There will be no mysteries when Tampa Bay and Florida meet in the first round of the playoffs after facing off eight times this season and twice in the past week. Same deal for Montreal and Toronto, who have played 10 times since mid-January.

“I don’t want to say it takes kind of some of the fun out it, but it does because you know a lot more what to expect,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.

A strange NHL regular season has given way to a one-of-a-kind playoff tournament for the Stanley Cup. It will feature an opening two rounds of all divisional play for the first time in almost 30 years and re-seed the final four to crown a champion for the first time in league history.

“It’s just another thing about our year that’s incredibly unique,” Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said Friday. “You could see matchups that you would generally only see in a Stanley Cup Final situation, so that’s going to add another layer of uniqueness to an already unique season.”

All Times EDT

FIRST ROUND

(Best-of-7)

Saturday, May 15

Boston at Washington, 7:15 p.m.

Sunday, May 16

N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 12 p.m.

Minnesota at Vegas, 3 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, May 17

Boston at Washington, 7:30 p.m.

Nashville at Carolina, 8 p.m.

St. Louis at Colorado, 10 p.m.

Tuesday, May 18

Islanders at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Florida, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Vegas, 10 p.m.