five Stanley Cups since 2010 but so far the 2016-17 NHL season has not been kind to either team, with both owning middling records barely above .500 as they meet Sunday at the United Center.