PLANO, Texas — Toyota and Kalitta Motorsports announced the auto maker will be the primary sponsor of Doug Kalitta’s Top Fuel dragster during this weekend’s SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park.

“This is an extension of the exceptional partnership Toyota has enjoyed with Kalitta Motorsports both marketing and technology-wise,” said Laura Pierce, general manager, Motorsports, Toyota Motor North America. “We are looking forward to sponsoring Doug Kalitta, one of the sport’s most successful drivers, in Houston.”

Toyota has a rich history with Kalitta Motorsports, having won 31 races and two Funny Car world championships with the team since joining forces in 2011. Among those wins was Doug Kalitta’s victory in the season-opening NHRA Winternationals.

“The Toyota wrap on the car looks really good and I’m looking forward to trying to go down to Houston and get the win with it,” said Kalitta, the Top Fuel point leader. “Toyota has been a great partner and it’s been a real bonus for our team technically having TRD out there with us. I’m a true believer that having TRD’s involvement was a big part in winning the Funny Car championship last year.”

Kalitta has registered 45 career Top Fuel wins, the fifth-most in Top Fuel history. In addition, he will take a 33-point lead into Houston.

The race will take place just over 200 miles from the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas plant in San Antonio.

FRISCO, Texas -- Fresh off signing a five-year, $105 million deal that included $65 million guaranteed, Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder Wednesday.

Lawrence is looking at a four- to six-month rehabilitation process, which could put the opening of the season in jeopardy.

"I'll be ready for the start of the season," Lawrence said. "I'm not worried about it. It's just about getting it over with."

Lawrence, who has had two back surgeries and a thumb operation, has played with the injury since the 2017 season but has not missed a game, recording 25 sacks and earning two Pro Bowl trips. While the Cowboys had until July 15 to sign Lawrence to a long-term deal, the timing of the surgery was a factor in speeding up the negotiations between the team and his agent, David Canter.

"We were aware of it, and I knew we were getting to a point where we needed to make it happen," executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "I think DeMarcus was aware of that, too. I mean, he loves to play the game. Certainly, having that looming out there was probably important for both of us to really push and make the push we did there to get it done."

Lawrence is likely to start training camp on the physically unable to perform list. The Cowboys, however, can take him off the list at any point over the summer. If he were to start the season on PUP, he would miss the first six games of the season.

The plan is for Lawrence to work with associate athletic trainer and director of rehabilitation Britt Brown.

"We've got one of the best in the business in Britt Brown," Jones said, "and he'll be spending a lot of time with Britt and hopefully get him ready to go and be ready for the opener."

As for the financial windfall, Lawrence, who was joined by his parents, fiancée and son at Tuesday's announcement, was grateful.

"The contract is a big accomplishment, but my goal is still to have a gold jacket," Lawrence said, making reference to the Hall of Fame. "That's what I'm hitting on. I'm so honored just to be a Cowboy and to be able to do it here. I've got a lot of work to keep doing. I'm just in my moment right now, so y'all got to excuse me.

"This is very special to me. But I've just got to keep building, keep building on my resume. You never know ... they might give me a third contract or something."

Lawrence's $21 million average per year and $65 million guaranteed is the most in franchise history, but Jones acknowledged it might not last long as discussions with Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper are expected to heat up this spring and into training camp.

"When you're getting ready to do a quarterback who is a franchise quarterback and already has put some serious skins on the wall like Dak has, no, probably not going to be there long," Jones said of Lawrence's financial marks. "But he can always say he held the mantle, albeit it might be a short time."

The fastest British 800m man this year has Olympian parents, but it’s the US-based athlete’s own performances which are putting him in the spotlight

Colorado State University-Pueblo sits in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in the American West. In one of the dorms, a 21-year-old student has placed a large England flag on one of his bedroom walls and Tottenham Hotspur posters on the other. Football was his first love, but he is now showing an incredible talent for middle-distance running and is currently the fastest British 800m runner of 2019.

The athlete’s name is Thomas Staines and he clocked 1:46.27 indoors in Michigan in February. It is faster than Jamie Webb, Guy Learmonth, Joseph Reid and Elliot Giles have run this year and it is not a one-off, either.

Also in February, Staines ran a UK indoor 600m record of 75.31 at altitude in Albuquerque – breaking Kyle Langford’s national mark of 76.10 – and last month he wrapped up his indoor season by winning the NCAA indoor division two 800m title by a clear second in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Given this, surely he should have been running at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow?

“It would have been cool to go,” he says, “but sadly I had school, which always gets in the way of what you want to do.”

Staines studies automotive industry management and works at a Land Rover and Jaguar dealership. Of more interest to readers of AW, though, is that he is the son of Gary and Linda Staines – two of Britain’s finest athletes during the 1980s and 1990s.

Gary ran a 3:53 mile, 13:14 for 5000m, 27:48 for 10,000m and 2:11:25 for the marathon during a career that also saw him win 5000m silver at the 1990 European Championships behind Salvatore Antibo of Italy.

