2025-2026 NHL Playoff Predictions

The NHL playoffs drop the puck today  in Raleigh, North Carolina as the Carolina Hurricanes host the Ottawa Senators at 3pm EST. Another year of playoffs with the terrible divisional format and the 2-1-0 points system. This year’s edition of the NHL postseason features a seven and eight seed in the conference squaring off in the first round, a first round Western Conference matchup between the second and third best in the conference, a potential second round conference matchup that will be between the first and second best teams in the conference, and a team that has the second least regulation wins in the WHOLE LEAGUE at 22 tied with the 31st place Chicago Blackhawks. Gary Bettman is one of the most hated commissioners in professional sports and thus further highlights why fans hate him.

Both the President’s Trophy and defending Stanley Cup winners from the 2024-2025 season will be watching this year’s playoffs from the comfort of their own couches. The Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers finished 26th and 25th respectively. Six new teams enter the fray this year as Buffalo, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Anaheim, and Utah look to capture Lord Stanley. Colorado enters as the President’s Trophy winner and will look to get through a tough second round matchup, Edmonton is eyeing a third straight Finals trip, and Tampa is trying to capture the annual Florida team spot in the Finals out of the Eastern Conference. Three Canadian teams are in the dance this year as one of Edmonton, Ottawa, or Montreal aims to break the Canadian Cup curse. With that lets get into the predictions for the 2025-2026 NHL playoffs.

Eastern Conference

Buffalo Sabres (A1) vs Boston Bruins (WC1): The Buffalo Sabres snapped their NHL leading 14-year postseason drought in fashion topping the ultra competitive Atlantic Division. Neither team was in last year’s postseason, but the Bruins have the upper hand in experience. David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman were all integral parts of past playoff runs by the Bruins. The Sabres enter with a team relatively new to the playoffs with players like Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and Josh Doan all making their playoff debuts. Alex Tuch is the veteran playoff performer on this Sabres roster as he has experience with deep postseason runs with Vegas. Although not a key offensive factor for the Golden Knights in these trips, Tuch will be a key player for the Sabres with his physicality and playoff experience in what will be two raucous environments. There is a lot of anticipation from Sabres fans after their 50-win season, but the playoffs are a different beast. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen projects as the starter for the Sabres as the top choice of the three-headed goaltending monster that all posted a sub 3.00 GAA and an above .900 SV% with the Finnish goaltender sporting a 2.52 GAA and .910 SV%. In the other net Swayman enters with a 2.71 GAA and a .908 SV%. Both teams counteract the others advantage on special teams with the Sabres having a top 10 penalty kill to match the Bruins top 10 powerplay whereas the Atlantic champs struggle on the powerplay where Boston also struggles killing penalties. The Bruins took the season series three games to one. Sabres in 6 games. If Buffalo can slow down Pastrnak, the Sabres depth can outplay the Bruins’. Boston has the advantage in net and with experience, but the Sabres are riding a high and home-ice advantage after a 14-year drought will inject an extra set of energy into these players. Look for Buffalo’s third line with Josh Norris, Zach Benson, and Doan to be an X-factor as this line has produced points in six-straight games.

Tampa Bay Lightning (A2) vs Montreal Canadiens (A3): These teams split their season series 2-2. Tampa Bay has the experience, they have the goaltending, but can they topple the relentless Canadiens? Nikita Kucherov sparks the Lightning offence, but it’s been a down year for other offensive weapons like Brayden Point as Tampa’s depth is not what it once was when they won their Cup. Jake Guentzal is the secondary scorer for the Lightning with 88 points. The Lightning have struggled on the powerplay in the absence of their defensive quarterback Victor Hedman who is still uncertain for this series as he deals with a personal matter. Darren Raddysh and JJ Moser have been a great defensive pairing and Raddysh has had some offensive pop to make up for the absence of the Lightning captain, but their depth on defence and offence is concerning. Andrei Vasilevskiy had a rocky start to the season, but he seems to be the top candidate for the Vezina trophy with the most wins, second best GAA, and fifth best SV%. Jakub Dobes looks to be the Habs starter and after a stellar start to the year he came back down to earth to close out the year. The Czech goaltender had a 2.78 GAA and .901 SV% racking up 29 wins for the bleu, blanc, et rouge. The Habs will be without off-season acquisition Noah Dobson for at least the first few games as he recovers from an upper body injury. Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Lane Hutson are the driving forces of this Canadiens team. Caufield broke the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career with 51 goals and Suzuki piled in 101 points the first time he has eclipsed a century. Hutson just missed a point per game from the back end but remains one of the top offensive defencemen in the NHL. The Canadiens do not lack depth either. Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, and Oliver Kapanen have all been key contributors for the Habs offence. Canadiens in 6 games. Depth is key when it comes top the playoffs and Montreal has more of it in this series. Vasilevskiy is a tough goalie to have to face, but he’s shown moments of struggle in the playoffs the past few seasons with a sub .900 SV% and a GAA above 3.20 in his last three series. The Habs have the offensive power to cause the Lightning trouble and send them bolting for the couch.

