NHL notes: Canadian pride flows with five teams in playoffs

The hockey world has resumed revolving on its normal axis north of the border. A year after being shut out, Canada is making a return to the NHL playoffs in a big way.

O Canada, is the buzz ever back across the Great White North: From Calgary's Red Mile bar district to Montreal's rue Sainte-Catherine to Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the landscape for the playoffs includes the big-stage debuts of such young stars as Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Toronto's Auston Matthews.

"When players get traded here and they talk about how great the Bell Centre is, we always say, 'Wait 'til' the playoffs,' " American-born Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty said. "There's nothing like it. It's like the Super Bowl every day."

Multiply that by five because that's how many of the hockey-mad nation's seven franchises are in the playoffs, which open Wednesday.

There's an Original Six showdown between Montreal and the New York Rangers.

Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will face his former team in Ottawa.

The youth-laden Maple Leafs make only their second playoff appearance in 13 years by opening against Alex Ovechkin and the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals.

And let's not forget Johnny Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames making only their second playoff appearance in eight years by opening against Anaheim.

The bars will be packed, the fans jacked and so will be Canada's most prominent TV hockey executive, Scott Moore.

A year ago, the Rogers Sportsnet cable network president joked about stepping out on the ledge of his third-floor Toronto office after having no Canadian teams to showcase two years into a 12-year, $5.2 billion (Canadian) TV rights deal.

Last week, Moore was giddily trying to determine whether it was better to have two Canadian teams meet in the first round — because it guaranteed one advancing — before eventually concluding it didn't matter.

"While I was on the ledge last year, perhaps I knew it was not worth jumping," Moore said. "There's lots of peaks and valleys in the world of sports, and it's never as bad as you think and never as good as you think."

"Last year, everyone was saying there are no Canadian teams. Was that great for the U.S.? No," Flood said.

"What's great for the U.S. is great hockey and great stars. It doesn't matter where they play. I think it's a great opportunity to expose these two young stars."

• Red Wings GM Ken Holland says Jeff Blashill will remain Detroit's coach after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 26 seasons. Holland received his own vote of confidence from Chris Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings and son of team owner Marian Ilitch.