Linda, meanwhile, ran 50.98 for 400m racing under her maiden name of Keough – a time that still places her No.14 on the UK all-time rankings – and she won a number of national titles plus Commonwealth silver behind Fatima Yusuf of Nigeria in 1990, whereas as a relay runner she was part of a British record-breaking team and won two Commonwealth titles.

Linda and Gary both represented Britain in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, too, so for the young Staines to have inherited ability at a distance which is in the middle of his parents’ specialist events “makes perfect sense,” he says.

Born in Epsom, Surrey, on February 22, 1998, Staines moved to the United States when he was four years old. In 2005 the family started to run the Runners Roost store in Colorado Springs and have stayed in the area ever since.

As a youngster, Staines was mainly attracted to football and his natural speed and stamina on the flanks led to him being picked for an Olympic development programme.

“It’s broken down into states,” he explains, “and the best are picked from every state. One year I was chosen for the Colorado team and I thought ‘this might happen’ but I gradually lost interest as football has a lot of egos.”

He continues to be an avid fan, though. “Growing up, my entire family have been Tottenham supporters so I was always brought into that environment,” he says. “They show a decent amount of games over here and, growing up, my dad would pay for the streaming service or extra channels that would have it.”

Staines adds: “My dad’s dad was Tottenham. My mum’s dad, or grandad, is a Tottenham supporter as well. So it goes back through the family.”

Not surprisingly, when England were playing in the 2018 World Cup, Staines was glued to the action. “Problem is, the games were always when I was working, so I’d watch them during work. I was at work, for example, when we beat Colombia on penalties and no one there understood how big of a deal that was!”

Being the son of such talented athletes, though, meant that he could not out-run his fate forever and perhaps inevitably he began to show the kind of ability that could one day propel him to an Olympic Games as well.

Staines reckons his fledgling running career began only three-and-a-half years ago. “It started because my coach at high school asked me if I wanted to go with the cross-country team to Arizona,” he remembers. “I’d just got done with my worst football season and a lot of my friends were on the cross-country team. I thought the trip sounded great but I didn’t think he meant ‘go run a 5km in Arizona’. I thought he meant that we were just going to Arizona for a trip!

“So a week passed and he found me in the food courtyard and asked me ‘why haven’t you been coming to practise?’ I asked, ‘why would I come to practise?’ He said, ‘because we’re running a 5km in Arizona’. I thought ‘crap, I’ve roped myself into this and now I have to do it’.

“So I ran for a week before we went and they were just two-mile runs. This meant the race was further than I’d ever run in my life. But I ended up having a lot of fun doing it and I enjoyed the team/cross-country atmosphere more than I did with the football, so I stuck with it.”

At close to 6ft 5in tall, it means Staines’ stride eats up the ground and he has so far powered his way to a number of impressive wins on the US collegiate circuit. In 2017 he ran 1:50.39 for 800m but last year he improved to 1:45.57 – a time that placed him seventh on the UK rankings for 2018.

“I’ve only been ‘good’ for about one year,” he says. “When I was 18 I’d never broken 1:50 and my best was about 1:50.2. But it got me into an NCAA event. I didn’t make the final and finished about 14th indoors and 12th outdoors and I was really disappointed I didn’t make the finals. I didn’t want that feeling again.

“I had my wisdom teeth taken out over the Christmas period last year so I couldn’t run for two weeks and I was scared that I had an 800m in February and was worried I wouldn’t be fit. So I buckled down and worked really hard and in my first 800m I ran 1:47 after going through in 56 (indoors). So all of a sudden I ran a top 20 time in the world.

“It just happened like that and literally the following weekend tonnes of people were contacting my coach about it. I went from being unable to make a final to being favourite to win nationals the following month. It was kind of difficult to take in and wrap my head around. But since then I’ve got used to it. It’s become ‘my thing’ now.”

Staines has also not started training to his maximum, either. “At the start I was running about 15 miles per week, whereas now I’m doing about 50.”

Coached by Matt Morris at Colorado State University-Pueblo, he says: “We’ve gone up gradually in a safe way, adding slightly more miles each year so I won’t get hurt. But I’m not a high mileage person so I guess there is still more room for improvement.”

As for his British links, he possesses a British passport, but how often does he come back to the land of his birth? “Normally I go every other year,” he says. “It’s never for running, although that might change now. All our family and friends are still over there.”

On his 2019 plans, he says: “I hope to come back this summer to make the team for the World Champs. That’s the main goal of mine, but I won’t stay over there. If I make it to Qatar then I’ll have to come back (to the US). It’ll be cool to be over there and I’m looking forward to it.”

Staines reckons his improved PBs mean he’s likely to get invitations to some better races, too. Running at Stanford in the early season period is an option, for example, and he has an eye already on UKA’s 800m qualifying standard of 1:45.80.

When he is told that he’s probably the best British athlete that nobody has heard of, though, he laughs. “Yep, I’ve heard I’m just ‘a name’ who runs some fast times and they don’t think I really exist over there!”

You have a feeling that could change this summer.

What's at stake for the NBA playoff race and draft lottery during the final two days of the NBA regular season?

Three teams are competing for the final playoff spot in the East, and it should go down to the wire. Only one playoff matchup is set in either conference, with plenty of movement still possible throughout the West.

