Yesterday, the 2025-26 NHL regular season came to a close. Now, the field of 16 teams has been set for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the Florida Panthers already eliminated from the postseason, a new champion will be crowned after the Cats won back-to-back Stanley Cups. With the action beginning tomorrow, here are our predictions for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
First Round
*Author's note: the underlined team is our predicted winner*
East
EAST#1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC#2 Ottawa Senators
The Hurricanes are one of the most balanced teams in the NHL this season, ranking second in scoring (3.55 goals per game) and fifth in goaltending (2.88 goals allowed per game). Though the Sens have been really good offensively as of late, this will come down to reliable goaltending. With Ottawa's Linus Ullmark giving up eight goals in his last two starts against Carolina, and the Canes’ Brandon Bussi holding the Sens to two goals per game head-to-head this season, my money is on Carolina in a close one.
ATL#1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC#1 Boston Bruins
Though the Sabres have been excellent this season, they have a losing record against the Bruins, going 1-1-2 in their four matchups, which is fairly concerning because Buffalo had more power play opportunities (15) and shots on goal (121) than Boston during the regular-season series. Regardless, I'm picking the Sabres to win this thing. This series will probably end up going to seven games, and the home crowd advantage that Buffalo will have in Game Seven will propel them to a victory.
ATL#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. ATL#3 Montreal Canadiens
Though the Lightning won the first two matchups in the regular season, that was a long time ago. If we look at their more recent contests, Tampa has shot itself in the foot, averaging 18 turnovers per game. Montreal has even managed to make two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy look pedestrian, by averaging three goals per game on him in their last two meetings. Still, I like Tampa because of its playoff goaltending experience. Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed just 2.19 goals per game since April began, while the Canadiens' expected starter, Jakub Dobes, has been giving up 3.15 goals per game this month. Also, I have much more faith in Vasilevskiy to get hot, considering he has started 115 postseason games, while Dobes has only started two.
MET#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. MET#3 Philadelphia Flyers
The season series is tied 2-2 because Philadelphia couldn't stop committing penalties, averaging 4.5 per game against Pittsburgh while allowing the Pens to convert 38.9% of their power play opportunities. For reference, the Oilers, who have the best power play in the NHL, only scored on 30.6% of their power plays this season. This is a long-winded way of saying the Penguins take advantage of Philadelphia's mistakes, which is troubling because the Flyers have the 12th-most penalties in the NHL since the beginning of March (82). Considering Philly has also had the third-worst penalty kill during that stretch (71.2%), it feels like the Pens will be moving on.
West
WEST#1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC#2 Los Angeles Kings
The Avalanche is the most complete team in the National Hockey League this season. They pass the eye test and have the stats to back it up, ranking first in the NHL in goals scored per game (3.65) and goals allowed per game (2.43). Los Angeles did an excellent job of getting itself to this point, but the Avalanche is a juggernaut. I don't see how a Kings team that has scored the fourth-fewest five-on-five goals this season (220) will keep pace with the league's best offense.
CEN#2 Dallas Stars vs. CEN#3 Minnesota Wild
The goaltending in this matchup will be top-notch since Dallas is second in the league in goals allowed per game (2.71) and Minnesota is fourth (2.87). The same can be said about the offenses in this series because Dallas averages 3.33 goals per game, and Minnesota averages 3.27. When teams are this evenly matched, you go with the group that has the hotter goalie, which would be Dallas. The Stars' Jake Oettinger has only allowed 2.25 goals per game since the beginning of March. During that stretch, the Wild's Filip Gustavsson has been giving up 2.92 goals per game and has a save percentage of .884, well below the league average over the last five seasons (.902).
PAC#1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC#1 Utah Mammoth
I guess firing your coach less than three weeks before the season ends is a good strategy? Since Vegas dismissed Bruce Cassidy and named John Tortorella the team's interim head coach, they have the best record in hockey (7-0-1). The Knights have also been the league’s best defensive team since March 29th, holding opponents to 1.88 goals per game. With the second-best offensive attack in the NHL during that stretch (4.13 goals per game), going against a Utah squad that has allowed the 11th-most goals in the league since the beginning of March (77), the Golden Knights should move on to the second round of the playoffs.
PAC#2 Edmonton Oilers vs. PAC#3 Anaheim Ducks
Scoring has never been Edmonton's issue in the postseason. Hell, the Oilers have the most goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs over the last three seasons (168)! Edmonton's problem has been goaltending, and it seems like they have that under control at the moment. Since March 1st, the Oilers are tied with the Canadiens for the seventh-fewest goals allowed in the league (62). Meanwhile, the Ducks have given up 84 goals during that stretch, which is the seventh-most in the NHL. Edmonton's sixth-ranked offense (3.44 goals per game) will overwhelm Anaheim's expected starter, Lukas Dostal, who is 45th in the league in goals allowed per game (3.10).