Carolina Hurricanes (M1) vs Ottawa Senators (WC2): The Hurricanes have struggled to create offence and get consistent goaltending in their last few playoff appearances, and this year the same issues look to be present. Pytor Kotchetkov is back and healthy but has not played an NHL game since mid-December. Frederik Andersen has struggled all season but his playoff track record in recent years is not too bad. Rookie netminder Brandon Bussi, rounds out the goaltending trio, had an incredible start to his NHL career before tapering off and going into a hot/cold situation. None of these options really screams confidence in the net for a first round matchup. Pair this with a team that struggles with getting depth scoring and does not have a top tier superstar on their roster. Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Andrei Svechnikov have been their best offensive weapons this season and in the past postseason trips. Off-season addition Nikolaj Ehlers should add some additional scoring depth, but will there be enough secondary scoring for the Canes? On the other side the Senators have question marks of their own. Ottawa also lacks a true game breaking superstar while having many solid contributors. Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Jake Sanderson are the key skaters for this Senators squad. The Sens have a heavy squad that fits well with playoff-style hockey with Dylan Cozens leading the way throwing around his body with 215 hits good for 15th in the NHL. Tkachuk and Fabian Zetterlund provide some additional physicality for a Sens roster that has a solid combination of skill and grit. Linus Ullmark has had a whirlwind season with plenty of ups and downs. The Swedish netminder has a 2.73 GAA and a sub .900 SV% on the season but he’s hitting his stride at the right time. In his six April starts, Ullmark is 5-1-0 with a 1.83 GAA, a .926 SV% and one shutout, including three wins over playoff teams including a 6-3 victory over the Canes. The Sens goalie will look to shake off his postseason demons, as the Swede has struggled in his playoff career. Senators in 7 games. Ottawa’s mix of physicality and skill squeak out a victory over the Eastern Conference winning Canes. Neither team gets strong goaltending but timely scoring by the Sens, physical play, depth chipping in, and some key saves by Ullmark give the Sens enough to pull off the upset.

Pittsburgh Penguins (M2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (M3): The Pennsylvania rivalry has one of the best storylines for a first round matchup, but a seven eight matchup highlights the horrendous playoff format. The Penguins finished as the seventh best Eastern Conference team while the Flyers grabbed the eighth seed, yet here they are with one of them going to be guaranteed a spot in the second round. Goaltending will be a big talking point as the Pens made a trade deadline swap to acquire Stuart Skinner from the Edmonton Oilers for Tristan Jarry. Skinner has not been great in his time with Pittsburgh, 2.99 GAA and .885 SV%, but he did manage to get to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals with Edmonton. On the other side Dan Vladar has had a tremendous season backstopping the Flyers with a 2.42 GAA and a .906 SV%.  Neither team has a player with 80+ points on their roster, but when you have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on your team it is hard to count you out. Pittsburgh has the experience advantage from the forwards to the goaltenders. Depth may favour the Flyers though. The Flyers youth movement has been on full display in their last few games with Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, and Denver Barkey all displaying an offensive spark. Martone fresh off a season in the NCAA, has nine points in his last six games. Michkov has 11 points in the eight games he played in April. Penguins in 7 games. The season series was split 2-2 but the Penguins’ wins were dominant, and the Flyers’ victories were both in overtime. The plethora of experience on this Penguins team paired with a fleeting sense of the end for Crosby, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Malkin and an extra kick from an in-state rivalry gives the Pens the edge. Crosby is the biggest X-factor as he still possesses elite talent at 38 years old. Skinner will have to get hot for the Pens to go further but he has shown that he can contribute to a deep playoff run. Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny will look to spoil the party, but the Pens will come out on top.

