The second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs is in the books, and there are winners and losers from each series. Of course, that is literally the case: four teams advance to the conference finals and four more go home, but we’re going to dig a little deeper to find the true highlights and lowlights.
The biggest story of the conference semifinals was Mitch Marner, who took his reputation as a playoff choker and lit it on fire. Marner was the main reason the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks to reach the Western Conference Final, thereby putting the ghosts of Toronto behind them.
As for the players who left with a bad taste in their mouths, Alex Tuch went cold at the worst possible moment for the Buffalo Sabres. Tuch was absent from the scoresheet as the Sabres dropped Game 7 to the Montreal Canadiens, falling one win shy of the conference finals.
Let’s take a deeper look at the biggest winners and losers from the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Winner: Mitch Marner’s playoff reputation
Sometimes fairly — but often unfairly — Marner shouldered most of the blame for the Maple Leafs’ playoff shortcomings when he was in Toronto. Well, Marner has done a good job of silencing those critics and proving he can elevate his game when it matters the most. Against the Ducks, Marner recorded 11 points in six games, including a hat trick in Game 3 and a two-point performance in Game 6 to close out the series.
Including his stellar three-point effort to close out the Utah Mammoth in Game 6, Marner now has 14 points in his last seven games and leads the Golden Knights in scoring this postseason. As Vegas gets set to play the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, there’s no longer any doubt about whether Marner is capable of leading this team in the playoffs.
Stanley Cup Playoffs 2026: Bracket, schedule and scores as conference final matchups are set
Austin Nivison
Loser: Alex Tuch goes ice cold
Alex Tuch was a force for the Sabres in the regular season and the first-round series against the Boston Bruins. In fact, he was one of the reasons I picked Buffalo to beat the Canadiens in the second round. Then, out of nowhere, Tuch went ice cold at the worst possible moment. The Syracuse native completely lost his scoring touch, and Buffalo got crushed when he was on the ice.
Tuch failed to tally a single point in the seven-game series, and the Sabers were outscored 8-1 with him in the game at five-on-five. That’s your series right there. Part of it was poor puck luck. Tuch put 26 shots on net in the series — the most of anyone on the team — but none of them found the back of the net. Still, the process left a little to be desired, with both teams at full strength posting a 46.9% expected goals share, per Natural Stat Trick. The extra salt in the wound for Tuch is that he will enter contract negotiations with the Sabres on a sour note.
Winner: Jakub Dobes’ coming-out party
Ever since Carey Price stepped off the ice in April of 2022, the Canadiens have been looking for some stability in goal. If this postseason has been any indication, they’ve found it. The 24-year-old Dobes has been spectacular, and he showed poise beyond his years in Game 7, making one big save after another as the Sabres made a series of strong pushes in front of their home crowd. One of the biggest stops Dobes made came in overtime when he stuck with Tage Thompson on an odd-man rush.
A fifth-round pick in 2020, Dobes is proving that he is the future of the crease in Montreal. In fairness to Dobes, he’s the present as well, because he’ll give the Canadiens a shot at upsetting the Carolina Hurricanes if he keeps playing like this. In the second-round series against the Sabres, Dobes posted a .913 save percentage with a high-danger save percentage of .870. One clunker in Game 6 skewed the goals saved above average numbers against him, but Dobes is on the fast track to stardom in one of hockey’s hottest markets.
Loser: Minnesota’s subpar centers
Once the trade deadline passed without the Wild upgrading at center, it was clear that position could be an Achilles heel in the postseason. That was certainly the case against the Avalanche — the team with the deepest center group in the NHL — especially since Joel Eriksson Ek missed the entire series with a broken heel bone. Minnesota’s four healthy centers combined for just one goal and six assists at five-on-five against Colorado, per Natural Stat Trick. That won’t cut it against the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri.
Needless to say, the center position will be a high priority for GM Bill Guerin in the offseason. According to Michael Russ of The Athletic, the Wild did try to swing a blockbuster trade for St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas, but a deal never came together. I wonder if Minnesota will circle back to those discussions around the time of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Winner: Avs burying opponents with depth
There’s a reason the Avalanche are the Stanley Cup favorites through two rounds. In addition to the star power at the top of the lineup, Colorado is capable of burning opponents with all four lines and all three defensive pairings. Just look at how the Avs have gotten it done in the postseason to this point. With his overtime winner in Game 5, Brett Kulak became the 17th different goal-scorer for the Avalanche in the playoffs, which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Colorado’s depth — especially down the middle — was evident against Minnesota. The advantage won’t be quite as big against the Golden Knights, but the Avalanche is still the more complete team. If the Avs are going to snap the Presidents’ Trophy “curse,” they’ll need the entire roster to chip in for eight more wins.
Loser: Dostal sinks the Ducks
In terms of controlling play at five-on-five, the Ducks were very competitive against the Golden Knights. Per Natural Stat Trick, Anaheim controlled 52.4% of the expected goals and notched 21 more scoring chances than Vegas. On paper, this series could’ve easily gone seven games, and the Ducks could be preparing for a conference finals matchup. However, Lukas Dostal was outplayed by Carter Hart between the pipes.
In the series, Dostal allowed 4.55 goals above average. That number was accompanied by a high-danger save percentage of .711, which was the second-lowest of any goaltender in the second round. Dostal really struggled for most of the regular season, and that carried over into the playoffs. If Anaheim is going to take another step forward in 2026-27, Dostal needs to have a strong bounce-back campaign.
Winner: Well-rested Hurricanes
There’s always a debate about rest versus rust in the playoffs, but frankly, that’s a little silly. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are one of the most grueling tournaments in sports, so any chance a team gets to get healthy and refreshed, it needs to take it. The Hurricanes completed their sweep of the Flyers on May 9, meaning they’ll have 11 days off before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
I doubt Carolina is complaining about some extra days on the training table while the Canadiens endured a seven-game battle against the Sabres. Might the Canes have to get their sea legs back under them early in Game 1? Perhaps, but there is no question about whether Rod Brind-Amour will have his team ready to go. The Stanley Cup is within the Hurricanes’ grasp, and this extended break will only help them in their pursuit.
Loser: Matvei Michkov’s sophomore season
After a disappointing regular season from Michkov, he got the opportunity to redeem himself in the postseason. Unfortunately for Michkov and the Flyers, he didn’t seize that opportunity, and his sophomore season ended with a fizzle instead of a bang. Michkov was a healthy scratch in two games while tallying just one point in eight games. The underlying numbers weren’t any better. With Michkov on the ice at five-on-five, the Flyers controlled just 32.1% of the expected goals with a minus-3 goal differential.
As a rookie, Michkov was tremendous, and he finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting after totaling 63 points. Those numbers dipped to 51 points in 2025-26, and coupled with an abhorrent playoff effort, Michkov faces a critical offseason. He’ll either get on the same page as coach Rick Tocchet, or Philadelphia will face a tough decision on the former No. 7 overall pick.
