play1:41What does Connor McDavid’s future look like in Edmonton?Greg Wyshynski examines Connor McDavid’s future with the Oilers after being eliminated by the Ducks.
Ryan S. ClarkCloseRyan S. ClarkESPN NHL reporterRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on X, Arda Ocal, Kristen ShiltonCloseKristen ShiltonESPN NHL reporterKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on X, Greg WyshynskiCloseGreg WyshynskiSenior NHL writerGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.Follow on X, Victoria MatiashCloseVictoria MatiashSpecial to ESPN.comVictoria Matiash is a contributing writer for fantasy hockey and betting at ESPN. Victoria has been a part of the fantasy team since 2010.Follow on XMultiple AuthorsMay 4, 2026, 08:00 AM ET
Logan Stankoven scores again to make it 3-0 Carolina (0:35)Logan Stankoven scores again to make it 3-0 Carolina. (0:35)
What does Connor McDavid’s future look like in Edmonton?Greg Wyshynski examines Connor McDavid’s future with the Oilers after being eliminated by the Ducks.
Greg Wyshynski examines Connor McDavid’s future with the Oilers after being eliminated by the Ducks.
Which player surprised you the most in a positive way?
Which team or player was the biggest disappointment of Round 1?
Which eliminated team faces the biggest questions this summer?
The first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs is officially complete. From a field of 16 teams, the bracket is down to eight.
What were the biggest surprises — both positive and negative — in the first set of series? Which eliminated teams face the biggest questions this summer? And have any of our analysts changed their pre-playoff Stanley Cup prediction?
Read more: Full schedule Playoff Central Stanley Cup odds Second-round picks Offseason guide for eliminated teams
Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: Alex Lyon. There’s a feeling among coaches and executives that few teams can get through the playoffs with one goaltender. What Lyon has done reinforces why tandems are so important beyond the regular season. His coming in for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in Game 2 — only to then take over the net with a .955 save percentage to close out the series — was a turning point for the Buffalo Sabres.
Flanked by veteran Taylor Hall and sophomore Jackson Blake, the diminutive center has six goals in five games thus far, scoring in every single contest, including two game-winners. Not too shabby for a skater who amassed 21 goals and 23 assists all year and struck as the lesser prize in exchange for Mikko Rantanen two Marches ago. The best part? At 23, Stankoven is just getting going.
Arda Öcal, NHL broadcaster: Porter Martone. He has settled into NHL play very nicely. Since his debut, he has led the Flyers in goals and points, and he has scored game winners, proving to be clutch for Philly. He is already the kind of player the city can rally behind early in his career. Every so often we get a rookie who breaks through in the playoffs (though it’s often a goalie) — Martone is proving to be that guy early on.
The veteran went 4-0-0 with a .955 save percentage in Carolina’s sweep of the Senators. He gave up just five goals — and three at even strength. He had a playoff-leading goals saved above expected (7.6), showing that it was Andersen — and not just Carolina’s defensive play — doing the heavy lifting. If Andersen can keep this up, it’s hard to see the Hurricanes not continuing to cruise their way back to the Eastern Conference finals.
Greg Wyshynski, NHL reporter: Taylor Hall. The 34-year-old winger had a nice bounce-back season before becoming an absolute terror in the playoffs. Hall had two goals and six assists through five games, skating to a plus-7. He has helped power arguably the best line in the playoffs with Logan Stankoven (six goals) and Jackson Blake (six points), providing veteran physicality and agitation to his young linemates.
I keep wondering: Has Hall officially entered his Corey Perry era — a former Hart Trophy winner and offensive star who settles into being a “win at all costs” depth player on a team with championship aspirations? Hall might have a bit more left to offer offensively before earning that late-career designation. In fact, he’s one of the reasons I believe this is the deepest group of scoring threats Brind’Amour has had — deep enough to potentially advance Carolina out of the Eastern Conference.
Clark: I’m going with the Dallas Stars. There were the defensive breakdowns. There were the penalties they took that increased the threat of those breakdowns. There was that stretch of more than 200 minutes that saw them fail to score in 5-on-5 play. There were also times when their urgency — or lack thereof — came into question.
The Stars were a top-five shot-share team in the first round, yet it was the Minnesota Wild who had more sequences that dictated play. Getting knocked out in the first round, though not ideal, doesn’t mean that they’re not still in a championship window. But there are major items they must address between now and next season.
