The first few days of the NHL playoffs have been outstanding, which will only provide Gary Bettman another bullet for his “best first round in sports” talking point he uses when people complain about the current division-focused playoff structure.

Thus far, we’ve had a double overtime, several one-goal games that went down to the wire, a couple big late comebacks and Pittsburgh losing both opening games at home — each a totally fun thing in its own way!

Tonight there are four games on the schedule AND an Islanders playoff game…AHL Bridgeport Islanders, of course.

Here’s a thread for all the action, including if you’re following along for Bridgeport’s Last Ride. So many years where Hershey was dominant, it’s nice to have Bridgeport with home advantage and a decent chance to win a mini-round in their finale season.

For a read on Bridgeport, here’s a piece on how Rocky Thompson has affected the culture in his first year there.

Faceoff in Bridgeport is 7 p.m. EDT. Meanwhile, the NHL slate is:

This is our playoff game thread. Let the player hate run through you.