Second Round
*Author's note: the underlined team is our predicted winner*
East
EAST#1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. MET#2 Pittsburgh Penguins
The Canes should be well-prepared for this matchup because they already had a quasi-playoff series against the Penguins last month. From March 10th to March 22nd, Carolina faced Pittsburgh three times and won every game! The Hurricanes killed Pittsburgh with its special teams, scoring five goals on 12 power play chances. They even recorded a short-handed goal in one of those games. We also have to note that the Canes have scored the second-most goals in the NHL since March 1st (88), while the Pens have given up the most goals in the league during that stretch (93). All the data points to the Hurricanes moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
ATL#1 Buffalo Sabres vs. ATL#2 Tampa Bay Lightning
After losing their first game against the Lightning in overtime on February 3rd, Buffalo won its final three regular-season matchups against Tampa. Andrei Vasilevskiy was uncharacteristically bad in those games, giving up 11 goals on 69 shot attempts for a dreadful .840 save percentage. I know he’s better than that, and I expect Vasilevskiy to prove that after a good showing in the first round against the Canadiens. The deciding factor will be playoff experience. Only 12 players on Buffalo's roster have ever started a postseason game. On the other hand, Tampa has appeared in the fifth-most playoff games in the NHL since the start of the 2020-21 season, with 34 wins during that span. That experience will be the difference in this series.
West
WEST#1 Colorado Avalanche vs. CEN#2 Dallas Stars
Though these teams have gone head-to-head four times this season, we can scrap the first game because that was played over five months ago, and these squads have changed entirely since then. For as good as the Stars are when it comes to goaltending (second in the NHL, 2.71 GAA), the Avalanche have been better, giving up just 2.4 goals per game. Colorado's Scott Wedgewood has been the best goalie in the league this season, finishing the campaign ranked first in goals allowed per game (2.02) and save percentage (.921). What's even more impressive is that he has elevated his play recently, with a .945 save percentage and 1.36 goals allowed per game since the Olympic Break. Meanwhile, the Stars' save percentage is just .894 during that stretch, which ranks 12th in the league. Against the NHL's best offense, that won't suffice.
PAC#1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. PAC#2 Edmonton Oilers
I'm worried that the Oilers are simply going to run out of gas during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Edmonton has played the second-most total games in the NHL over the last three seasons (305) behind only the Florida Panthers (314), and we saw how poorly this year went for the Cats. Vegas has played 19 fewer games than the Oilers during this stretch, which means 1,140 fewer minutes of wear and tear on their bodies. And, as we said earlier, the Golden Knights have been the hottest team in hockey. Since March 29th, they rank first in goaltending and third in offense (4.13 goals per game). Though Edmonton has been really good in between the pipes during this period (2.13 goals per game allowed, fourth in the NHL), its offense has underwhelmed with just three goals per game (tied for 19th in the league). The Oilers will run into a hot goalie and be too gassed to go any further in the playoffs.
Conference Finals
*Author's note: the underlined team is our predicted winner*
East
EAST#1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. ATL#2 Tampa Bay Lightning
It's no secret that the Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the National Hockey League ever since Rod Brind'Amour was hired as the head coach in May of 2018. In fact, Carolina has the second-most wins in the NHL during that stretch with 378. Unfortunately, the Canes have always seemed to fall flat against the best teams in the East. After all, they're 1-12 in the three Eastern Conference Finals series they have played in under Rod Brind'Amour. It genuinely feels like the issue for Carolina is mental at this point. Just look at the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, where they were outscored by the Florida Panthers 21-10! Amazingly, that failure didn't lead to many changes, with 19 of the 25 current roster spots on the team going to guys who were on the squad last year. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result, then the Hurricanes are clearly insane. With basically the same roster as the one that fell short of reaching the Stanley Cup last season, Carolina will probably lose to Tampa Bay in six games.
West
WEST#1 Colorado Avalanche vs. PAC#1 Vegas Golden Knights
This is the classic battle between an immovable force and an unstoppable object. On one side, you have the team that is playing the best hockey in the NHL as of late, the Vegas Golden Knights, who have not lost a game in regulation since March 24th. At the same time, you have the Colorado Avalanche, who have been the best team in the NHL all season long in terms of record (55-16-11) and statistics (ranked first in offense and goaltending). In all likelihood, Adin Hill will be in goal for Vegas since he started every game for the Golden Knights in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That could be a problem because he hasn’t faced the Avalanche once this season. Then again, if Akira Schmid gets the nod for the Knights, he might end up looking like a deer in the headlights, considering he has only appeared in one playoff game for Vegas. I have much more faith in Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood to limit the Golden Knights' attack since he has a 4-1-1 record against Vegas and a .909 career save percentage against that team.
Stanley Cup Finals
Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
This year's championship will be a rematch of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, when the Avalanche defeated the Lightning 4-2. These teams split the series when they met head-to-head twice during the 2025-26 regular season. There is no shortage of offensive talent for either squad since Colorado led the league in scoring while Tampa finished fourth in that category (3.49 goals per game). The individual talent in this matchup is also off the charts. The Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon led the league in goals (53) and finished with the third-most points in the NHL (127). On the other end, we have to praise Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov, who had the second-most points in the league this season (130). As has been the case with most of the other close matchups in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, this one will be decided by the team with the better goalie. In that case, the Avalanche has the edge. Scott Wedgewood has been lights out since the Olympic Break, holding opponents to 1.36 goals per game. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been solid but not great with a .897 save percentage and 2.67 goals allowed per game during that stretch. With Nathan MacKinnon playing arguably the best hockey of his career and Scott Wedgewood between the pipes, the Avalanche will claim its fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in seven games
