2025-26 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 3 series picks
Four teams remain, and it feels like we’re about to see some heavyweight battles in the NHL’s Conference Final matchups.
The Colorado Avalanche went 8-1 across Rounds 1 and 2 and have yet to appear truly tested, not even when facing a formidable Minnesota Wild squad. Will the Vegas Golden Knights push Colorado harder than anyone? Vegas is now 15-4-1 across the end of the regular season and first two rounds of the playoffs since John Tortorella took over as head coach after 74 games.
Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes are the first NHL team this century to open the postseason 8-0. Are they truly a juggernaut or have they simply enjoyed an easy path against two opponents who weren’t even in playoff spots as of April 1? We’ll see what they’re made of against the never-say-die Montreal Canadiens, but the Canes certainly are rested, having not played since finishing off a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers on May 9, setting a modern-day record for the longest layoff between series.
How will the next two series play out? It’s time to make our Round 3 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 3 picks
| Name | Record | Carolina vs. Montreal | Colorado vs. Vegas |
| Matt Larkin | 7-5 | Carolina in 6 | Colorado in 7 |
| Steven Ellis | 7-5 | Carolina in 6 | Colorado in 6 |
| Scott Maxwell | 7-5 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 6 |
| Jason Gregor | 7-5 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 6 |
| Tyler Yaremchuk | 5-7 | Montreal in 7 | Colorado in 5 |
| Anthony Di Marco | 7-5 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 5 |
| Paul Pidutti | 8-4 | Carolina in 6 | Colorado in 6 |
| Mike Gould | 8-4 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 6 |
| Anthony Trudeau | 9-3 | Carolina in 5 | Colorado in 5 |
| CONSENSUS | Carolina | Colorado |
In the West, the Golden Knights have impressed with their balanced group of two-way players, and few teams have gotten better individual performances than they have from Mitch Marner, Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden. But the Avalanche are not the Utah Mammoth or Anaheim Ducks. Colorado has made it look easy all season, and none of us expects Vegas to be its equal.
As for the Canes: we can worry about rust, or their relatively easy path through Rounds 1 and 2, or the fact they’ve frequently dominated early in the playoffs only to flop in the Conference Final. But the Canadiens, who have been scrappy but at times defensively sloppy this postseason, are a step down from facing the peak Florida Panthers; this time our voting panel sees Carolina as the class of the East.
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