I got every one of my predictions correct.

Time to brag going into the NHL Playoffs Third Round.

2026 NHL Playoffs Second Round
2026 NHL Playoffs First Round

2nd Round Recap

President’s Trophy Colorado Avalanche versus Minnesota Wild

My Prediction: Colorado Avalanche in six games

Result: Colorado Avalanche in five games (-1)

Only off by one game.

Minnesota was a tough challenge but you can only do so much with how they are down the middle. Great wingers, great defence, a very good goalie, but this is the Colorado Avalanche. It’s why if my Montreal Canadiens somehow get to the Cup final against Colorado I would not put their chances very high. Colorado is a juggernaut down the middle.

I just called Minnesota a tough challenge and they only won one game. That’s how incredible Colorado is right now. They absolutely feel like they are well on their way to win the Cup.

Pacific Division Winner Vegas Golden Knights versus Anaheim Ducks

My Prediction: Vegas Golden Knights in six games

Result: Vegas Golden Knights in six games

I said I had been hoping for the Anaheim Ducks to prove me wrong but instead the Vegas Golden Knights showed they had a secret weapon named William Karlsson.

Karlsson might be one of the most underrated players in the National Hockey League. For real, unlike Barkov who everyone regards as great all the time then calls underrated. Karlsson is a Cup winner, one of the best second line centres in the game, and his return after being gone for most of the season due to injury put the Knights in a place the Ducks couldn’t catch up.

Most games were close but both blowouts (game three and game six) were road wins by the Golden Knights.

Eastern Conference Winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Philadelphia Flyers

My Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes in five games

Result: Carolina Hurricanes in four games (-1)

I even said I felt the Hurricanes could sweep but I felt bad for changing my first round prediction from the Flyers to the Penguins. Gotta give them something. Unfortunately they gave us nothing.

Carolina looks spectacular. They truly feel like a team who did not care about their first two rounds and just trucked their opposition to get here.

Probably the funniest thing of the series wasn’t the games but on social media where Philadelphia Flyers fans, who delight in being the trolls of the hockey world with Gritty killing Penguins in the first round, suddenly became the arbiters of decency and respect and were offended by the Carolina “Bunch of Jerks” Hurricanes Twitter account for clowning on their loss.

It was a great example how you can’t have it both ways. If you wanna live by the gag? You gotta die by it too. If you want Gritty messing with the opposing team? You gotta take your lumps when the team does the same to you. Play it in stride. Philly fans couldn’t.

Atlantic Division Winner Buffalo Sabres versus Montreal Canadiens

My Prediction: Montreal Canadiens in six games

Result: Montreal Canadiens in seven games (-1)

I was really hoping for a game six win where Cole Caufield just exploded as Mr. Saturday Night and instead I got one of the worst performances of the playoffs.

It’s a pretty strange series when you consider the fact Montreal lost game one celebrating their series win in Tampa a night too long. They should have went to Buffalo after the series but decided to stay back. They were absolutely not ready for Buffalo in game one. And then the Canadiens proceeded to destroy the Sabres for the next two games. And then Buffalo squeaked a win in game four based on a one in a million bounce and a goalie change. Montreal in game five? Another absolute destruction of the Sabres. Followed by the Sabres absolutely destroying Montreal by yes, again, changing goalies. They were winning 3-1 and then the Sabres changed goalies and won 8-3.

Seven unanswered goals.

At home.

A lot of people were deflated and forgot that Montreal has yet to lose back to back games this playoffs. Not to Tampa and not to Buffalo. Game seven, Montreal goes up 2-0, Buffalo scores 2, and Habs win in OT.

You’re already hearing people say silly things like Montreal being outplayed in game seven. They were outplayed in the second and third period but they were the better team in first period and OT. Apparently the first period and OT don’t matter now.

But the series is over. Buffalo got dominated for three of their losses. Montreal got dominated for one loss, looked awful in game one, and just had flat bad luck in a third loss. They weren’t allowing four of them.

Third Round Predictions

Well here we are.

Presidents Trophy Winner Colorado Avalanche versus Pacific Division Winner Vegas Golden Knights

Do you know how long it has been since the Presidents Trophy winner got to a Conference final? Actually it wasn’t that long ago you just probably don’t remember. It was the New York Rangers. Yeah, the Rangers were the best team in the regular season in 2023-24. They beat the Dallas Stars by a point. Both of those teams made it to the Conference final only to lose to Florida and Edmonton.

This year we have a similar situation. The conference winners are both in the conference final. Being the best in the league has its advantages finally.

I have a hard time believing in Vegas this year and it mostly comes down to their goaltending. I like almost everything else on the team. I just don’t see any world where Carter Hart shuts down the Colorado Avalanche. Except, maybe, injuries.

Vegas is going to have to do everything they can to crush the Avalanche and take out their best weapons physically. There’s no other way I can see them winning. I’ll give them two wins to be nice.

Colorado Avalanche in six games

Eastern Conference Winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Montreal Canadiens

Carolina finds itself in its third Conference final in four years. In the past 10 seasons the Hurricanes have made the conference final four times in 10 years.

Do you know how many games they’ve won in the Conference final?

One.

Since the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006 they have been to the Conference final five times now and only have a single victory to show for it, last season against the Florida Panthers.

2008-09? Swept by the Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins

2018-19? Swept by the Cup losing Boston Bruins

2022-23? Swept by the Cup losing Florida Panthers

2024-25? Gentlemen’s Sweep by the Cup winning Florida Panthers

They once again face the Atlantic Division winner but it won’t be a repeat opponent.

The media is already making this a hockey rust versus hockey exhaustion question. Will the Carolina Hurricanes be able to contain a battle ready Habs? Or will the exhausted Habs run out of steam against a fresh Hurricanes squad?

The reality is I can’t say who should win this series until I see if the rust is real or if the Habs have any energy left. I think they had a good OT and proved they still had life in them against Buffalo but we have to see how they come out in game one. They flubbed it with Buffalo but came back in games two and three. That might be tougher against Carolina.

If Carolina’s rust is too much? Montreal will win this in five or six. If Carolina being rested is a weapon? Montreal won’t make it to six.

I’ll be a homer and give it to the Habs.

Montreal Canadiens in six games

That would give us Montreal vs Colorado for the Cup.

Wouldn’t that be fun. The Battle of Quebec.

I guess we will see how things shake out soon.

“Las Vegas Golden Knights Battle Wagon Celebrates a Victory” by slgckgc is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .