Greg Wyshynski
Multiple Authors
The first week of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs is sort of full. That’s ample time for some early narratives to be established concerning the NHL postseason, its groups and its gamers.
Here are 10 overreactions to the 2026 NHL playoffs based mostly on what’s occurred within the first few video games and what may occur down the road. We’ll decide every one on a scale between being completely affordable to completely misguided. Enjoy!
The Flyers may win the East
The Philadelphia Flyers can get rid of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night time. That in itself is a shock, as 22 of 27 ESPN pundits picked the Penguins to advance. That the Flyers may vanquish their archrivals in a first-round sweep is frankly astonishing, given what each groups achieved within the common season.
But the extra you watch coach Rick Tocchet’s younger staff, the extra you surprise how excessive it may possibly climb.
The Flyers do numerous issues {that a} championship contender ought to do. Their defensive system limits high-danger scoring possibilities at 5-on-5. They can flex some offensive depth, as a staff that is not overly reliant on one scoring line — they usually obtained even deeper with the arrival of NCAA star Porter Martone, who suits the lineup and the Flyers’ aesthetic completely. They can play bodily and antagonize opponents. They have a goalie in Dan Vladar who can steal video games.
The verdict: OVERREACTION. The Flyers are a harmful staff, however their first-round success could be chalked as much as them being the right foil for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. They shut down components of the ice the place the Penguins prefer to thrive offensively. Their pace and depth have each been a bonus over Pittsburgh’s top-heavy staff. The Penguins’ goaltending has made Vladar appear like a Vezina Trophy winner by comparability.
But would this success switch over towards a extra seasoned and deep staff such because the Hurricanes, Lightning or Bruins, with extra achieved goaltending? That’s unclear. The Flyers nonetheless make errors that go together with their lack of playoff expertise. A greater staff can benefit from them.
Assuming Vladar stays wholesome — and he had a hand harm scare within the third interval of Game 3 — the Flyers are going to be a troublesome out. But in the end this postseason can be proof of idea for GM Danny Briere, as this younger roster earns beneficial expertise earlier than bowing out.
The Edmonton Oilers have eight objectives in two video games towards the Ducks, scoring 4 in every of them. And but they’ve tallied eight instances with Ty Emberson having outscored Connor McDavid within the sequence.
In the sense that Ty Emberson has one level, whereas Connor McDavid has none.
McDavid received the Art Ross Trophy because the NHL’s main scorer within the common season with 138 factors in 82 video games, together with 48 objectives. He had three pictures on aim on six shot makes an attempt in Edmonton’s Game 1 win. He had 4 pictures of their Game 2 loss, skating to a minus-2. The Oilers have had six power-play alternatives within the sequence and have but to attain, regardless of the presence of Connor McDavid.
So what is the components for Anaheim? Has assistant coach Jay Woodcroft, who was McDavid’s head coach in Edmonton, shared manila folders titled “How to stop McDavid” with the remainder of the workers? Are Jackson LaCombe and Jacob Trouba, who noticed loads of McDavid at 5-on-5 within the first two video games, the suitable countermeasures to decelerate the Oilers famous person? Is McDavid’s playoff offense damaged, as he is now gone three straight postseason video games with out a level, together with Game 6 towards the Florida Panthers in final season’s Stanley Cup Final?
The verdict: OVERREACTION. C’mon, it is Connor McDavid. But extra to the purpose: The Anaheim Ducks stay porous defensively. They had been underwater in anticipated objectives share, high-danger possibilities and puck possession within the first two video games. It’s only a matter of time earlier than one or two of those objectives are crafted by McDavid, particularly on the ability play,
FYI: McDavid has by no means gone greater than two video games with out a level over the course of his 45-game NHL playoff profession. Something to bear in mind for Friday night time in Anaheim.
We anticipated it will be a battle between the third- and seventh-best groups within the NHL after they had been pressured to fulfill within the first spherical, and what a battle it has been. Dallas took a 2-1 sequence lead with a double-overtime win, as Wyatt Johnston scored on the ability play after Danila Yurov had the waking nightmare of placing the puck over the glass in a playoff OT.