The tank race has heated up, especially with traded and protected picks still very much up in the air.

Here are the games to follow, what they mean and how ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI) projects everything to shake out.

Note: All odds are via BPI projections unless otherwise noted.

More: Power Rankings | Top 100 prospects | Traded picks

East playoff race

The Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat are battling for the 16th playoff spot. The Hornets own tiebreakers over both teams (including a three-way tie), while the Pistons own the tiebreaker over the Heat.

Games with the most at stake

• Grizzlies @ Pistons | Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET
• Hornets @ Cavaliers | Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET
• 76ers @ Heat | Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Magic @ Hornets | Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Pistons @ Knicks | Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET
• Heat @ Nets | Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET

Pistons (39-41) | Playoff odds: 75.5 percent

• In: Wins over Grizzlies and Knicks

• In: Win either remaining game combined with the Hornets losing either game

• In: Lose both remaining games combined with two Hornets losses and at least one Heat loss

Hornets (38-42) | Playoff odds: 23.1 percent

• In: Wins over Cavaliers and Magic combined with the Pistons losing either game

• In: A win over the Cavaliers or Magic, combined with two Pistons losses and at least one Heat loss

Heat (38-42) | Playoff odds: 1.3 percent

• In: Wins over 76ers and Nets combined with two Pistons losses and at least one Hornets loss

East playoff seeding

Seeds Nos. 1-5 are wrapped up, guaranteeing Celtics-Pacers in Round 1. Here's how BPI projects the rest of the East:

Meaning the most likely playoff matchups are ...

• (1) Bucks vs. (8) Pistons (61 percent chance)

• (2) Raptors vs. (7) Magic (60 percent chance)

• (3) 76ers vs. (6) Nets (74 percent chance)

• (4) Celtics vs. (5) Pacers (locked in)

West playoff race

The eight West playoff teams have been locked in for weeks, but the seeding will go down to the wire.

The Warriors have claimed No. 1. Here are the odds for the other teams still playing for home-court advantage:

And the odds for the bottom playoff teams:

Tiebreakers

There are still some convoluted tiebreakers up in the air in the West for teams that finish with the same record. A refresher on the order in which these can shake out in a two-team tie:

• First tiebreaker: Head-to-head record

• If tied head-to-head: A division winner gets the edge

• If neither is a division winner (same division): Division record

• If neither is a division winner (different divisions): Conference record

• If still tied: Record against playoff teams in own conference; then record against playoff teams in the other conference; then point differential

• If still tied: Random drawing

If three or more teams are tied, then a division winner gets first priority, followed by winning percentage in games among the tied teams.

Games with the most at stake

• Nuggets @ Jazz | Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET
• Rockets @ Thunder | Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
• Timberwolves @ Nuggets | Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET
• Jazz @ Clippers | Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

• The Nuggets will secure the No. 2 seed with two more wins.

• The Rockets own the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, so a victory in the final game with Denver splitting its games will get Houston up to No. 2.

• If the Rockets lose and the Blazers win out (play the Lakers on Tuesday and Kings on Wednesday), Portland gets the No. 3 seed.

• As long as the Jazz win either game, they'll finish at least No. 5.

• If the Thunder win out (play Houston on Tuesday and Milwaukee on Wednesday), they'll at least finish No. 6.

• The Spurs own the tiebreakers with the Thunder and Clippers, so a San Antonio win over Dallas on Wednesday combined with an OKC loss in either game will get the Spurs to No. 6.

Most likely playoff matchups

• (1) Warriors vs. (8) Thunder (49 percent chance)

• (2) Rockets vs. (7) Clippers (26 percent chance)

• (3) Nuggets vs. (6) Spurs (55 percent chance)

• (4) Blazers vs. (5) Jazz (82 percent chance)

Draft odds at stake

The tweaked lottery system hasn't eradicated the tank race down the stretch. There are precious pingpong ball combinations up for grabs that will affect traded picks and odds to get one of the coveted top three selections (bringing a chance to select Zion Williamson, Ja Morant or RJ Barrett).

Go here for a full breakdown of how the new lottery works.

Projected lottery odds

Games to watch and what they mean

• Hornets @ Cavaliers | Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET
• Grizzlies @ Pistons | Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET
• Celtics @ Wizards | Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
• Warriors @ Pelicans | Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET
• Suns @ Mavericks | Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET
• Warriors @ Grizzlies | Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET
• Mavericks @ Spurs | Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET

• The New York Knicks have secured the worst record. The Knicks will share the same 14 percent odds of landing the No. 1 pick with the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers, but New York is guaranteed to stay in the top five.

• The Suns and Cavaliers -- tied at 19-62 with one game left -- are essentially battling over top-five odds. Under the new system, with the top four picks now in the lottery draw, the three worst teams share equal odds for all four slots. But the team with the second-worst record will hold an 80 percent chance to stay in the top five, while the third-worst team has only a 67 percent chance. The third-worst team can slide all the way to No. 7.

• This race for second-worst record will get settled Tuesday ... sort of. Cleveland faces a Charlotte team fighting for a postseason spot, while Phoenix gets a Dallas squad that has its own reasons to lose.

