Tonight begins what might be the best two weeks of the year for NHL fans. It is hard to beat the quantity and quality of NBC’s coverage of the first round of the playoffs.

All games will air on its various platforms again. Tonight features Montreal-Tampa Bay on CNBC at 7 p.m. ET; Columbus-Pittsburgh on NBCSN at 7:30 ET; and Dallas-Anaheim on NBCSN at 10 p.m. ET.

There will be four games Thursday, including Chicago-St. Louis on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The multi-platform presentation has been huge for the NHL. Play-by-play man extraordinaire Mike Emrick recalled the old days of limited coverage and the contrast to what fans get today.

“I remember there were times when I was with other networks and I’d go into a city and fans say, ‘why aren’t you guys covering more of our series, you’re only doing one game and then you’re leaving? Emrick said. “And it has been so much fun to say we’re doing every game of every series.That was 87 games two years ago, that was 88 games last year, and, who knows, it might have 90 this year.”

The other best part of the playoffs is the parity that exists in the NHL. In the NBA, it is a shock if a No. 8 seed beats a No. 1. Not so in hockey. Every team in the playoff is capable of winning the Stanley Cup.

“I don’t see any sweeps (in the first round), I really don’t,” said Eddie Olczyk. “I think in the Western Conference I mean you’re talking about six games for every playoff series in my opinion.”

The NHL also has some good rivalry series: Rangers-Philly; Blackhawks-Blues; and Boston-Detroit locking up in an Original 6 battle. Plus it has NHL icon Montreal playing Tampa Bay.

Let it begin. Enjoy.