Whether it was Minnesota overpowering Dallas in Game 1 or the Stars outlasting the Wild in Game 3, these are two terribly good groups. One will go house. Will the opposite win the West?
The verdict: OVERREACTION. Yeah, there’s a little bit staff known as the Colorado Avalanche that would really like a phrase concerning the winner of this sequence laying declare the West.
That’s to not shortchange the Stars, who’ve made three straight convention finals and knocked out the Avalanche final season within the first spherical. Nor is supposed to disrespect the Wild, who’re completely loaded with elite expertise like Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber.
Could the winner of this sequence defeat the mighty Avalanche, ought to they advance previous the Kings? Sure. Will that occur? Given what we have seen from the Avs now and it the common season, it is unlikely … though Dallas is definitely exhibiting they have the stuff to do it.
Juraj Slafkovsky is the NHL’s most underrated participant
How many instances have you ever heard the names Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield with out listening to the title of their linemate in the identical breath?
Such is the lot in life for Juraj Slafkovsky. The first general choose in 2022 took a short while to percolate within the NHL after arriving as an 18-year-old. His rookie season in 2022-23 was 39 video games lengthy and he scored simply 10 factors, failing to earn a single Calder Trophy vote. His level whole and plus-minus score improved 12 months over 12 months from 2023-25.
This season was his breakout: 30 objectives, 43 assists for 73 factors in 82 video games. His Game 1 hat trick powered the Canadiens over the Lightning, giving him 5 objectives in seven profession playoff video games.
The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. Do individuals know Juraj Slafkovsky’s title? They ought to, given his lofty draft standing and his “beast mode” performances within the Olympic males’s hockey match. And but it seems like individuals have not fairly but caught on to how unbelievable he is been this season for the Habs and on that line with Suzuki and Caufield. It’s only a matter of time earlier than they do — maybe even on this postseason.
The Buffalo Sabres are a feel-good story, nothing extra
When it involves Stanley Cup playoff moments, the cathartic rush of Buffalo’s first playoff win since 2011 is difficult to high. Tage Thompson single-handedly rallying his staff. The enviornment shaking from the followers’ delirium when the Sabres took the lead and received Game 1. The supporters within the staff’s watch social gathering, going tarps off in 30-degree climate whereas snow gently fell throughout their victory celebration.
And then Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could not cease a seaside ball in Game 2. The Boston Bruins evened the sequence and the vibes shifted.
The Sabres had been a 109-point staff within the common season and Atlantic Division champions. That’s legit. But after they seemingly answered so many questions on their playoff readiness in Game 1, their Game 2 efficiency created extra of them, and never nearly their normally reliable goaltending.
Their energy play is ice-cold, failing to attain in its previous 31 alternatives. That’s mainly an invite to the Bruins to take liberties with Sabres gamers with out repercussions on the scoreboard.
The verdict: OVERREACTION. Some losses are higher than others, or not less than extra useful. The adrenaline rush of Buffalo’s third-period rally in Game 1 wasn’t going to hold it for the remainder of the sequence. This is an inexperienced playoff staff, and a part of that inexperience is studying easy methods to handle the emotional journey of a postseason sequence. Bad goaltending led to a 3-0 deficit in Game 2. The Sabres tried to mount a rally once more within the third, but it surely was too steep a climb.
So the teachings are realized: It’s a 60-minute recreation. Sometimes adversity hits unexpectedly. Teams do not win the Cup on good vibes alone. And maybe most significantly, each recreation is its personal battle. Forget the final one.
The Sabres are the higher staff. The Bruins are, I feel, the savvier one. We’ll discover out within the subsequent two video games if the Sabres are one thing greater than only a feel-good story. I believe they’re.
The Golden Knights had one of many strangest seasons within the NHL, even by their peculiar requirements.
They swung the deal and signed Mitch Marner, the largest title on the offseason market. Star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo stepped away from “the intensity of hockey” to see if his injured hip may very well be rehabbed. They signed Carter Hart after his acquittal within the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial final summer season. They performed by way of their ordinary spate of accidents and absences to gamers like Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Brayden McNabb. They made one of many season’s greatest trades in buying defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
It all added as much as a profitable if uninspiring season. So with eight video games left within the season, the Golden Knights hit the nuclear possibility: firing Bruce Cassidy and hiring John Tortorella.
