2025-26 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 2 series picks
Round 1 of the 2025-26 Stanley Cup playoffs treated us to plenty of thrills, surprises, controversies and epic finishes. Looking at the eight-team field that advanced to Round 2, we can see a clash between an old and new guard. The Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers have broken through after years in the wilderness; the Carolina Hurricanes have unfinished business; and the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche are trying to return to the summit after reasonably recent successes.
How will the next four series play out? It’s time to make our Round 2 predictions for Daily Faceoff.
Our panel:
Matt Larkin, DFO managing editor & senior writer
Steven Ellis, DFO associate editor & prospect analyst
Scott Maxwell, DFO editor & writer
Jason Gregor, co-host of The DFO Rundown podcast
Tyler Yaremchuk, host & senior producer of The Nation Network
Anthony Di Marco, DFO contributing writer
Paul Pidutti, founder of Adjusted Hockey & DFO feature writer
Jonny Lazarus, DFO digital reporter & co-host of Morning Cuppa Hockey
Mike Gould, Writer for DFO and Flames Nation
Anthony Trudeau, DFO columnist
Round 2 picks
| Name | Record | BUF vs. MTL | CAR vs. PHI | COL vs. MIN | VGK vs. ANA |
| Matt Larkin | 3-5 | Montreal in 7 | Carolina in 6 | Colorado in 7 | Vegas in 5 |
| Steven Ellis | 4-4 | Buffalo in 7 | Carolina in 6 | Colorado in 6 | Vegas in 6 |
| Scott Maxwell | 4-4 | Buffalo in 6 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 6 | Vegas in 6 |
| Jason Gregor | 5-3 | Buffalo in 6 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 7 | Anaheim in 7 |
| Tyler Yaremchuk | 2-6 | Montreal in 7 | Carolina in 4 | Minnesota in 7 | Vegas in 6 |
| A. Di Marco | 5-3 | Buffalo in 6 | Carolina in 5 | Minnesota in 7 | Vegas in 5 |
| Paul Pidutti | 4-4 | Montreal in 7 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 6 | Vegas in 6 |
| Jonny Lazarus | 5-3 | Montreal in 7 | Carolina in 4 | Minnesota in 6 | Vegas in 6 |
| Mike Gould | 6-2 | Buffalo in 6 | Carolina in 4 | Colorado in 6 | Anaheim in 6 |
| A. Trudeau | 6-2 | Buffalo in 7 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 7 | Vegas in 6 |
| CONSENSUS | Buffalo | Carolina | Colorado | Vegas |
(Disclaimer: Picks were submitted before each series started)
So far, so good for our unanimous selection of the Carolina Hurricanes to ragdoll the Philadelphia Flyers. Despite the Canes’ sweep win in Round 1, the Ottawa Senators were a sneaky-tough opponent, and the Flyers looked inferior by comparison, at least in the lopsided Game 1 Saturday night, albeit Philly was missing a crucial contributor in the speedy Owen Tippett.
The Montreal Canadiens drew the tougher test in the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1…but maybe their rather ugly Game 7 win swayed the panel toward the Buffalo Sabres, who were mostly in control vs. the Boston Bruins in their series.
Plenty of us have been won over by the Minnesota Wild – they took down a Dallas Stars team that beat the Colorado Avalanche last year – but the wire-to-wire top team in the NHL still gets the majority vote, even if the Avs weren’t pushed very hard by the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1.
The high-flying Anaheim Ducks have made believers of some after taking down the back-to-back Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers, but the majority of us lean toward the disciplined Vegas Golden Knights team, which is now 11-2-1 between the regular season and the playoffs since John Tortorella took over as coach.
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