• If these teams -- or any lottery teams -- finish with the same record, the NBA will break the tie with a random drawing Friday. The tied teams will receive the average of the total number of combinations for those tied positions, with the winner of the draw getting any extra combinations if there's an odd number to split.

• The Suns and Cavs are already bound to share the same odds whether they tie or not, but the random drawing also determines the order in which the teams pick if they don't get selected in the top four. So, hypothetically: If the Suns and Cavs tie, the Suns win the random drawing and neither team wins a top-four lottery selection, then the Suns would pick No. 5 and the Cavs would pick No. 6. (Unless the Knicks also don't land in the top four. In that scenario the Suns get No. 6 and the Cavs get No. 7.)

• The Chicago Bulls (No. 4) and Atlanta Hawks (No. 5) are locked into their slots.

• The Washington Wizards (32-49), Dallas Mavericks (32-48), Memphis Grizzlies (32-48) and New Orleans Pelicans (33-48) are bunched up at Nos. 6-9. This is especially important because Dallas and Memphis have a chance to lose their protected picks without some lottery luck, and they both have two games left.

• The Mavericks will send their pick to the Hawks if it's outside the top five, and the Grizzlies will send their pick to Celtics if it's outside the top eight. BPI currently projects that Dallas has a 27 percent chance to keep its pick, while Memphis has a 74.9 percent. The Mavs' pick remains top-five-protected next year if not conveyed; the Grizzlies' pick drops to top-six-protected in 2020. There are rumbling that Memphis -- in the middle of a rebuild -- prefers to give up a first-rounder this season before the protections drop further.

• If any team grabs the No. 6 spot outright, that comes with a 9.0 percent chance for No. 1 and a 37 percent chance for top five. Falling to No. 9 outright means a 4.5 percent chance for No. 1 and a 20 percent chance for top five. The most likely scenario is that at least a couple of these selections end up tied.

• Dallas faces a Phoenix team that also is incentivized to lose and then a San Antonio team that should be playing for playoff seeding. Memphis gets Detroit (on the playoff bubble) and then Golden State.

• The Lakers can improve their odds with a loss to Portland on Tuesday and at least one Timberwolves win.

The Calgary Flames roared to the top of the Western Conference this season, while the Colorado Avalanche narrowly qualified for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. Who wins the series? Let's break it down:

How they got here: The Flames missed the playoffs last season after making them in 2016-17 for one primary reason: offense. They had a 2.63 goals per game average, ranking them 27th in the league. So GM Brad Treliving got to work. He fired head coach Glen Gulutzan and replaced him with former Carolina coach Bill Peters. He made a blockbuster trade, moving defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the Hurricanes with Micheal Ferland and the rights to Adam Fox for defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm. He signed Derek Ryan and James Neal (although the less said about that latter signing, the better).

These changes, along with career years from Johnny Gaudreau (99 points) and Matthew Tkachuk (34 goals), helped the Flames to be the league's third-best offense, at 3.52 goals per game. Their Mark Giordano-led defense was good enough in front of their below-average goaltending to win them the Pacific.

The Avalanche had a more complicated path to the postseason, clinching their wild-card spot in the last days of the regular season. They did so on the back of goalie Philipp Grubauer, acquired last summer from the Capitals, who went 8-1-2 down the stretch and gave up more than two goals just once in that span. While depth is not a word associated with these Avs, they do boast one of the best lines in hockey when the group is together and healthy. Can they muster up enough pop to keep pace with Calgary?

First line: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog played 841 minutes together at even strength and dominated: 46 goals, a goals-for percentage of 61.33 and a 54.56 scoring chance percentage. But Calgary's Sean Monahan, Gaudreau and Lindholm were nearly as potent offensively in 823 minutes, with 52 goals, a 59.77 goals-for percentage and 52.56 percent of scoring chances. They were also a little better defensively, thanks in no small part to Lindholm joining up. It's close, but we'll still give the nod to MacKinnon's group. Advantage: Avalanche

Depth: With any of their top-line players on the ice, Colorado scored 80 goals at 5-on-5; without any of them, they scored just 76. Such is the depth problem these Avs have at forward, as no other center or winger had more than 50 points. Carl Soderberg (23 goals) and Alexander Kerfoot (42 points) were the next-highest scorers. Colin Wilson had 27 points. Derick Brassard, their most notable trade deadline pickup, had four goals in 20 games. Calgary, by contrast, had six forwards in double digits in goals outside of the top line: Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund (21), Michael Frolik (16), Mark Jankowski (14), Derek Ryan (13), Sam Bennett (13) and Garnet Hathaway (11). The team's "3M" line of Tkachuk, Backlund and Frolik has a 67.44 goals-for percentage at even strength. Advantage: Flames

Defense: Giordano is the favorite to take home his first Norris Trophy after a season that saw him score 17 goals, amass 74 points and post a plus-39 rating at 35 years old. He's paired with T.J. Brodie. Travis Hamonic and Hanifin make up the other duo, but then it gets a little thin with players such as Oscar Fantenberg, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington and Dalton Prout in the mix. The Avalanche are anchored by Tyson Barrie, who had 59 points in 78 games this season. He skates with Nikita Zadorov, who was a plus-19 this season. Their leader in ice time on defense is veteran Erik Johnson, who skates with Samuel Girard (27 points). Veteran Ian Cole and Patrik Nemeth round out the group. Advantage: Flames

