Top storylines heading into 2nd round of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is coming into focus.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers get going in their Eastern Conference Second Round series on Saturday, with Game 1 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS).

The Atlantic Division side of the East bracket is not set yet; the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens will play Game 7 of their first-round series at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; The Spot, HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC). The winner will face the Buffalo Sabres in the second round.

We know the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild will open the Western Conference Second Round with Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday (9 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN360, SN, TVAS, CBC), and the Vegas Golden Knights face the Anaheim Ducks on the Pacific Division side. The start of that series is still to be determined.

Even though the bracket isn't fully set yet, the second round gets going Saturday, which means it's time to look ahead to some of the top storylines we're following as the playoffs roll on and the field continues to shrink, the Stanley Cup coming more into focus.

Here are some of the top storylines entering the second round:

Hughes and Makar, again

From the gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics to the second round of the playoffs, the Wild's Quinn Hughes against the Avalanche's Cale Makar should be one of the elite individual matchups of the entire postseason.

They are arguably the two best defensemen in the League who have combined to win the Norris Trophy in three of the past four seasons; Makar won it in 2021-22 and 2024-25, Hughes in 2023-24.

Hughes got the better of Makar in the gold medal game, contributing an assist in Team USA's 2-1 overtime win in Milan. Makar scored Team Canada's lone goal.

It's not necessarily a 1-on-1 battle, but it's also not a stretch to say the superstar defenseman who plays better in the second round will directly impact which team reaches the conference final.

Hughes was the difference in Minnesota's 5-2 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the first round, scoring two goals, dishing out an assist and simply dominating in his 28:55 of ice time. He finished the series with eight points (two goals, six assists) and averaged 31:40 of ice time.

Makar, like the rest of the Avalanche, did just enough to overwhelm the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, contributing two goals and averaging 25:37 of ice time in the four-game sweep.

He was third among defensemen in the regular season with 79 points (20 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games. Hughes was fifth with 76 points (seven goals, 69 assists) in 74 games.

Fresh faces

So far, more than half the remaining teams are in the second round for the first time since at least 2020, the previous time Philadelphia made it this far.

If the Canadiens advance, that will mean five teams are in the second round for the first time since 2021.

Montreal reached the Stanley Cup Final that year, when they lost to the Lightning at a time when NHL divisions were realigned to avoid cross-border travel in the regular season because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The Buffalo Sabres are this far in the playoffs for the first time in 19 years, winning a series for the first time since 2007. The Wild ended an 11-year drought by defeating the Dallas Stars in the first round, advancing for the first time since 2015. It's the Anaheim Ducks’ first time in the second round since 2017.

There was a six-team year-over-year turnover in the playoffs this season, with the Sabres, Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Ducks and Utah Mammoth getting in after missing last season. It's a five-team turnover in the second round, another sign of parity and a changing of the guard in the NHL.

Still experienced, but not the same old Golden Knights

Vegas has won 66 games and 13 series in the playoffs since debuting in 2018, currently tied with the Lightning for the most playoff wins and series victories in that span. 

Utah, which was eliminated by the Golden Knights on Friday, talked a lot about Vegas’ postseason experience being a factor in that series.

Anaheim, which has 14 players who made his NHL postseason debut in the first round, next faces Vegas. It could be another series where experience plays a big role.

However, these are not the same Golden Knights. 

Consider the turnover just from last season, when they lost in the second round -- new coach in John Tortorella, new goalie in Carter Hart, new superstar in Mitch Marner, new top-four defenseman in Rasmus Andersson, and new depth forwards in Cole Smith, Colton Sissons and Nic Dowd.

Each was not with the team a year ago, when Vegas lost in five games to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. But they're all playing big roles and adding even more experience to a team already loaded with it, giving the Golden Knights a significant edge in the second round, just as they had in the first.

Speaking of Marner …

Remember when Marner was with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the knock on him, fair or not, was that he was a superstar player who could not deliver in the clutch?

That's not a thing with Vegas.

Marner had seven points (two goals, five assists) in the first round, capping it with a brilliant and clutch performance in Game 6, when he scored twice and had an assist in a 5-1 win against the Mammoth on Friday.

Marner, who had 80 points (24 goals, 56 assists) in 81 regular-season games, joined the Golden Knights after last season, signing an eight-year, $96 million contract ($12 million average annual value), a fresh outlook and opportunity to be part of something special away from his hometown of Toronto.

He'll keep adding chapters if he plays against Anaheim similar to how he fared against Utah, especially in Game 6.

Darth Vladar

The Hurricanes likely do not fear Flyers goalie Dan Vladar, but would you blame them if they did?

Vladar has been a force all season and enters the second round in complete control of his empire (the blue paint) coming off a 42-save shutout in Philadelphia’s series-clinching 1-0 overtime win against Pittsburgh in Game 6 on Wednesday.

It was the first series-clinching shutout by a Flyers goalie since Brian Boucher in 2010, and the most saves in a Flyers series-clinching win.

The 28-year-old and first-time No. 1 goalie allowed 10 goals on 158 shots in the first round, good for a 1.61 goals-against average and .937 save percentage. He also had a 27-save shutout in Game 2.

A repeat performance from Vladar could send the Flyers into the next round (galaxy?).

The old “rest vs. rust”

This is a storyline at some point every postseason, how teams respond after having more time off between rounds than they're typically used to at any point in the regular season.

The Hurricanes and Avalanche will each have gone a full week between games, Carolina having finished off a four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators on April 25 and Colorado doing the same against Los Angeles the next day.

The Hurricanes are 1-5 in the series after eliminating a team in five or fewer games since 2019, when Rod Brind'Amour took over as coach. 

However, they had a week off between the first and second round last season and didn't look worse for wear in defeating the Washington Capitals 2-1 in overtime in Game 1 of the second round.

Then again, Colorado hadn’t swept a first-round series since 2022, when it went on to win the Stanley Cup. But two years ago, after eliminating the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the first round, the Avalanche ran out of gas and lost in six to the Stars.

Lyon playing like a King

For now, at least, it seems the Sabres will go as far as goalie Alex Lyon will take them.

Lyon didn't start the series against the Bruins, but he replaced Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the third period of Game 2 and has been terrific since with three wins and five goals against for a .955 save percentage and 1.14 GAA.

Oddly enough, Lyon was in Luukkonen's position the previous time he was in the playoffs in 2023 with the Florida Panthers. He started the first three games, was pulled in Game 3 and never started again as Sergei Bobrovsky led Florida to the Cup Final.

Maybe this time it'll be Lyon doing his best Bobrovsky impression and enjoying a magical run as Buffalo's No. 1.

Combing for more

Most notable of the Ducks’ fresh faces in the playoffs is defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who didn't get a chance to showcase himself at the Winter Olympics. He was on Team USA's roster and received a gold medal, but the 25-year-old never dressed for a game.

The playoffs are LaCombe's proving ground, and he is delivering thus far.

LaCombe is the NHL postseason leader among defensemen with nine points (one goal, eight assists) while playing 27:00 per game mostly all in regulation; Anaheim played one overtime game in the first round that lasted 2:29, of which he played 59 seconds.

He led all Ducks defensemen and was 16th in the League during the regular season with 58 points (10 goals, 48 assists) in 82 games. 

LaCombe is getting his chance to showcase himself in the playoffs, with the Golden Knights and U.S. teammates Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin next up. 

Not bad for a Minnesota native who had to wait until the second round (No. 39) to hear his name called at the 2019 NHL Draft.