And it labored! Torts went 7-0-1, because the Knights discovered their depth and their defensive recreation to win the Pacific Division and meet the Utah Mammoth (wild card No. 1) within the opening spherical. Their sequence is tied at 1-1 … and the Golden Knights may very well be in hassle.
The Mammoth have been the higher 5-on-5 staff within the sequence. They led Game 1 coming into the third interval, solely to have their inexperience present by permitting two objectives in 1:47 to squander the lead and fumble the sport. They performed the Knights evenly by way of two durations in Game 2 till Logan Cooley‘s third-period game-winner.
(Cooley and Dylan Guenther have been dominant for Utah in a star-making manner up to now.)
Utah obtained what it wanted: a cut up in Vegas. How will the Golden Knights reply?
The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. The Mammoth have flexed their pace benefit at even power. They’ve gotten excellent goaltending from Karel Vejmelka, as they’ve all season. They’ve managed a cut up within the sequence regardless of the actual fact their high line — Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse — hasn’t made an impression.
Meanwhile, the Knights have been reliant on particular groups, scoring two power-play objectives and permitting none. They have a goals-for share of 37.5% by way of two video games at 5-on-5.
Analytically, it is a greater story: They’re possessing the puck greater than Utah and getting extra possibilities from high-dangers areas. But Utah goes to be a troublesome out, particularly now that the motion has shifted to Salt Lake City for its first playoff video games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning do not end with 106 factors within the common season if not for Nikita Kucherov, who may discover himself among the Hart Trophy finalists after they’re introduced quickly. He had 130 factors in 76 video games, which was 42 factors away from second-leading scorer Jake Guentzel. He was magnificent.
But the playoffs require a special strategy. The common season is all attractive passing and artistry. The postseason is blunt power. Which is why the playoffs really feel extra like Hagel time than Kuch time.
The 27-year-old winger notched the primary Gordie Howe hat trick in Lightning playoff historical past in Game 2 towards Montreal, with the opening aim, an help on Kucherov’s third-period tying aim and a second-period battle with Juraj Slafkovsky. Since 2023, Hagel is tied for the staff lead in postseason objectives (seven in 16 video games), with three objectives already this sequence.
He’s additionally the form of agitator you want for playoff success. His rivalry with Matthew Tkachuk prolonged from the Battle of Florida to the 4 Nations Face-Off. He was final seen in Game 2 mock-crying within the penalty field, dabbing his eyes with a towel to troll the Canadiens. To quote Defector’s headline on Hagel: “This Frickin’ Guy.”
The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. Kucherov is significant to the Lightning’s success — as evidenced by his tying aim in Game 2. So is goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. But more and more, it is Hagel who has supplied the heartbeat for coach Jon Cooper’s staff.
The Los Angeles Kings are by no means getting out of the primary spherical once more
There was most likely some rejoicing across the Kings when the ultimate standings indicated they would not need to face Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers for a fifth straight opening-round sequence, having been eradicated yearly within the earlier 4.
But just like the outdated fairy story trope says: Be cautious what you want for. Instead of McDavid, it is MacKinnon. Instead of the Oilers, it is the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche, the staff favored to hoist the Stanley Cup as season’s finish.
And so the Kings and interim head coach D.J. Smith are down 2-0 heading again house, taking a look at a fifth straight first-round exit.
But the development sadly goes deeper than that. The Kings have not gotten previous Round 1 since final successful the Stanley Cup in 2014. They misplaced to the San Jose Sharks in 2016 and had been swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 and did not qualify for the postseason in 5 different seasons. That’s together with 2020, when 12 Western Conference groups superior to the postseason within the COVID-impacted match. The Kings had been 14th that season.
The verdict: OVERREACTION. First off, let’s not depend out the Kings on this sequence but after two one-goal losses (together with one in time beyond regulation) and the specter of the Presidents’ Trophy curse hanging over the Avalanche. But assuming this can be a fifth straight first-round loss … look, the regulation of averages alone tells you that the Kings will get out of the opening spherical at some level.
Anze Kopitar may not be there. Drew Doughty may not be there. Heck, Quinton Byfield may not be there.