Goaltending: Grubauer has been red hot down the stretch, and strong overall, with a .917 save percentage. (Although his goals saved above average is just 0.85.) Semyon Varlamov was 20-19-9 with a .909 save percentage, and he has appeared in six games since March 1. The Flames got a great run from David Rittich, who posted a .911 save percentage and 7.99 goals saved above average. But 36-year-old Mike Smith has split time with him in the past month, and he appears to have the crease to start the playoffs after two months that salvaged his season. Advantage: Avalanche

Coaching: Jared Bednar has coached only six NHL playoff games, but that's six more than Bill Peters has coached. Bednar has coached through adversity this season, and he made the playoffs in consecutive seasons; that's no small feat in the West. Advantage: Avalanche

Health: Rantanen, who has been out since March 21, is skating in a non-contact jersey this week, but he looks like he'll answer the bell for Game 1. The Flames are healthy. Advantage: tie, assuming Rantanen is back

Special teams: The Flames were 18th on the power play at 19.3 percent, while Colorado was seventh at 22.0 percent. The Flames' penalty kill was 21st (79.7 percent) and Colorado 25th (78.7 percent). In other words, nothing to write home about on special teams outside of the Avs on the man advantage. Advantage: Avalanche

Prediction: Flames in six. Grubauer keeps the Avalanche in it, but the Flames' offense proves too much to handle. But fret not for the Avs: Cale Makar, the No. 1 drafted prospect in hockey, and Ottawa's lottery pick mean they're going to be loaded next season (and beyond).

The Winnipeg Jets entered the season among the top Stanley Cup favorites, but they faltered a bit due to injuries. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues came back from the depths of the Western Conference basement, and they were one of the hottest teams in the second half of the season. Who will this first-round series? Let's break it down:

How they got here: The Blues were one of 2018-19's most compelling teams. After a summer of adding several talented forwards, St. Louis stumbled early. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong fired coach Mike Yeo before Thanksgiving, and by Jan. 2, the Blues had the NHL's worst record. Since then, St. Louis has accumulated more points (65) than any other team, thanks to a burst of production from Vladimir Tarasenko, improved defensive structure and breakout rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. No matter how the offseason unfolds, interim coach Craig Berube likely already earned himself an extension.

The Jets, meanwhile, began to flex their depth and talent in last season's long playoff run, and they brought back nearly the same exact roster. Even though they cruised at the top of the Central Division for most of the season, they never seemed to hit their full stride. A few reasons why: The Jets were without the team's top two defensemen, Dustin Byfuglien and Josh Morrissey, for extended periods. And while Finnish sniper Patrik Laine was chasing Alex Ovechkin for the goal-scoring title last season, the 20-year-old had a harder time finding the net in 2018-19, scoring only 30. This team is a Stanley Cup favorite when it's clicking; can it get it together in time?

First line: The Jets' trio of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor have been consistently productive, scoring a combined 241 points this season. The Blues' top three -- Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly and Brayden Schenn -- hit 199 points total. Tarasenko took a bit to get going after offseason shoulder surgery, but now he looks as dangerous as ever. Scheifele and O'Reilly are two of the league's elite two-way forwards. Advantage: tie

Depth: Though Laine didn't reach his projected goal totals this season, he's a streaky player, and if he gets hot, he can be one of the league's scariest scoring threats. The Jets picked up Kevin Hayes (who has plenty of playoff experience with the Rangers) to be the second-line center, and there are overachieving players on the third and fourth lines. The Blues have two solid scorers on the second line with David Perron and Jaden Schwartz, but overall they can't match Winnipeg's depth. Advantage: Jets

Defense: The Jets are a tall, physical team and their defensemen exemplify that. Byfuglien is healthy and once again imposing his strength on anyone who gets in his way (perhaps he'll be a gif star again this spring?). Being without Morrissey would be a bummer. Vince Dunn has progressed into a top defenseman for the Blues; captain Alex Pietrangelo didn't have his best season. St. Louis' other blueliners are capable, but not special. Advantage: Jets

Goaltending: The Blues struck gold with the rookie Binnington, who went 24-5-1 with five shutouts in 32 games, with a league-leading 1.89 goals-against average and .927 save percentage, giving him legit consideration for the Calder Trophy. The Blues can always call on Jake Allen (22 games of playoff experience) as backup. Last season, Connor Hellebuyck was in the Vezina Trophy conversation, but the young American regressed a bit with a .913 save percentage and 2.90 GAA. He has playoff experience, and has looked locked in lately. Advantage: tie

Coaching: St. Louis interim coach Craig Berube and assistant Steve Ott are receiving rave reviews for how they turned the Blues around; the two former NHL players especially improved the defense. However, Paul Maurice, now the NHL's second-longest-tenured coach, guided this team to the Western Conference finals last season. He's the youngest coach in NHL history to hit 1,500 wins. Advantage: Jets

