Four series. One dominant team. One hat trick. One 9-6 game nobody saw coming.
Round 2 of the 2026 NHL playoffs is underway and it has not disappointed. The Hurricanes are a machine, the Avalanche are a problem, and Mitch Marner reminded everyone exactly why Vegas paid what they paid for him. Here is where every series stood as of Friday, May 8.
Canadiens 1, Sabres 1 - A Series With More Questions Than Answers
This one is shaping up to be the most unpredictable series of the round, and that is not a bad thing.
Game 1 went Buffalo's way, 4-2 at KeyBank Center. Josh Doan opened the scoring on a 3-on-1 in the first minute of play and the Sabres never looked back. Ryan McLeod added a power-play goal, Zach Benson factored in with two assists, and Alex Lyon was solid in net with 26 saves. Montreal got goals from Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach, but the Canadiens could never close the gap. A confident home win for a Buffalo team still riding the high of ending its 19-year playoff drought in Round 1.
Game 2 was a completely different story. Montreal came back to KeyBank Center and handed the Sabres a 5-1 beating. Alex Newhook scored twice, the first just 96 seconds into the game and the second a tap-in on the rush to push it to 3-1, in his first career multi-goal playoff game. Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, and Suzuki also scored. Jakub Dobes responded with 29 saves after a rough Game 1 outing. Lyon, who had been sharp since Game 3 of the first round, gave up four goals before being pulled. Series tied, just like that.
Now the series shifts to Montreal for Games 3 and 4, and that is where it gets interesting. Buffalo has to walk into the Bell Centre having just been blown out on home ice. How they respond tells you a lot about this team's maturity. But here is the other side of that question: Montreal went just 2-2 at home against Tampa Bay in Round 1 and lost both Game 4 and Game 6 at Bell Centre. Home ice has not exactly been a fortress for them. So while the crowd will be loud and the atmosphere will be electric, I am not convinced it is a guaranteed advantage. This series is far from decided.
Golden Knights 2, Ducks 1 - Marner Takes Over
The headline from this entire week of hockey is simple: Mitch Marner had a natural hat trick in Game 3. Everything else is secondary.
Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena went Vegas 3-1. Marner was sharp, Carter Hart was steady with 25 saves, and the Golden Knights looked every bit the favorite the betting market said they were. The Ducks' regular season sweep of Vegas, all three games, did not carry over to playoff hockey. Not even a little.
Game 2 in Vegas was the Ducks' response. A 3-1 win that evened the series and reminded everyone why this Anaheim team knocked out Edmonton in Round 1. Lukas Dostal was outstanding with 21 saves and came within 5.6 seconds of his first career playoff shutout. A real statement that showed the Ducks are not here to just compete.
Game 3 in Anaheim was supposed to be another test of whether this Ducks team could keep the pressure on. Instead, Marner put the series back in Vegas' hands almost single-handedly. He scored a natural hat trick, three consecutive goals with no other scorer in between, and added an assist on a short-handed goal. Four points. His first career playoff hat trick. A 6-2 final that was not as close as the score suggests. Vegas led 5-0 before the Ducks got a couple of garbage-time goals.
I said before this series that the Ducks sweeping Vegas in the regular season meant nothing once the playoffs started. I stand by that. The Golden Knights are the better team and Marner is proving why they acquired him. That said, I do not expect Anaheim to fold in Game 4 on Sunday, May 10. They have shown they can win in this building and they will come out desperate. The series is not over.
Hurricanes 3, Flyers 0 - Complete Suffocation
I thought Philadelphia might steal one at home in Game 3. I was wrong.
The Hurricanes have been a machine through two rounds of this playoff, suffocating offenses, controlling pace, and winning in every way the game can be won. They are 7-0 in the 2026 playoffs. They have not trailed in a series at any point. This is not a hot streak. This is a team playing its best hockey at exactly the right time.
Game 1 at Lenovo Center was a 3-0 shutout. Logan Stankoven scored twice, extending his playoff goal streak to five straight games. Frederik Andersen's shutout was his 24th career playoff win with Carolina, surpassing Cam Ward for the all-time franchise record. He also tied Ward's franchise record with his fourth postseason shutout.
Game 2 was the most dramatic of the three and still a Carolina win. Philadelphia jumped ahead with two goals in 39 seconds to open the game and looked like it might steal home ice. The Hurricanes did not panic. Nikolaj Ehlers and Seth Jarvis tied it up, Andersen held the fort with 34 saves, and Taylor Hall scored the overtime winner at 18:54 of the extra period. A veteran moment from a veteran player in a game Carolina needed.
Game 3 in Philadelphia was more routine. Andersen only needed 18 saves as Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, Ehlers, and Jalen Chatfield all scored in a 4-1 win. The Flyers managed one goal from Trevor Zegras, who has been one of their few bright spots, but never found a way to solve what Carolina is doing defensively.
Game 4 is Saturday, May 9 in Philadelphia. The Flyers are playing for their season. The Hurricanes are playing for a sweep. My pick was Carolina in 6. I may need to revisit that.
Avalanche 2, Wild 0 - Way Too Much Firepower
Game 1 shocked me. Not because Colorado won, that was expected, but because of how they won.
Game 1: Avalanche 9, Wild 6. Nine goals. Six goals. Seventy-nine combined shots on net. Five goals scored in each period. Eight different Colorado skaters found the net. The Wild's Jesper Wallstedt faced a storm he could not stop, but to be fair, Colorado's defense was not exactly impenetrable either. This was a high-octane, helter-skelter hockey game that had no business being played in the second round. The biggest subplot: Cale Makar took a hit from Marcus Foligno just 71 seconds into the game and left the ice. The building held its breath. He came back in the second period, scored twice in the third, including the 8-6 goal that put the game away, and was back to being Cale Makar. Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and two assists. Devon Toews chipped in with a goal and three assists.
Game 2 was Colorado proving Game 1 was not a fluke, just played cleaner. Avalanche 5-2. MacKinnon had another goal and two assists, making him just the sixth player in the past 40 years to post three consecutive three-point games in a single playoff run. Martin Necas and Gabriel Landeskog also scored. Scott Wedgewood was solid with 29 saves. The Wild simply do not have the firepower to keep up.
Game 3 is Saturday, May 9 in St. Paul, the Wild's first home game of the series. Minnesota will not quit. This is a proud group and it will play with desperation on home ice. But I said before this series that the Avalanche are too good and too talented, and I stand by it. Asking the Wild to win four of the next six games is asking too much. Maybe they steal one at home and make it interesting. A full comeback from 0-3? Not happening.
Where Things Stand
- Hurricanes lead Flyers 3-0 - Game 4 is Saturday, May 9 in Philadelphia, sweep on the table
- Avalanche lead Wild 2-0 - Game 3 is Saturday, May 9 in Minnesota, Wild desperate for a home win
- Golden Knights lead Ducks 2-1 - Game 4 is Sunday, May 10 in Anaheim, Ducks fighting to even it
- Canadiens and Sabres tied 1-1 - Series shifts to Montreal for Games 3 and 4 starting Sunday, May 10
Make your picks and follow every series at Crystal Ball Picks.
