Ryan S. ClarkCloseRyan S. ClarkESPN NHL reporterRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on X and Kristen ShiltonCloseKristen ShiltonESPN NHL reporterKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on XMultiple AuthorsApr 17, 2026, 07:30 AM ET
The Eastern Conference bracket was set earlier this week, including the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres as division champions. For Carolina, it’s more of the same, as the Canes have become perennial contenders; for the Sabres, this season ended the longest playoff drought in North American pro sports.
In the West, the final three seeds in the Pacific Division came right down to the wire. Due to the results of Thursday night, the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks will face off as the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, while the Los Angeles Kings will play the Avalanche as the second wild card.
Things weren’t as close in the Central, with the Colorado Avalanche clinching the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s overall top seed April 10, while the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild were the first pairing to be clinched as a first-round matchup.
We’ve got all the angles covered to get you ready for the playoffs as ESPN hockey reporters Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton take a look at each of the 16 postseason teams, offering the reasons each team could win it all, along with the biggest X factor, players to watch and a bold prediction for every team.
Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metropolitan playoff brackets were written by Shilton, while Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific clubs. Also note that wild-card teams are listed according to the playoff bracket in which they’re playing (so the Ottawa Senators are in the Metro, Kings are in the Central, and the Utah Mammoth are in the Pacific).
The Sabres were top 10 in scoring throughout the season and showed strong defensive details too. Their goaltending has also been a strong point following some early stumbles — whether it’s been Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Alex Lyon in the crease, Buffalo has responded well and given both a defensive effort worthy of their high-end contributions.
Bold prediction: Buffalo blitzes its way through the first round past Boston and takes a 3-0 series lead in the second. The Sabres then suddenly go cold and drop four straight to be stunningly cut from the postseason field one win shy of the conference finals.
Tampa Bay’s potent offense (ranking among the league’s best, with 3.52 goals per game) has been spearheaded via another otherworldly performance from Kucherov, who had 44 goals and 130 points in 76 games. The Lightning’s ability to overwhelm opponents with their speed and skill makes them a championship favorite for a reason.
Bold prediction: Kucherov is goalless in the first round and an unsung hero bails the Lightning out to escape another early exit. Tampa Bay finds its groove and powers its way back to another Cup Final on the back of Vasilevskiy’s stellar play.
Case for a Stanley Cup run: Montreal had a historically good season offensively, including captain Nick Suzuki eclipsing the 100-point mark. He was the first Canadiens player to do that in 40 years, just one indication of Montreal’s potent attack up front. Not to be outdone, Cole Caufield collected over 50 goals in the regular season, and Juraj Slafkovsky tossed in 30 more.
On the back end, Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson were strong contributors on the scoresheet. The Canadiens were top 10 in league scoring and on the power play, and they improved collectively on defense as the season went on.
Jakub Dobes has had stretches of good success in the crease and continues to look more confident as a starter. Head coach Martin St. Louis has guided this team to a second consecutive playoff appearance, and this time around Montreal has the experience to anticipate what’s ahead.
X factor: How will the Canadiens adjust without Dobson? Montreal’s second-best defenseman suffered an upper-body injury April 11, and the team said he’d be reevaluated in two weeks. That all but guarantees Dobson will miss at least a couple of games in the first round, and there’s no telling if the ailment will hold him out longer.
Montreal immediately recalled David Reinbacher — the fifth overall pick in 2023 — from the American Hockey League to make his NHL debut. While Reinbacher did notch a point in his initial outing, he’ll hardly be a replacement for Dobson. Adam Engstrom had been previously promoted, but he has played fewer than 20 NHL games and is a left-handed shot (although he has logged time on the right, where Dobson’s absence will be felt).
The Canadiens will have to work together surviving this stretch without a key skater, and possibly also without blueliner Alexandre Carrier available (he’s been out with an injury but is a possibility to start the playoffs).
The Canadiens were a middle-of-the-pack team defensively all season, allowing just over three goals per game — and that was with a relatively healthy D corps. It will take an elevated effort from everyone to see Montreal past the opening round, and Dobes starting strong could build momentum for the Canadiens surging forward from there.