Health: Brandon Tanev set career highs in goals (14) and points (29) while playing strong defensively and on special teams. He missed the final two regular-season games with a finger/hand injury. The Jets were happy to welcome Byfuglien back after his missed half the season; Morrissey, however, remains out. Colton Parayko and Tyler Bozak both missed the last regular-season game for the Blues; Bozak's absence was more precautionary. Advantage: Blues

Special teams: The Jets had the league's fourth-best power play this season, hitting at 24.8 percent. The Blues were at just over 21 percent for the season. St. Louis' penalty kill, since the Jan. 3 turnaround, is seventh best in the league at 84.8 percent. The Jets' penalty kill has struggled this season; they are one of the league's worst 10 teams in that area at 79.1 percent; Tanev kills a lot of penalties, so hopefully he is not out for long. Advantage: Blues

Prediction: Jets in seven

The Nashville Predators look poised for another deep run in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. But Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars are standing in their way in the first round. Who will take this series? Let's break it down:

How they got here: The Predators staved off the surging St. Louis Blues and the slumping Winnipeg Jets to clinch the Central Division title, but there's been an elephant in the room when discussing Nashville's season: Though the Preds are as good on paper as they've ever been, they haven't looked quite right. Nashville endured some early injuries, including to its top two wingers, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg. The power play has been, at times, a pain to watch. The midseason acquisitions did not jell quite like general manager David Poile imagined. And yet, the Predators persevered, thanks in part to having one of the league's most elite and complete defensive groups. Goaltender Pekka Rinne has looked typically solid.

No matter how it ultimately ends, this Stars' season likely will be remembered as the one where the team's CEO, Jim Lites, called out its two star players in a profanity-filled rant. Farm animal excrement aside, the Stars continued on, adjusting to their third coach in as many years and earning a playoff berth without collapsing, as they did late last season. Offense has been hard to come by for this group, but rookie head coach Jim Montgomery pivoted from his initial game plan, honing in on a tough-checking defensive structure that worked. Goaltending, between primary starter Ben Bishop and backup Anton Khudobin, has been spectacular.

First line: Talent-wise, Dallas has an elite first line, though Jamie Benn's production has slipped this season (only 53 points, down from 79 last season). Seguin rebounded from his CEO's criticism, reaching 80 points for the first time since 2013-14, his first season in Dallas. (Seguin had 48 points in 44 games since the infamous callout). Both Forsberg and Arvidsson missed time in the fall, which is a shame; Arvidsson was close to being Nashville's first 40-goal scorer (he ended up with 34 in just 58 games played). Advantage: tie

Depth: The Stars scored just 209 goals this season, third fewest in the league, and 89 of them (nearly 43 percent) came from the top line. Though Dallas may get a jolt from trade-deadline acquisition Mats Zuccarello, the bottom nine don't strike much fear. Nashville hasn't received the production it expected from players it traded for over the past two seasons, including second-line center Kyle Turris (23 points in 53 games), rental Wayne Simmonds (three points in 17 games) or Mikael Granlund (five points in 16 games). They're still deeper than the Stars are. Advantage: Predators

Defense: The Predators' top four are often lauded as the league's most complete quartet. The Predators get some extra help via Dante Fabbro, the 2016 first-round pick who finally arrived from college. The Stars' blue line -- bolstered by breakout performances from 19-year-old Miro Heiskanen (23:06 in ice time per game) and 24-year-old Esa Lindell (24:19) -- has been equally stingy, finishing in the top five leaguewide in goals allowed per game. Advantage: tie

Goaltending: Bishop hasn't played in the postseason since 2016, and he looks poised to do some damage again. Bishop is garnering serious Vezina Trophy consideration after an excellent season, going 27-15-2 with a .934 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average. Rinne, meanwhile, is the reigning Vezina winner who had another strong campaign. He's looking to avoid another postseason flop, though. Advantage: tie

Coaching: Rookie NHL coach Jim Montgomery wanted the Stars to generate offense as an uptempo, possession team, but he had to adjust based off the personnel. Instead, Dallas ran a tight-checking defensive structure, which was effective if not exciting. In his previous stops, Montgomery has a history of magical postseason runs. Peter Laviolette, meanwhile, is more seasoned, having accumulated 229 wins over 410 games with the Predators. Laviolette is known for tweaking his lineups to find the right matchups come playoff time. Advantage: Predators

Health: Both teams had to weather injuries earlier in the season, but they aren't managing anything significant at this moment. Advantage: tie

Special teams: One of the hardest things to watch this season was the Predators' power play, which was dreadful -- hitting at a league-worst 12.9 percent. The additions of Brian Boyle and Simmonds were expected to help, but they haven't yielded much thus far. The Stars were above league average at 21.0 percent. Both teams boast excellent, top-10 penalty kills. Advantage: Stars

Prediction: Predators in six

The National Hockey League's playoff format has once again yielded a postseason bounty of rivalry series, potential thrillers and odd matchups that would otherwise seem like the product of a dartboard and a blindfold.

Which ones are worth your time? Trust the ESPN Hype Rankings.

