NHL Playoffs 2nd Round Takeaways: Marner, Hurricanes & Avalanche Rolling, & More

The second round of the 2026 NHL Playoffs came to a riveting end last night, with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Buffalo Sabres in overtime to win Game 7. With that, we move on to the conference finals. Let’s look back on the second round and some of the biggest takeaways with only four teams left in the postseason.

Avalanche Are a Force

We all knew the Colorado Avalanche were going to be a handful in the playoffs, but they’ve been even better than expected. They sent the Los Angeles Kings packing with ease, and they made quick work of the Minnesota Wild, even though a couple of games were close.

The Avalanche were one of the best five-on-five teams in the NHL this season, and that’s continued in the playoffs. They dominated the Wild at five-on-five, controlling over 58 percent of the expected goals (xG%). Jesper Wallstedt, who came into the series with a .970 five-on-five save percentage, met his match against a high-octane Avalanche offense.

Even when the Wild looked like they could give the Avalanche some problems, it was nothing more than a mirage. Take the Game 5 series clincher, for example. The Wild built a 3-0 lead in the first period and looked poised to bring the series back to St. Paul, but the Avalanche dominated over the final two periods and quickly won the game in overtime.

The Avalanche have been getting contributions from everyone, too. Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas led the series in points with nine, but six players had four or more points. This is a well-rounded team with contributors on all four lines and three defense pairs. They will be a tough out for whoever has to face them the rest of the way.

Hurricanes Are Not Messing Around, Either

Across the playoff bracket, the Carolina Hurricanes are doing their best Avalanche impression and then some. They’re 8-0-0 and look like the heavy favorites to win the East. Frederik Anderson is among the leaders for the Conn Smythe, but the Hurricanes have a few candidates. They may not have the star power of the Avalanche, but they’re a well-rounded team as well.

That showed in their series against the Philadelphia Flyers, as they were no match for the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were dominant at five-on-five, controlling 59.2 percent of the expected goals and outscoring the Flyers 9-3. Dan Vladar did his best to keep games tight, but the Hurricanes were just too much to handle.

Jackson Blake was terrific for the Hurricanes in Round 2, as he totaled three goals and seven points in four games. Much like the Avalanche, the Hurricanes got contributions from everyone. Taylor Hall totaled five points, while five players finished the series with at least three points.

Though the Montreal Canadiens could pose some challenges for the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, they will be heavy favorites to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in the East.

Mitch Marner, Conn Smythe Leader?

Big game Mitch Marner? He’s certainly putting any narratives around his playoff struggles with the Toronto Maple Leafs to bed. Marner leads the NHL with 18 points in these playoffs. If the Vegas Golden Knights shock the world and advance to the Stanley Cup Final, he will be among the favorites for the Conn Smythe.

Marner has been legitimately great all playoffs, but he was brilliant against the Anaheim Ducks. He finished with five goals and 11 points in six games and had this highlight-reel goal in Game 6 en route to the Golden Knights eliminating the Ducks:

The Golden Knights have a tall task ahead against the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, especially with Mark Stone’s status uncertain. They will need Marner to be at his best again, but his play against the Ducks was nothing short of superb. Perhaps all he needed to do was to get out of the Toronto market.

Flyers Hit Their Ceiling

There’s no shame in what the Flyers accomplished this season. Nobody expected them to be a playoff team, let alone advance to the next round. But their sweep at the hands of the Hurricanes shows there’s still plenty of work to do. They have the goaltending and defense to be a competitive team, but they need to find more game-breaking scoring.

That won’t be easy to do, given this year’s free-agent market. There are no game-breaking scorers, and who knows what the trade market will look like. It appears we’ve entered an era of stratification, where teams looking to improve their rosters will face challenges due to a limited supply. But at least the Flyers seem to be heading in the right direction.

Ducks Are Ahead of Schedule

It’s probably fair to say that the Ducks arrived a year ahead of schedule. Led by budding young stars Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, and more, they shocked the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1, then put up a good fight against the Golden Knights in Round 2.

The Ducks were not a particularly great five-on-five team during the regular season, but they showed drastic improvement at that game state during the playoffs. They actually outplayed the Golden Knights at five-on-five, finishing with an xG% just above 52 percent. Unfortunately for them, their shooting luck ran out. They shot just 5.71 percent at five-on-five against the Golden Knights, while the Golden Knights shot 9.82 percent. That may have made the difference.

Still, the Ducks are clearly heading in the right direction. We’ll see what the offseason holds, but the Pacific Division is easily the weakest in the NHL at the moment. The Ducks have plenty of young talent and could be ready to change the guard from the usual suspects over the next few years.

Sabres & Canadiens Was Absolute Cinema

On paper, the Buffalo Sabres and Canadiens had the most potential of the second-round matchups. And, boy, did it live up to the expectations. There were high-scoring tilts, goaltending changes, multi-goal comebacks, and a Game 7 overtime thriller.

The Sabres were the better team in Games 6 and 7, but they unfortunately only came away with the win in Game 6. They outplayed the Canadiens at five-on-five, but Jakub Dobeš was terrific in net in Game 7, making 37 saves. It was an unfortunate result for the Sabres, but there’s a lot to build on heading into the offseason.

The Sabres have one of the youngest rosters in the NHL, but they need to find a solution in net. Ukko Pekka-Lukkonnen is a fine enough goaltender, but they need someone to tandem with him other than Alex Lyon. Is it finally Devon Levi’s time? Or will GM Jarmo Kekalainen seek an external solution? The Sabres finished with an .862 save percentage in this series. They do feel like they’re a high-end goaltender away from being that team. It could have made the difference against the Canadiens.

As for the Canadiens, they keep finding ways to win these games, even though they’re getting severely outplayed at times. Alex Newhook was incredible, scoring six goals, including the game-winner in Game 7. But the Canadiens are about to run into a different animal in the Hurricanes.

The Canadiens finished their series against the Sabres with an xG% of 45.35 percent. That likely won’t cut it against one of the most dominant five-on-five teams in the NHL, the Hurricanes. But they continue to defy the odds. Maybe they have one more left in them? They will need Dobeš to be on top of his game against the Hurricanes.

Regardless, this series was arguably the best of the 2026 postseason. The Sabres and Canadiens were about dead even during the regular season, and that’s how the series played out in the end. It’ll be tough for either conference final and maybe even the Stanley Cup Final to live up to it. We’ll see what the final two rounds bring for fans.

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