What to watch this long weekend in sports

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Here are some things for Canadian fans to enjoy over the next few days:

NHL: The Stanley Cup playoffs are here

Montreal finally clinched the last available spot with its 4-2 win over Carolina last night, sending the Canadiens back to the post-season for the first time in four years and giving Canada five entries in the 16-team bracket. In order of their place in the overall standings, Winnipeg (first), Toronto (fourth), Edmonton (ninth) and Ottawa (14th) join Montreal (17th) in the hunt for the country's first Cup since Patrick Roy's Habs won it in 1993.

The NHL this afternoon released the full schedule for the first round. It opens Saturday with a pair of Western Conference games as Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg hosts St. Louis at 6 p.m. ET and Colorado visits Dallas at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The first Battle of Ontario series in 21 years begins Easter Sunday at 7 p.m. ET when Atlantic Division champion Toronto hosts wild-card Ottawa. The other games that day are New Jersey at Carolina (3 p.m. ET) and Minnesota at Vegas (10 p.m. ET).

Three Canadian teams are in action Monday. Montreal opens its series against Alex Ovechkin and the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. ET before Winnipeg and St. Louis play Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Edmonton starts its fourth consecutive first-round matchup with Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET. Game 2 of the Colorado-Dallas series is at 9:30 pm. ET.

The Battle of Florida between the Stanley Cup champion Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning doesn't start until Tuesday night, which also features Game 2 of the Ottawa-Toronto