Western Conference

Colorado Avalanche (C1) vs Los Angeles Kings (WC2): The Colorado Avalanche dominated the 2025-2026 season leading the league almost wire-to-wire. The Avs finished the season with 48 regulation wins, six more than the Sabres and 10 more than the next best team in their conference. The Los Angeles Kings on the other hand were the primary benefactor of the loser point. The Kings set an NHL record losing 20 games in overtime or shootout. Every team in the Pacific outside of Anaheim would have a .500 or worse record if the league didn’t include the loser point and instead chalked it up as a loss. LA finished the year with 22 regulation wins, second worse in the NHL. The only team with less was the lowly Vancouver Canucks who finished 32 points behind the Kings and have pole position for the first overall pick. The Kings don’t deserve to be in the playoffs, but it will be nice to have Anze Kopitar finish his career with a few more games of playoff hockey. The Avalanche had the most goals for, the least goals allowed, the best penalty kill, and the least amount of penalty minutes. To say they ran away with the President’s Trophy is an understatement. The only downside of this talented Avalanche team was their powerplay that operated at 17.1%, the 5th worst in the league. With talents like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, Valeri Nichuskin, Brock Nelson, and Nazem Kadri it is hard to believe this team can not put it together. If the Avalanche can get their powerplay clicking it will be almost impossible to stop this team. Avalanche in 4 games. The Kings lost all three regular season games by 2+ goals, and I don’t expect this series to go any differently. The Avalanche have way more talent, better offence, better defence, better goaltending, and better coaching. Anything other than a sweep would be shocking.

Dallas Stars (C2) vs Minnesota Wild (C3): The second and third best teams in the conference playing, this must be at least the second round. Nope the Stars and Wild get rewarded for their stellar seasons with the gift of playing each other in a first round matchup. Make it make sense Mr. Commissioner. Gripes about the playoff format aside this series should be a treat for fans to watch. A 2-2 split in the season series and both teams topping 100 points, this matchup should never have been in the first round, and it will be a shame to see one of these teams knocked out with at least one team more than 10 points behind them guaranteed to be moving on. The Wild have not won a playoff series since 2015. Can Bill Guerin’s big swing to acquire Quinn Hughes finally push this Wild team over the first-round hump? Kirill Kaprisov is the offensive leader, but he has been in this same position before and has not been able to lead the Wild to a playoff victory. Minnesota has a choice between Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt as both goaltenders have been solid this season, but neither has had playoff success in their career. Both goalies have a sub 2.70 GAA and an above .900 SV%. Jake Oettinger is no slouch in the Stars’ net though as he sports a 2.59 GAA and a .899 SV%. The Stars have a premier playoff performer in Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen who has 123 points in 99 postseason games. Dallas comes into the first round riding a five-game win streak and are 7-2-1 in their last ten. Top defender Miro Heiskanen is currently questionable for Game 1 of this series and top line center Roope Hintz is likely to miss most of this matchup, if not all of it. Hughes came down with an illness for the Wild but is still projected to play Game 1. Stars in 7 games. The Wild can’t overcome the first-round hump, yet again. Rantanen, Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston lead a Stars attack that has stayed consistent in the absence of Hintz. A strong defensive team, allowing the second fewest goals per game. Oettinger brings more playoff pedigree in net, and the experience of the Stars leads them to a hard-fought victory over the Wild. Expect a lot of 3-2 games in this series as both teams play stout defence.

Vegas Golden Knights (P1) vs Utah Mammoth (WC1): Another Pacific team, another uncomfortable conversation about the loser point. The Golden Knights had 17 losses in overtime or shootout for a record of 39 wins and 43 total losses. Despite this they were gifted the top spot in a pathetic Pacific Division. Vegas finished with 30 regulation wins, three less than their first-round opponent the Mammoth. Utah had a record of 43 wins and 39 total losses and became the first NHL team in the shootout era to never have a game decided by the skills competition across an 82-game season. Vegas has been a strong team since the dismissal of head coach Bruce Cassidy and the appointment of John Tortorella. The Golden Knights are 7-0-1 since Torts took the reins of this team. With a top six powerplay and penalty kill, the expansion franchise is a special team’s nightmare. For the first season the NHL changed their playoff salary cap rules and Mark Stone and Vegas can’t have a “sore back” to add players to their roster at the deadline to be over the cap for the playoffs. Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner lead this Vegas offence that still has question marks on defence and in goal despite the acquisition of Rasmus Andersson and the signing of Carter Hart. Utah is led by a young, rising core with Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther being the key offensive pieces. Mikhail Sergachev brings some valuable playoff experience to the back end. There are still questions when it comes to experience, goaltending, and game breaking talent on this Mammoth squad, but they managed to navigate a treacherous Central Division to secure the top wild card spot in the West. Karel Vejmelka’s play in the Mammoth net will be the X-factor in this series. Mammoth in 6 games. Utah has a balanced home and away record whereas the Knights struggle more on the road. T-Mobile has been seen as a fortress in recent years, but the Mammoth won 4-0 in Vegas in their last meeting as they took the rubber match of their season series. The Mammoth outscored Vegas 10-5 in their three regular season meetings and despite less playoff experience the Mammoth have the makings for an upset.