We rate each series based on several facets: star power, secondary plot lines, the hate factor, the controversy quotient (for potential violent acts or heinous actions), the arena atmosphere, the probability of a Game 7 and, last but not least, the "Beardosity" of a series, in which the face shrubbery of players is weighed as heavily as the fame of that series' players.

Each category is given a score of 1 to 10. Now, without further explanation of a completely subjective and arbitrary process, here are the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff Hype Rankings:

8. Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche

Star power: 7
Secondary plot lines: 2
Hate factor: 4
Controversy quotient: 3
Arena atmosphere: 8
Game 7 probability: 1
Beardosity: 6
Overall hype ranking: 31

The Flames have Johnny Gaudreau (a potential Hart Trophy nominee) and Mark Giordano (the favorite for the Norris Trophy) going against Nathan MacKinnon and one of the best lines in the NHL. What this series lacks, at first glance, is compelling plot lines, although there have been some contentious moments between the two teams over the past two seasons.

The biggest question looming over our ratings for this one: Does the existence of Ian Cole offset the lack of beard potential on the baby-faced Avs?

7. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Star power: 8
Secondary plot lines: 9
Hate factor: 1
Controversy quotient: 2
Arena atmosphere: 8
Game 7 probability: 1
Beardosity: 5
Overall hype ranking: 34

The greatest juggernaut the NHL has seen in nearly 25 years takes on an interesting, if seemingly overmatched, opponent in Round 1: the Blue Jackets, who went all-in with trade deadline acquisitions of Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, and are poised to lose stars Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency.

The previous four series the Lightning have played outside of the conference final ended in five games. Columbus has never made it out of the first round in franchise history. This could go from "interesting setup" to "wait, it's over already?" pretty quickly.

6. Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues

Star power: 6
Secondary plot lines: 3
Hate factor: 4
Controversy quotient: 6
Arena atmosphere: 8
Game 7 probability: 7
Beardosity: 6
Overall hype ranking: 40

Although these teams boast a good number of compelling players -- including Vladimir Tarasenko, Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine and rookie goaltending sensation Jordan Binnington -- this series has been shuffled off on American television to a network where it will preempt "Shark Tank" reruns.

The arenas will be hopping and the games could get nastier as the series goes on, but this is a series between a team that was in last place in January and a team that people had in the Stanley Cup Final before the season started (and before they tumbled into the No. 2 seed in the Central). Still, a Binnington-led upset bid could make this one interesting in a hurry.

5. Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars

Star power: 8
Secondary plot lines: 2
Hate factor: 6
Controversy quotient: 4
Arena atmosphere: 8
Game 7 probability: 6
Beardosity: 7
Overall hype ranking: 41

The Central Division's wacky final days produced this Winter Classic 2020 preview, as the Predators and Stars have a hoedown, er, showdown in the first round. Obviously, there are big names to watch on both teams, especially in goal, as Pekka Rinne and Ben Bishop could determine who advances (for better or worse). Ryan Ellis alone elevates the Beardosity here.

On the downside, there aren't a ton of compelling narratives heading into this series, outside of revisiting the fecal-based criticisms of Stars players by their team president. Given some antagonistic games between these two in recent years, this one could get a little rough, however.

4. Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Star power: 7
Secondary plot lines: 8
Hate factor: 3
Controversy quotient: 9
Arena atmosphere: 7
Game 7 probability: 2
Beardosity: 6
Overall hype ranking: 42

With due respect to all the other lower-seeded teams, this is your Cinderella series. The "bunch of jerks" from Raleigh take on the reigning Stanley Cup champions, who dominated them 4-0-0 in the regular season. While there isn't much hate between these two yet, the existence of Tom Wilson in any series nearly maxes out the controversy quotient (as does the presence of outspoken Carolina owner Tom Dundon in a playoff series).

It's been a minute since we had a postseason game at the Hurricanes' home rink, so we might have underestimated the arena atmosphere. This could be a fun one. Or a short one. In either case, viva la Southeast Division, and let's watch Alex Ovechkin score more goals.

3. New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Star power: 7
Secondary plot lines: 9
Hate factor: 5
Controversy quotient: 6
Arena atmosphere: 8
Game 7 probability: 7
Beardosity: 6
Overall hype ranking: 48

Do the Penguins have another Stanley Cup run in them? Their bid for a three-peat was thwarted by the Capitals in the conference semifinals last season, and the coach behind the elimination is now behind the Islanders' bench to step up a classic confrontation: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel against the NHL's best defensive team in the regular season.

Two franchises that have some distinct playoff history, with some players who can bring a little nastiness. Playoff hockey returning to Nassau Coliseum ... if the fans there care one-tenth as much about the Penguins as they did about John Tavares' return to Long Island, it'll be intense.

2. San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Star power: 8
Secondary plot lines: 8
Hate factor: 8
Controversy quotient: 7
Arena atmosphere: 9
Game 7 probability: 8
Beardosity: 9
Overall hype ranking: 57

The Golden Knights eliminated the Sharks in six delightfully physical and contentious games last season, and there's no reason to expect anything less in this rematch. There are stars on both sides, two deafening arenas and (of course) some choice playoff beards.

