On the eve of the 2025-26 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, we look at the first round matchups and which teams will move on to the final eight.
Final NHL Standings
Eastern Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Points |
| A1 | Buffalo Sabres | 50‑23‑9 | 108 |
| A2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 50‑26‑6 | 106 |
| A3 | Montreal Canadiens | 48‑24‑10 | 106 |
| M1 | Carolina Hurricanes | 53‑22‑7 | 113 |
| M2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 41‑25‑16 | 98 |
| M3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 43‑27‑12 | 98 |
| WC1 | Boston Bruins | 45‑27‑10 | 100 |
| WC2 | Ottawa Senators | 44‑27‑11 | 99 |
Western Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Points |
| C1 | Colorado Avalanche | 55‑16‑11 | 121 |
| C2 | Dallas Stars | 50‑20‑12 | 112 |
| C3 | Minnesota Wild | 46‑24‑12 | 104 |
| P1 | Vegas Golden Knights | 39‑26‑17 | 95 |
| P2 | Edmonton Oilers | 41‑30‑11 | 93 |
| P3 | Anaheim Ducks | 43‑33‑6 | 92 |
| WC1 | Utah Mammoth | 43‑33‑6 | 92 |
| WC2 | Los Angeles Kings | 35‑27‑20 | 90 |
2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – First Round Preview & Predictions
The 2026 NHL postseason opens with a compelling mix of heavyweight contenders, hungry upstarts, and several franchises seeking to rewrite long playoff narratives.
Eastern Conference
Sabres (A1) vs Bruins (WC1)
Buffalo’s long‑awaited return to prominence earned them an Atlantic title, but Boston’s playoff experience looms large. Still, the Sabres’ depth and elite five‑on‑five play tilt this matchup.
Prediction: Sabres in 7
Lightning (A2) vs Canadiens (A3)
A classic contrast: Tampa Bay’s veteran core versus Montreal’s speed and structure. Andrei Vasilevskiy remains the difference in what should be a tight series. Tampa Bay are arguably the best coached team in the National Hockey League. While the Habs are up and comers, we think the Lightning take this one.
Prediction: Lightning in 6 nah lets go 7.
Hurricanes (M1) vs Senators (WC2)
Carolina has been the league’s most complete team, while Ottawa enters with momentum but less postseason experience. The Hurricanes’ forecheck and blue‑line depth should control play, however the Sens are on a mission and this is a very good matchup for Ottawa as they have frustrated the Hurricanes this season. Sens will not give the Canes a lot of time to move the puck. Advantage Ottawa.
Prediction: Senators in 6
Penguins (M2) vs Flyers (M3)
The Battle of Pennsylvania returns. Pittsburgh’s slightly superior goaltending and power play give them the edge in what figures to be a bruising series. Reports suggest that Flyers coach, Rick Tocchet, stated that they will be “targeting” the big three players on the Penguins. This is a really touch series to predict. Seven games for sure. While we have a feeling the Flyers might prevail we’re going with the Pens.
Prediction: Penguins in 7
Western Conference
Avalanche (C1) vs Kings (WC2)
Even with Los Angeles grabbing points down the stretch to secure their playoff spot, this is a steep climb. Colorado’s transition game and offensive firepower should overwhelm the Kings. Colorado are the President’s Trophy winners as the NHL’s best regular season team and they may very well break the curse of President Trophy winners to not go on an extended run and win the Stanley Cup.
Prediction: Avalanche in 5
Stars (C2) vs Wild (C3)
If there is one reason why the NHL needs to modify their playoff structure, it’s this series. You have the third best team in the NHL vs. the seventh best team in the league and one of them is going to be out in the first round. It just does not seem fair. A tight Central Division showdown. Dallas’ scoring balance and superior special teams should be the separator in a hard‑fought series. Dallas had the better goal differential at +53 compared to Minnesota’s +32, so we will take the Stars but wouldn’t be surprised in the Wild came out of this series.
Prediction: Stars in 7
Golden Knights (P1) vs Mammoth (WC1)
Utah’s inaugural playoff run meets Vegas’ playoff‑hardened roster. The Mammoth will push, but Vegas’ depth and composure should prevail. The Golden Knights were dead in the water before they fired their coach and replaced him with John Torterlla. The team went 7-0-3 in their last ten games. They seem to be a different team the past couple of weeks. We think their bubble is going to burst, if not in the first round then in the second.
Prediction: Golden Knights in 6
Oilers (P2) vs Ducks (P3)
Edmonton enters the post season a little banged up. And after two lengthily post season runs going to game seven in the 2024 Stanely Cup Finals and losing by one goals, and then returning last year only to lose again in game six, there is some unfinished business with the Oilers. Not a lot of folks are predicting the Oilers as being a serious contender this season. However, our theory is that they just don’t care about the regular season. They just needed to get back to the post season. Rope-a-dope anyone? I think we are going to see a different Oilers team in the playoffs. Goaltending aside, their star power up front will be too much for Anaheim’s young blue line. Connor McDavid is too good to not win a Stanley Cup Championship, but have Oilers management surrounded him with the horses to win it all? Stranger things have happened as we think the only team standing in the way of the Oilers capturing the Stanley Cup is the Colorado Avalanche.
Prediction: Oilers in 6
Our picks for the final eight: Buffalo, Tampa Bay (although we really like the Canadiens), Pittsburgh and Ottawa. In the West, Colorado, Dallas, Vegas and Edmonton.
Dark-horse picks to win the Stanley Cup
Of course, we always like to pick a couple of dark-horse teams who could win it all. Let’s pick a dark-horse team from each conference.
Eastern Conference: Montreal Canadiens
Western Conference: Minnesota Wild
Ok hockey fans, we are just a few sleeps from the greatest sporting tournament in the World. Let hockey’s real season begin…. now.
