The Stanley Cup Playoffs: the only postseason in professional sports that lasts for what feels like an eternity. Lasting for around two months depending on the length of the series, the playoffs begin in late April and conclude in mid to late June. The playoffs consist of four rounds of best-of-seven series, requiring teams to win 16 games total to secure the championship. Each round can end in just four games with one team sweeping the other or can go on to seven games if each team wins three games and needs a tiebreaker. The series operate using a 2-2-1-1-1 format to give the higher seed the opportunity to host 4 games at home and the lower seed the opportunity to host 3 games at home.
Many fans and sports analysts believe that the Stanley Cup playoffs are the most grueling postseason schedule and the Stanley Cup is the hardest professional sports trophy to obtain. Personally, I agree, since the postseason lasts for two months and hockey games can go any which way regardless of how good a team is. Speaking of teams, let’s talk about who’s in the playoffs this year and how they got there.
The Teams
In order to obtain a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, you can do one of three things. One: you can win your conference. In hockey, there are two conferences: Eastern and Western. There are 32 hockey teams total split equally between the two conferences. This year, the Carolina Hurricanes (my team, go Canes!) won the Eastern Conference with a 53-22-7 overall record. If you don’t know what the third number means, hockey has a statistic that includes overtime losses since many hockey games go to overtime due to low scoring. Basically, Carolina had 53 wins, 22 losses, and 7 overtime losses. If you’re wondering why they don’t just combine the losses, it’s because overtime losses give more points than regulation losses. The Canes finished with 113 points, the most in the Eastern Conference, and clinched it.
In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche clinched it with an impressive 55-16-11 overall record and 121 points, the most in the league. Not only did they clinch their conference, but they were the best team in the league and held the best record, earning them the President’s Trophy (given to the team with the best record).
Two: you can win your division. Each conference has two divisions with eight teams each. In the East, it’s the Metropolitan and the Atlantic Divisions. In the West, it’s the Central and Pacific Divisions. The Hurricanes and Avalanche, in addition to clinching their conference, clinched their divisions (Hurricanes are in the Metropolitan and Avalanche are in the Central).
In the Atlantic Division, the Buffalo Sabres clinched their division with a 50-23-9 overall record, ending a 14-year postseason drought. In the Pacific Division, the Vegas Golden Knights clinched their division with a not-so-impressive 39-26-17 overall record. The Pacific Division is seen as the worst and weakest division in the NHL. Because they are so weak, it’s not hard to claim the division title and make it to the playoffs.
Three: you can earn a wild card spot. Sixteen teams are chosen for the Stanley Cup playoffs every year. For the most part, it is the top four teams in each division. However, sometimes, when a division is particularly dominant over the rest, you can see five teams make it from one division and three make it from another. That was the case this year in the Eastern Conference. The Atlantic Division is widely known as the best and strongest division in the NHL and saw five of its teams earn spots in the playoffs: the Buffalo Sabres (aforementioned), Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, and Ottawa Senators. All of these teams had 44 or more wins. Since the Atlantic sent five teams, the Metropolitan only sent three: the Carolina Hurricanes (aforementioned), Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers.
In the Western Conference, the teams sent were split evenly. The Central Division sent the Colorado Avalanche (aforementioned), Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Utah Mammoth. The Pacific Division sent the Vegas Golden Knights (aforementioned), Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, and Los Angeles Kings. The first round series were matched up based on the divisions that the teams were in, with most teams playing their division rivals. Now that the general information is out of the way, let’s talk about how the series are going so far.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Ottawa Senators
As a fan, I knew this series would be a blowout. The sports analysts thought that this series would go to six games. As of today (4-26-26), this series is already over, with Carolina winning 4-0. I will admit, the Senators did put up a good fight. Linus Ullmark, the goalie for Ottawa, put up a 93.2% save percentage and only let in 12 goals on 176 shots. The offense for Ottawa, however, was terrible, and only made 5 goals the entire series. The Carolina Hurricanes had a hell of a series thanks to Logan Stankoven, who made 4 of the 12 goals that Carolina made. Freddie Andersen, the goalie for the Hurricanes, also had a hell of a series, and put up a 95.5% save percentage. The Carolina Hurricanes are likely to play the Philadelphia Flyers next, who are up 3-1 against their intrastate rival Pittsburgh Penguins. Between you and me, we’re gonna sweep that series too.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings
Not surprising to most hockey fans, this series was also a blowout. The Colorado Avalanche finished off the Los Angeles Kings today with a 5-1 final score in the fourth game to win the series 4-0. Anton Forsberg, the goalie for the Los Angeles Kings, put up a 90.9% save percentage, which is just slightly above average. The Kings’ offense has struggled the entire season and was no match for the best team in the league. Scott Wedgewood, the goalie for the Colorado Avalanche, put up an impressive 95% save percentage. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings legend, is retiring after 21 years in the NHL. He has played for the Kings for his entire career, making him a legend among the Kings fans and a well-respected player amongst the NHL community. The Colorado Avalanche will either play the Dallas Stars or the Minnesota Wild next, but it is hard to tell who because the series is tied 2-2. Only time will tell.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The good ol’ Battle of Pennsylvania has not been disappointing for Flyers fans but has definitely been for Penguins fans. Many suspected that Pittsburgh would win the series in six games, but Philadelphia has seemed to have taken that personally. The Flyers almost completed the third sweep of the first round until yesterday when the Penguins won 4-2. So far, Dan Vladar, the goalie for Philadelphia, has put up a 92.6% save percentage, which was 94.6% before yesterday’s game. Sidney Crosby, the longtime veteran for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup winner with them in 2009, 2016, and 2017, and future hall-of-famer, has had quite the disappointing series. He has one goal and two assists and is underperforming heavily. The Penguins are also considering switching their goalie to Artur Silovs after Stuart Skinner, their current starting goalie, has had a very unfortunate series. As previously stated, Philadelphia is likely to play Carolina in the second round unless Pittsburgh can pull off an incredible comeback in the coming days.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins
Sorry Buffalo Bills fans, looks like the Sabres might bring home a championship before Josh Allen does. After finally ending a 14-year postseason drought, the Buffalo Sabres have had an incredible series against the Boston Bruins and are one win away from winning the series. During their first home playoff game in fifteen years, Buffalo pulled off the comeback of the year in the third period. After being down by 2, they rallied and came back to win the game 4-3. Since then, they lost their second home game but won both of their away games in Boston, including a 6-1 win today. After pulling their original starting goalie, Buffalo put in Alex Lyon and he now has a 96.9% save percentage and leads the playoffs. Unless Boston can also pull off an incredible comeback, Buffalo is one win away from winning a playoff series for the first time in 18 years. They will either play Tampa Bay or Montreal depending on how the series plays out, which is currently tied at 2-2.
