History is being made again in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

On the heels of the first back-to-back champions in two decades Josh Jackson Jersey Youth , the NHL will get a new champion in the salary-cap era that began in 2005. Among the Lightning, Capitals, Jets and Golden Knights, only Tampa Bay has won the Stanley Cup, making this the first time the final four teams have combined for one title or fewer.

Tampa Bay is in the Eastern Conference final for the third time in four years, and Washington has made the playoffs 10 out of the past 11 seasons. Yet after one of Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh lifted the Cup every time since 2009, this crop of new blood is refreshing.

”They’re all good stories,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”The same old story sometimes can get old. Once in a while a new chapter is written, and it’ll be good. This year there will be a new chapter.”

The next chapter begins with the Capitals visiting the Lightning on Friday night Dante Pettis 49ers Jersey , followed by the Golden Knights at Winnipeg on Saturday night. It’s a full turnover from the final four teams last year: Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Nashville and Anaheim.

The Jets became the fourth and final team to reach the third round when they beat the defending Western Conference-champion Predators on the road in Game 7 on Thursday night. Winnipeg is the final hope for Canada’s first Cup celebration since Montreal in 1993 and is in the conference final for the first time in franchise history.

”Having some diversity amongst the league is great, and I think it just shows the competitive balance throughout the league,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. ”Having good young players is a great place to start and you see that the teams that have good young players have gotten good fast. So I think it’s a good thing to have some fan bases have some extended postseason success. It just creates a better vibe.”

The Lightning are trying to create the vibe Hockey Bay hasn’t seen since winning the Cup in 2004. They fell short in a six-game loss to the Blackhawks in the 2015 final with this core, led by Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.

Even after missing the playoffs last year when Stamkos was out long term with a knee injury, Tampa Bay has plenty of recent playoff experience from recent runs and the additions of ex-Rangers players Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and J.T. Miller.

”We’ve been here in this situation before,” Stamkos said. ”There’s no panic or nervousness. We’re excited.”

Vegas hasn’t been in any situation before, building off the best inaugural season in NHL history by beating Los Angeles and San Jose to reach the West final. Among the four good stories remaining, none is as remarkable as the Golden Knights Connor Williams Cowboys Jersey , who pieced together players from around the league to get further than anyone expected.

”I haven’t been around a team like this,” general manager George McPhee said. ”This feels like more of a team than any team I’ve ever been with at the NHL level.”

McPhee’s former team in Washington has the same feeling. The Capitals aren’t as deep or talented as in years past, but they’re in the East final for the first time since 1998, when McPhee was in his first season as their GM.

”I’ve had some teams that have been very, very talented and they weren’t necessarily the best teams,” said Trotz, who is in the third round for the first time in 19 years as an NHL head coach. ”I think the belief in the group, or the chemistry in the group, is the intangible and this group has a good chemistry about it.”

What excites Jets coach Paul Maurice most about the fresh teams in the conference finals is the hope it keeps alive in the remaining cities. And each one can legitimately believe its team has a chance to win it all.

”That’s the great part about competition,” Maurice said. ”So that’s what’s the most exciting thing is you don’t know, right? There’s not a five-time Stanley Cup champion that’s just ran the first two series 4-0. It’s up for grabs. It’s right there.”

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AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville Uchenna Nwosu Jersey , Tennessee, contributed.

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Danny Shelton didn’t need very long to start toeing the New England Patriots‘ company line.

Less than a week after New England acquired Shelton in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, the defensive lineman is already singing coach Bill Belichick’s praises and taking notice of the team’s culture of success.

”Part of the formula to winning is doing your job, and I see that everywhere at the facility with everyone just staying focused and having that same goal leading toward success, and that’s what I want to be a part of,” Shelton said on a conference call Monday.

After spending his first three NFL seasons with a Browns team that won only four games total and went 0-16 last season, the 24-year-old Shelton is willing to adapt to whatever role Belichick sees fit for him.

”Honestly, I’m just going to go with whatever coach wants me to do,” Shelton said. ”My best (skill) is stopping the run, so if he wants me to play a defensive position I’ll do it and I’ll make sure I do my job to achieve success.”

Shelton had 128 tackles and 1 sacks over 46 games with Cleveland after being drafted by the Browns with the No. 12 overall pick out of Washington in 2015.

In 2016, Shelton started all 16 games and had a career-high 59 tackles.

Shelton hopes to wear the No. 55 with the Patriots after doing so with the Browns and in college in honor of the late Junior Seau Cheap Quenton Nelson Jersey , who wore the number throughout his career and in his last four seasons in New England.

”Any opportunity I get to wear the number I would take in a heartbeat,” Shelton said. ”It’s just amazing to have this opportunity to play for a great organization and knowing that one of my role models, one of the guys that I looked up to played here.”

Shelton said he is also fond of former Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, whom he drew comparisons to before he was drafted.

”Just knowing that I’ll be able to play for a team that’s had such great talent here, I just want to add to the team success,” Shelton said.

NOTE: The Patriots released veteran linebacker Shea McClellin.

McClellin, 28, missed the 2017 season with multiple concussions after joining the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent in 2016.

McClellin had 39 tackles and one sack in 14 games for the Patriots in 2016.

The former Boise State standout was drafted No. 19 overall in 2012 by Chicago and spent his first four NFL seasons with the Bears.

Over 52 games with Chicago, McClellin had 7 sacks and 161 tackles, including a career-high 81 in 2015.

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