The Vegas Golden Knights will make a training change in the center of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Buffalo Sabres will attain the Eastern Conference remaining.
The Minnesota Wild advance previous the first spherical for the first time since 2015.
Those had been amongst the responses The Athletic received this week when it requested its hockey workers for bold predictions for the postseason.
Here are some prognostications from writers, with puck drop on playoff hockey simply hours away.
Pittsburgh Penguins
They will attain the second spherical
The Penguins get the finest draw of anybody in the East. With all due respect to the Flyers, the Penguins are the higher team on paper. And the Penguins are getting a greater draw than the Hurricanes, who received the Metropolitan Division. Carolina might simply lose its first-round matchup, which really offers the Penguins an actual likelihood to succeed in the Eastern Conference remaining. They had a 9 p.c likelihood to succeed in the postseason in Vegas sports activities books in October and have develop into fairly a narrative. — Josh Yohe
Philadelphia Flyers
Matvei Michkov will lead the team in scoring
Michkov regressed this season. After 26 targets and 63 factors in his rookie 12 months, he managed simply 20 targets and 51 factors in 2025-26. But popping out of the Olympic break, which he used to get in some much-needed conditioning work and coaching, Michkov was considered one of the Flyers’ simplest wingers down the stretch. He scored enormous targets in key wins over Winnipeg and Carolina, suggesting he has a knack for rising to the event. — Kevin Kurz
Ottawa Senators
They will advance to the Eastern Conference remaining
The Senators turned their season round with a robust second half propelled by enhancements in goaltending and penalty killing. But their basic construction of sturdy defensive work and pouncing on offensive probabilities has been their bread and butter all 12 months lengthy. It’s a playoff-ready model that may take some groups unexpectedly this 12 months, and it might result in them successful a spherical or extra. — Julian McKenzie
Carolina Hurricanes
They will attain the Stanley Cup Final
The Hurricanes have been criticized for not reaching the Stanley Cup Final, however that is their finest team since Rod Brind’Amour took over as coach. The Hurricanes might be clear favorites in the opening spherical and once more in Round 2 ought to they advance. The path on the different half of the Eastern Conference bracket is harsher. If Carolina could make fast work of its opponents in the first two rounds, it’s going to set itself as much as be able to get previous the convention remaining. — Cory Lavalette
Boston Bruins
James Hagens will make an offensive influence
Hagens had an help in his NHL debut towards the Blue Jackets. It was an excellent warmup for what’s to come back. The 19-year-old is in the operating to be the No. 3 left wing for Game 1 due to his velocity, ability, puck-moving skill and consciousness. There are extra targets and assists coming in the playoffs for the No. 7 choose from 2025. — Fluto Shinzawa
Buffalo Sabres
They will go to the Eastern Conference remaining
By successful the Atlantic Division, the Sabres have set themselves as much as hold their feel-good story going deep into the playoffs. The Bruins received’t be a simple out, but when the Sabres survive that sequence, they may get the winner of a Lightning-Canadiens sequence that’s going to be grueling and bodily. It’s bold to foretell a playoff newcomer to win two rounds, however the Sabres have the path and the roster to do it. — Matthew Fairburn
Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy will return to playoff kind
It might not sound bold, figuring out Vasilevskiy’s popularity in the Lightning’s three straight journeys to the Stanley Cup Final. But the actuality is, he hasn’t lived as much as that title in the final three postseasons. It doesn’t fall totally on his shoulders, however the strain is on for him to seek out his kind and be a postseason sport breaker once more. — Shayna Goldman
Montreal Canadiens
Jakub Dobeš will file a first-round shutout
It is bold as a result of Dobeš is going through the Lightning. But it might occur as a result of Dobeš allowed a single purpose to the Lightning twice in a span of 10 days in a pair of Canadiens wins towards their future first-round opponent. Making one additional save is in him. From the commerce deadline by means of the finish of the season, Dobeš led the NHL in targets saved above anticipated, in accordance with Hockey Stats. Only Nashville’s Justus Annunen was even shut. — Arpon Basu