Matiash: Oh, the Edmonton Oilers. Maybe blame recent conditioning inspired by watching them in two straight Stanley Cup Finals, but I had a difficult time picturing June hockey, never mind May, without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Sure, defensive and netminding issues remained in play, and yes, they were clearly badly banged up, but my gut still told me the two superstars would haul the rest of their gaggle into Round 2 at least.
Öcal: The Edmonton Oilers. Taking nothing away from the Anaheim Ducks and their first playoff series win in several years, Edmonton was plagued by injuries (including a certainly not 100% Connor McDavid) but also looked lifeless and tired in big stretches of this series.
“An average team with high expectations,” McDavid said in the aftermath of the loss. “You’re going to be disappointed.”
This was a tough pill to swallow for Oilers fans hoping McDavid will sign a long-term extension and stay in Edmonton for the remainder of his career. His team-friendly contract extension kicks in next season, and the launch point isn’t on the firmest ground. One of my biggest offseason questions is what the Oilers will do to bolster another Cup Final push.
Shilton: The Ottawa Senators. Linus Ullmark played lights-out hockey for the Senators, and they absolutely wasted his performances. To wit, Ullmark had zero wins but a .932 SV% and 2.03 goals-against average.
Meanwhile, his teammates produced a playoff-worst grand total of five goals in four games between two players (thanks for coming, everyone except Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens). Did Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto, et al. just not get the memo that the playoffs had begun? It was a sorry sight to see how Ullmark was left out to dry — especially given how he rallied from a roller coaster of a regular season.
What does Connor McDavid’s future look like in Edmonton?
Clark (COL): No, but we’ll know more after the series against Minnesota. That’s nothing against the Avalanche. It’s just that the Wild are no longer a one-and-done team, but rather one that could be inclined to reshape the power dynamic in the Western Conference.
Matiash (COL): This one’s tricky since I certainly can’t loathe my original pick after the Avs disposed of the Kings in four. However, having since become more smitten with the Wild, I find myself favoring Kirill Kaprizov & Co. to edge Jared Bednar’s formidable crew in a long, hard-fought series. So, in respect to that fresh projected formula, my answer is a soft yes. If permitted to grant myself a minor hedge here, I really like whoever emerges from this series to win the whole darn thing.
Öcal (EDM): Yep. With the Oilers out, I’m going with the Wild. They looked impressive against Dallas, and if they can get through Colorado, they’ll have been through the toughest first- and second-round gauntlet in recent memory.
Wyshynski (COL): Not in the least. The Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings without really breaking a sweat, which is the kind of series they needed before meeting whoever emerged from the Thunderdome that was the Stars vs. Wild.
Colorado has a significant lineup advantage in the middle, sporting the deepest group of centers in the playoffs. It won’t be easy, but I think they’ll get through the Wild — and they’re better than whoever the Pacific Division will nominate as its representative in the conference finals. My Stanley Cup Final prediction before the season was Colorado vs. Carolina. I’m sticking to that. My Stanley Cup winner was the Avalanche in five games. Sticking to that, too.
After all that, there’s the added motivation of trying to find those answers with the reality that the West looks like it could get a few more teams challenging for the wild card next season.
Matiash: I don’t want Edmonton GM Stan Bowman’s job right now, in having to address several pressing questions. The Oilers have nine roster forwards, five defenders, and one goalie signed through next season, and not a lot of salary cap room with which to work. Management will have to get rather creative in massaging a team that’s expected to make another run ASAP.
The club still needs to solve its goaltending issues after shipping Stuart Skinner off to Pittsburgh in exchange for Tristan Jarry and his $5 million-plus price tag. (Remember, the Oilers bought out Jack Campbell less than two years ago.)
Öcal: Edmonton for sure, for the reasons stated above. But an honorable mention goes to Ottawa because although Brady Tkachuk has been deflecting the trade talk, an offseason question will definitely be: How will the Senators improve?
A first-round exit against the Ducks is not what McDavid signed back up for — but it does reflect why he did so cautiously. Your move, Stan Bowman.
Wyshynski: When the Oilers went from back-to-back Stanley Cup Final losses to a first-round elimination, Draisaitl said the organization had “taken big steps backward.” So what of the Stars, who went from three straight Western Conference finals losses to a first-round ousting? Will they chalk it up to an inequitable playoff format in which the third overall team was forced to face the league’s seventh-best team in the first round? Or to not having Roope Hintz against the Wild?