But the underlying plot lines here are just terrific: the Sharks having gone all-in over the past two seasons vs. a Knights team that's significantly upgraded since last season's expansion shocker. Plus, San Jose's league-worst goaltending -- it had the lowest team save percentage in the NHL -- and second-best offense against Golden Knights star Marc-Andre Fleury.

This could be the best series of the first round and perhaps the entire playoffs.

1. Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Star power: 9
Secondary plot lines: 8
Hate factor: 9
Controversy quotient: 9
Arena atmosphere: 9
Game 7 probability: 10
Beardosity: 8
Overall hype ranking: 62

There's no logical reason that the second- and fifth-best teams in the NHL should face each other in the first round (and even less logic to have either of them advance to face the No. 1-seeded Lightning in Round 2).

With that established ... how fun is this going to be?

Last year's first-round battle gave us a three-game suspension to Leafs forward Nazem Kadri for boarding in Game 1. It gave us Bruins pest Brad Marchand licking the face of a Toronto player. It gave us a seven-game series of wild momentum swings between the oldest of old-school rivals. This year, we get John Tavares added to this feud that's produced two straight seven-game series. Let's go!

The San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights will square off in a matchup that may well go down as the best of the entire 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. Who will win? Let's break it down:

How they got here: They didn't get it done until September, but the Sharks landed the prize of the NHL offseason in defenseman Erik Karlsson, giving them two of the league's premiere offensive blueliners along with Brent Burns. He joined a veteran team primed for a Stanley Cup run this season, with players like Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, pending unrestricted free agent Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane, who was acquired last season. Gustav Nyquist was added to the group at the trade deadline, and the Sharks finished the season second in scoring at 3.52 goals per game. One problem: They were 21st in team defense at 3.15 goals allowed per game, with the worst team save percentage in the NHL (.889). Still, the Sharks finished 46-27-9 (101 points), second in the Pacific Division.

Right behind them were the Vegas Golden Knights (43-32-7, 93 points), last season's expansion darlings who lost in the Stanley Cup Final. They upgraded in the offseason too, with free-agent center Paul Stastny and a trade for Max Pacioretty; and made an in-season blockbuster for Ottawa's Mark Stone. But inconsistent play, some expected regression and injuries to key players (including goalie Marc-Andre Fleury) left the Knights stuck in third place in the Pacific.

First line: Last season's dominating top trio for Vegas -- Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith -- couldn't quite recapture the magic this season, with just a 50.65 goals-for percentage. The better line for Vegas might end up being Stone, Stastny and Pacioretty, which has played just 154 minutes together but has a goals-for percentage of 60.00 at 5-on-5. The Sharks, meanwhile, don't have a consistent top line this season. Currently, the line of Couture, Pavelski and Timo Meier (who broke out with 30 goals) might qualify. Advantage: Golden Knights

Depth: The Knights return many of the supporting players who helped them thrive in the postseason last spring, including Alex Tuch (52 points), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Reaves and Cody Eakin, who had a career year (41 points). The Sharks have players like Marcus Sorensen and Kevin Labanc flanking Joe Thornton, and Barclay Goodrow and Melker Karlsson among their depth players. Advantage: tie

Defense: Burns (83 points in 82 games) was the league's best offensive defenseman, pumping 300 shots on goal and skating 25:06 per game for San Jose. He's skating with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who has had an uncharacteristically down season. Karlsson (45 points in 53 games) skates with Brenden Dillon, with Joakim Ryan and Justin Braun on the final pairing. The Golden Knights return the same group as last season -- Nate Schmidt and Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore, Nick Holden (the lone new addition) and Colin Miller -- partially because they couldn't find a way to acquire Karlsson. Advantage: Sharks

Goaltending: Fleury went 35-21-5 in 61 starts with a .913 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average -- not as dominant as last season, but he played a critical role during some early-season struggles for the Knights. He's been lights-out in his past two postseasons. The good news for San Jose is that Martin Jones has a .926 save percentage in 42 playoff games. The bad news is that he had an .896 save percentage in the regular season, and a putrid minus-23.35 goals saved above average. Advantage: Golden Knights

Coaching: Peter DeBoer is 8-8 over the past two postseasons, following his trip to the Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks in his first season there. Gerard Gallant won the Jack Adams last season and has done a fine job helping the Knights to avoid a huge letdown in their second season of existence. Advantage: tie

Health: The Sharks should be at full strength for Game 1 when Meier returns, although there will still be lingering concerns about the effectiveness of recently injured players Karlsson and Pavelski. The Golden Knights will also be at full strength, minus forward Erik Haula, who was injured late in the season. He had nine points in 20 playoff games last year. Advantage: Sharks

Special teams: The Sharks had the sixth-best power play (23.6 percent) in the NHL, while the Knights struggled, finishing 25th (16.8). The penalty kills for Vegas (80.9) and San Jose (80.8) were basically a dead heat. Advantage: Sharks

Prediction: Golden Knights in 7. This promises to be an absolutely brutal series after the two went six games in the second round last postseason. Both teams have made significant upgrades since then. It's entirely possible that the series will be won or lost on the effectiveness -- or lack thereof -- of Sharks goalie Martin Jones in a battle between perfectly matched teams.