The National Hockey League's 98th season opens on Wednesday with Boston playing host to Philadelphia and two matchups between Canadian rivals.
And the Los Angeles Kings will celebrate their second NHL crown in three seasons at a ceremony before they play the San Jose Sharks, the same club that led the Kings 3-0 in the first round of last season's playoffs before Los Angeles rallied to win the last four games and capture the series.
Other opening-night matchups find the Bruins, the most recent Eastern Conference club to claim the Cup back in 2011, facing the Flyers, as well as Montreal at Toronto and Vancouver at Calgary.
No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. The only Canadian finalist over the past seven seasons was Vancouver in 2011.
Plenty of rivals will be trying to wrest the trophy from the Kings' grasp, notably Chicago. The Blackhawks have won two of the past five NHL crowns and could again pose a major roadblock.
Chicago stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane agreed to eight-year contract extensions with the club after last season. Toews has 195 goals over eight seasons while Kane has 178 over seven seasons.
"To have the chance to continue with this amazing group of teammates and people throughout the organisation is an incredible honour. There's nothing we want more as players than to continue to win Stanley Cups," Toews said.
Boston led the NHL last season with 117 points but Pittsburgh, with star Sidney Crosby, figures to make another run at the crown.
The top three teams in each division advance to the playoffs along with two wildcard teams from each conference. Columbus and Detroit took the spots in the East, each team having moved last season from the West to the East.
"The league is coming off what many consider and have characterised as its best season ever, both on the ice and off," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "We are in a good place right now. But the really exciting part is that we all believe it can get even better. The game is growing, and it will continue to grow."
Several minor rule changes were introduced for the season, the most notable of which will see teams switch ends before the start of overtimes in regular-season games.
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