Edmonton Oilers (P2) vs Anaheim Ducks (P3): And for the fifth straight season the Edmonton Oilers will play the Los Ang… For the first time in the last five seasons the Oilers will face a new foe in the first round of the playoffs as the Anaheim Ducks join the playoff picture for the first time since 2018. If there’s one thing you can expect in this series, it’s goals. These two teams surrender the most goals among teams in the dance with Edmonton allowing 269 and Anaheim letting in a whopping 288 goals. The Oilers have appeared in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and should be a resounding favourite in this matchup against a young, inexperienced Ducks team. Led by Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard the Oilers have a lethal attack and plenty of star power. The status of the German forward is in doubt for the start of the series as he is still recovering from an injury suffered over a month ago. Goaltending is a big question mark even after a mid-season goalie swap with Pittsburgh where the Oilers acquired Jarry and shipped out former netminder Skinner. Jarry has not provided the goaltending stability that Edmonton was looking for to push them over the edge to go from finalist to winner. The Ducks are led by young two-way center Leo Carlsson, sniper Cutter Gauthier, and veteran blue liner John Carlson. The Ducks have a very well-rounded team but don’t have the star power to compete with McDavid and Draisaitl. Anaheim has limped into the playoffs sporting a 2-6-2 record in their last ten, whereas the Oilers are on a 6-2-2 run heading into the first round. The Pacific was a strange division this year with the Ducks being the only team to have more wins than losses. The loser point was a gift for the Pacific Division who has four of the five worst teams in the playoffs. Three eliminated Eastern Conference teams have a better record than the Ducks. This series is a five seed versus a seven seed in another whacky matchup caused by the horrendous divisional playoff system by Bettman. Oilers in 5 games. McDavid can single-handedly take over a series and no one on this Ducks team can stop him. The Ducks have a great young core and will surely be back in the playoffs for years to come, but they won’t be getting in the way of McDavid and the Oilers’ quest to take home the Cup. Lukas Dostal likely steals a game, but the Oilers star power leads them to a comfortable first round victory.

Second Round

Canadiens over Sabres in 6 games: This series is very even. I lean to the Canadiens as they have the best player in Suzuki and best goal scorer in Caufield. Dahlin and Thompson shine for the Sabres as their fairytale run ends in the second round. With a solid core, it doesn’t look like the Sabres will be starting another playoff drought any time soon. Goaltending for both teams will be a point of interest as neither goalie has any prior playoff experience as a starter. 

Senators over Penguins in 7 games: This will all come down to the play of Ullmark and Skinner. If either goalie gets hot, the edge goes to their team. I have more trust in Ullmark and the depth of Ottawa to squeak out a Game Seven victory. There is no Chris Kunitz to ruin Ottawa’s run this year. Crosby, Letang, and Malkin bow out for the final time in the playoffs? 

Avalanche over Stars in 6 games: The Avalanche have the depth and star power to beat anyone this year. The Stars have got some key injuries and after a grinding seven game series versus the Wild, the Avs outlast the Stars. If the playoffs had been 1-8 seeded I could see this series going seven games, but the toll of a first round matchup versus Minnesota is enough for the rested Avs to take this series in six. 

Oilers over Mammoth in 6 games: This series could honestly be done in four or five games. The Oilers are a much stronger team with immense star power that the Mammoth lack. I think Vejmelka and Keller can lead this Utah team to an upset or two, but ultimately McDavid is hard to contain when you don’t have the elite talent to counter him. 

Conference Finals

Canadiens over Senators in 6 games: Special teams could be the deciding factor in this matchup as the Senators rank 29th in penalty kill percentage with the Habs having a top ten power play. Ullmark is the better overall goalie, but his playoff struggles are something to be concerned about especially heading to face a raucous Bell Centre crowd. Depth scoring propels the Canadiens to the Cup Final. 

Avalanche over Oilers in 6 games: The Oilers have been a better defensive team since the All-Star break, but their goaltending situation is still a point of concern. Question marks in net are not something you want when you have to face the lethal offence of the Avalanche. Goaltending and depth are the swing factors of this series as McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard battle MacKinnon, Necas, and Makar in a star-studded Western Conference Final. Look for Kadri or Nelson to emerge as major X-factors for the Avs in this series. 

Stanley Cup

Avalanche over Canadiens in 6 games: The experience and depth of Colorado is unrivaled in this year’s playoffs. The Habs center depth behind Suzuki gets exposed as the Avs can run out MacKinnon, Nelson, Kadri down the middle of the ice. The Avs have the perfect combination of players to win it all. MacKinnon wins the Conn Smythe as Colorado finishes off their dominant season with the ultimate exclamation point.