Canadian teams to miss NHL playoffs

For the first time in 46 years, no Canadian team will contest the NHL playoffs, with the Ottawa Senators the last hope eliminated from contention.

Ice hockey is an institution in Canada, but locals are in a state of mourning after it was confirmed that for the first time in 46 years, no Canadian NHL team will make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Ottawa Senators were the seventh and final Canadian-based team to be eliminated from post-season contention on Wednesday, despite winning their game.

The Philadelphia Flyers' shootout win over the Washington Capitals, which came within an hour of Ottawa's latest victory, mathematically eliminated the Senators from contention.

The result means 16 US-based teams will battle for the Stanley Cup.

The Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks had already fallen short of qualifying for the playoffs.

The Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in North America and is presented in June to the National Hockey League's playoff champion.

A Canadian team has not won the Stanley Cup since 1993.

The last time the Stanley Cup playoffs took place without a team from Canada was in 1970, when Toronto and Montreal were the only Canadian teams in the NHL.

Lord Stanley of Preston, at the time the Governor General of Canada, donated the Stanley Cup in 1893. It was originally known as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and awarded to the amateur ice hockey champions of Canada but has been competed for by NHL teams since the 1926-27 season.


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Source: AAP



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