Bold prediction: Montreal’s offense goes cold as Suzuki and Caufield struggle against tighter checking. The top pairing of Mike Matheson and Hutson holds the line in front of a stellar showing from Dobes, and the Canadiens escape to the second round.
Case for a Stanley Cup run: Boston had to show fortitude early this season just to secure its postseason berth. The Bruins were a below-average club before bursting through January with one of the league’s best records. Boston has been blessed with excellent goaltending from Jeremy Swayman — with a career-high 30 wins — who points to his own recent past of ups and downs as another example of how this Bruins team has persevered to its current placement.
While Boston is always relying on top-end talents like David Pastrnak to deliver — and he will again be a focal point of the offense on the heels of a superb regular season — it’s the Bruins’ second line that has helped them thrive. Led by the emergence of Casey Mittelstadt moving from center to wing beside Pavel Zacha, Boston’s top six is noticeably stronger. Charlie McAvoy anchors the back end, and his ability to contribute offensively will be key for Boston at 5-on-5 and on special teams.
X factor: Marco Sturm is a rookie NHL head coach heading into his first playoff appearance. It can be just as challenging for freshman coaches to get their feet wet in the postseason as for players, and Sturm has some tough personnel decisions to make.
Player to watch: Jeremy Swayman. It’s not an exaggeration to say Swayman will make or break the Bruins’ playoff opportunity. Swayman has proved his postseason mettle in the past — he had a .933 SV% in 12 starts in the 2024 playoffs.
This time, there isn’t a playoff-worthy backup waiting to take over if Swayman can’t hold the line — Joonas Korpisalo had a tough season supporting Swayman, who carried the lion’s share of the team’s workload. Will that spell fatigue for Swayman at this all-important time on the calendar? Or will the added pressure and responsibility bring out the best in him again and provide Boston with a chance to win every game?
Bold prediction: Boston dials in its defensive effort and ends up winning a series of one-goal games. Its scoring balance is restored when injuries force Mittelstadt back down the middle and he transitions easily into his former role.
The Hurricanes have a powerful offense (ranked second overall) fueled by elite skaters like Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrei Svechnikov. There is depth to spare in Carolina’s lineup that will give coach Rod Brind’Amour flexibility to make adjustments on the fly. The Hurricanes are an exceptional puck possession team that’s going to put consistent pressure on opponents, and the experienced defense is brimming with shutdown talents too.
Carolina’s goaltending has been a strength all season thanks to Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen staying (comparatively) healthy and performing at a high level. Boasting a power play and a penalty kill sitting top 10 in the league rounds out all the ways Carolina can dominate in every phase.
Bold prediction: Bussi struggles in net to start the first round and Andersen replaces him in time to see Carolina advance. Andersen falters in the second round and the Hurricanes lose steam, dropping swiftly in a five-game series.
Pittsburgh has its veteran punch up front with future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, while Rickard Rakell, Anthony Mantha and Bryan Rust have been overachievers this season. On the back end, Erik Karlsson remains a viable offensive threat, and Kris Letang has admirably fought through injury to help Pittsburgh stay in the hunt. Plus, the Penguins have had excellent special teams — particularly in the second half of the season — when they showcased this club at its best overall.
X factor: If there’s a question mark in Pittsburgh, it’s between the pipes. Will the Penguins get the best out of Arturs Silovs and/or Stuart Skinner when neither goaltender was especially good in the regular season? Both Silovs and Skinner recorded sub-.900 save percentages, and while Silovs saw more action than Skinner, that doesn’t mean that one player or the other won’t be quickly replaced.
Pittsburgh ranked 11th in goals against per game during the regular season (3.10) — the most by any Eastern Conference playoff team — but tied for 13th fewest shots per game, suggesting it was the lack of timely saves (and not defensive breakdowns) causing problems. Silovs hasn’t seen NHL playoff action since 2024 in Vancouver. Skinner appeared in back-to-back Cup Finals with Edmonton and lost both times.
How Pittsburgh handles its goaltending situation — from who plays to how he performs to how long a leash he’ll have — will be a deciding factor in how long these Penguins stay in the mix.
Bold prediction: Muse has the Penguins playing free-flowing hockey that silences the competition. Pittsburgh’s goaltending is ultimately an asset, and a significant reason it gets back to the conference finals in true Cinderella fashion.