Look, the Florida Panthers did not get out of the primary spherical for twenty-four seasons they usually simply received back-to-back Cups. Patience, candy Los Angelenos.
The NHL wants to alter its offside assessment rule
The Carolina Hurricanes thought they received Game 2 of their sequence towards the Ottawa Senators on an time beyond regulation aim by Mark Jankowski. But because the Senators left the ice and the Hurricanes celebrated, the officers gathered close to the penalty bins. The NHL warfare room had flagged the aim for a possible offside by Carolina captain Jordan Staal on the zone entry, 29 seconds (!) earlier than Jankowski’s aim.
Staal was dominated offside. The aim was nullified. The solely factor that stored this second from immediate playoff infamy was the Hurricanes finally successful the sport within the second time beyond regulation, as a result of many observers felt that the offside name was the improper one.
“I don’t know why they called it offside. They’re saying he doesn’t have control. There are so many different ways to have control of the puck,” ESPN analyst (and Hockey Hall of Famer) Mark Messier stated. “So now, we’ve got to know that we need to have the puck on our stick as we’re crossing the line?”
Carolina GM Eric Tulsky was extra diplomatic.
“I know the offside [call] was tough for people. They’re always pretty strict on those control plays,” he stated. “Traditionally, you couldn’t go in before the puck. They changed it so that you could if you had control. It means sometimes you have plays like that that feel like it should count. It stinks in the moment, but we got the result we wanted in the end, and so you move on.”
The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. The horse has clearly left the barn on offside video evaluations, even when a zone entry and a aim are separated by 30 seconds the place a protection can clear the puck or a goalie can finish the sequence by masking it. But if the NHL is not eliminating offside evaluations, not less than it ought to get rid of subjectivity from them.
Was the participant within the zone earlier than the puck? That’s minimize and dried, even should you’re caught counting pixels. Did the participant coming into the zone have management of the puck? As evidenced by the choice in Game 2 for Carolina, that is subjective.
Video evaluations work greatest after they’re absolute: Did the puck cross utterly over the road? Was the participant hit with an opponent’s stick? Did the puck hit the glass earlier than going into the group? It’s meant to be a second degree of fact-checking for the on-ice officers. Judging whether or not a participant had management of the puck coming into the zone is opinion on high of opinion. Hence, that side of the video assessment mechanism needs to be expunged.
The NHL wants to alter its penalty shot rule
After that offside assessment, the Hurricanes’ Jordan Martinook truly needed to take a penalty shot on Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark, which he acknowledged was a tough job in gentle of the sport’s emotional swing. Martinook shot the puck into Ullmark’s glove. He’d finally discover redemption and win the sport on a aim within the second time beyond regulation.
There have been three penalty shot makes an attempt up to now within the Stanley Cup playoffs, with the Flyers’ Owen Tippett and the Kings’ Quinton Byfield additionally failing to transform. In the common season, there have been 35 penalty shot makes an attempt and 6 objectives scored — a conversion charge of simply over 17%. Consider that the league common for energy play success was 21% this season.
Hence, some hockey followers and pundits inevitably surprise if groups ought to have the choice to say no a penalty shot in favor of an influence play, on condition that one converts at a better charge than one other — and since having 5 gifted gamers making an attempt to beat a goaltender can typically be simpler than one shooter making an attempt to do it himself.
The verdict: OVERREACTION, WITH A CAVEAT. Penalty pictures are imagined to be a deterrent for defenders who blatantly attempt to stop a transparent, unabated scoring probability. Though in some circumstances an influence play may very well be simpler, that is not at all times the case. Over the previous decade, gamers are 8-for-20 on penalty pictures within the playoffs. Spoiler warning: The NHL common for postseason power-play conversion charges in that span is just not 40%.
I’m not against giving groups the choice to forgo a penalty shot. Heck, it may very well be they only need to eat two minutes of the clock late within the recreation quite than have it cease for a penalty shot. But it must be one thing past a 5-on-4 energy play to stay a deterrent the way in which a penalty shot is.
So perhaps if the choice is a 5-on-3 energy play or a penalty shot, that would work to fulfill its position as a preventer of rule-breaking in addition to a correct compensation for the offended staff.