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild
Many NHL fans, including myself, are arguing that this series shouldn’t exist at all. The Stars and the Wild are two powerhouse teams who dominated in the regular season and would be much better off playing in the Conference Finals or the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately, due to the way that the seeding works, they are forced to play in the first round. Like many suspected, this series has not disappointed. The Wild had a dominant game 1, winning 6-1 against the Stars. Since then, the Stars won their other home game 4-2 and their first away game 4-3 in double overtime. Yesterday, the Wild tied the series up 3-2 in overtime. Like I said, not a disappointing series. Both offenses have played incredibly well. Jake Oettinger, the goalie for the Stars, has putt up a 90.2% save percentage and Jesper Wallstedt, the goalie for the Wild, has put up a 92.9% save percentage so far. This series could truly go either way, so it’s hard to tell who will win it. Regardless of the winner, they will play the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, which is suspected to be quite interesting as well.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens
It’s been a rough past 30 years for the Montreal Canadiens, who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1993. Once dominant in the 1960s and 1970s, they have not brought Canada another Stanley Cup in over 30 years. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993. At this point, Canadian fans are hoping that any Canadian team will bring the trophy home. So far, this series has been overtime central. Montreal won the first game in Tampa 4-3 in overtime, Tampa won the second game 3-2 in overtime, Montreal won the third game 3-2 in overtime, and Tampa came back in the third period today to win game four 3-2 to prevent a fourth overtime game in a row. These two teams are very evenly matched and have been the entire series. Both goalies have had below average save percentages, with Montreal posting an 89.2% and Tampa Bay posting an 88.0%. Whoever wins this series will play either Buffalo or Boston, but it’s hard to tell at the time of writing this since both teams are very evenly matched.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Anaheim Ducks
The Edmonton Oilers truly cannot catch a break lately when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. By far the best Canadian team in the last few years, they have been to the Stanley Cup Finals the last two years and lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games in 2024 and six games in 2025. They are currently playing the Anaheim Ducks, whom not many suspected to put up as good of a fight as they have so far, and are losing the series 2-1. The Ducks ended a seven-year postseason drought in April when they clinched a playoff spot and have been playing their hearts out. The Oilers won the first game at home 4-3 but have since lost to the Ducks 6-4 and 7-4 in the second and third games respectively. Apparently, defense was optional. The Ducks won today’s game 4-3 in overtime to make them just one win away from winning the series. The winner of this series will play either Vegas or Utah, but it’s too early to tell who the winners will be.’ The winner of this series will play either Vegas or Utah, but it’s too early to tell who the winners will be.
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Utah Mammoth
In their inaugural season as the Mammoth, the Utah Mammoth put up an impressive 43-33-6 overall record and clinched the last wild card spot in the incredibly hard Central Division. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights, in only their 9th year as a team, have clinched their 8th playoff spot despite finishing with a subpar record. In what I’m calling the newbies series, the Mammoth and Golden Knights have played a very respectable series. Vegas won the first game at home 4-2 and Utah has won the second and third games 3-2 and 4-2 respectively. It is far too early in the series to have any incredible highlights, but the series continues tomorrow night with game four in Utah. I suspect that the Mammoth will win the series in six games since they have more experience in a harder division, but we’ll have to wait and see. Regardless of the winner, they will play either Edmonton or Anaheim.
In conclusion…
These Stanley Cup Playoffs, despite still being in the first round, have been far from boring. There’s still a lot of hockey left to play, and I’m excited to see who will take home the 2026 Stanley Cup. I am rooting hard for my Carolina Hurricanes, who have only won one Stanley Cup in their entire team history (2006). In my bracket, however, I have the Colorado Avalanche winning it all despite Carolina going to the Stanley Cup Finals with them. I sincerely hope that the Carolina Hurricanes will break their Eastern Conference curse and finally win it, but only time will tell. I wish all of the teams the best of luck and I hope that this article has convinced you to watch the playoffs this year. Until next time, which won’t be until September as this is my last article for the school year, have a great summer and I’ll see you in the fall. Go Canes!