Minnesota Wild
They will advance to the second spherical for the first time since 2015
This is the finest team in Wild historical past and hardly the identical one Dallas confronted in 2023. First, there are the three legit superstars in Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Quinn Hughes. Kaprizov performed harm in 2023, Boldy wasn’t a star but, and Hughes wasn’t in Minnesota. Plus, Joel Eriksson Ek basically missed the sequence, Ryan Hartman had a knee harm, and Brock Faber was a third-pair defenseman contemporary off faculty ice. This is now a talented, deep team that may get targets from three strains and beat groups up in the backside six. — Michael Russo
Dallas Stars
Jason Robertson could have a couple of multi-goal sport towards the Wild
Robertson has simply three multi-goal video games in 56 profession playoff video games, however he’s discovered one other gear this season. And he absolutely might be additional motivated to ship Minnesota basic supervisor Bill Guerin dwelling early after being left off Team USA’s Olympic roster. Can he match Mikko Rantanen’s spectacular first-round efficiency towards Colorado final spring? He would possibly must (or not less than come shut) in the hardest early matchup of the postseason. — Mark Lazerus
Edmonton Oilers
Their secondary scoring reveals up
This train is perhaps more durable for the Oilers than another team. Would anybody be shocked if Connor McDavid and a soon-to-be-available Leon Draisaitl dragged them for two, three or 4 rounds? Nope. Would anybody be shocked in the event that they self-destructed in the first spherical towards Anaheim, their current run of strong defensive play however? Nope. How about this: Their second layer — Matt Savoie, Vasily Podkolzin — comes up with some large, needed targets to win them a sequence. It’s bold, however it shouldn’t be. — Sean Gentille
Anaheim Ducks
They will upset the Oilers
Is this bold sufficient? Let’s simply say the Oilers higher not let it occur and have Connor McDavid begin questioning whether or not they’ll ever win all of it. The Ducks can’t defend constantly, and their shaky penalty kill towards a prolific Edmonton energy play isn’t an excellent match. But there might be loads of targets in this sequence, and Lukáš Dostál has big-game skill even when he’s had a so-so season. Anaheim can rating and is not intimidated by Edmonton’s high-paced sport. If Dostál outplays Connor Ingram, who is aware of? — Eric Stephens
Vegas closed the common season undefeated in regulation (7-0-1) underneath new coach John Tortorella. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights
They will make a training change in the center of the playoffs
I don’t consider this has ever occurred, however these are alleged to be bold, proper? Vegas fired Gerard Gallant after he took an enlargement team to the Stanley Cup Final. It fired Pete DeBoer after he twice led the team to the remaining 4 of the playoffs. It fired its Cup-winning coach, Bruce Cassidy, with eight video games left in the season. John Tortorella has sparked the team, however what if that magic wears off after a sequence or two? We’ve seen this group make bolder strikes in the previous. — Jesse Granger
Utah Mammoth
Logan Cooley will get away as their finest offensive driver
Clayton Keller has been Utah’s offensive engine and finest participant all season lengthy. Cooley, in an injury-plagued season, is producing at a 65 factors per 82 video games tempo, which is nice, however not elite. With his elite velocity and ability mixture, nevertheless, I’m predicting Cooley will use the 2026 playoffs as a launching pad for his arrival as a real star participant in this league. — Harman Dayal
Colorado Avalanche
They will win a Game 7
I don’t know which spherical, and I don’t know if it’s going to result in a championship, however I believe that is the 12 months the Avalanche will overcome their Game 7 shedding streak. They’ve misplaced seven Game 7s in a row courting to the 2002 Western Conference remaining towards Detroit. — Peter Baugh
Los Angeles Kings
They will give Anže Kopitar three extra dwelling video games
There is bold and there’s wacky. Wacky is pondering the Kings will pull off the mom of upsets towards the team that may very well be the heavy Stanley Cup favourite so long as it will get previous the Minnesota-Dallas winner in the second spherical. But bold is pondering the Kings will steal a few wins and make Colorado sweat a bit. That would imply attending to a Game 6 in L.A., and if which means one other send-off for the elegant heart in entrance of his appreciative fan base, that’s not a foul factor. — Eric Stephens
