TONY’S TAKE – 2025 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF SECOND ROUND PREVIEW

by Tony Fiorello

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 6, 2024: The Stanley Cup is staged for a visit by staff members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation at Capitol Hill on March 6, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Typically that’s a phrase one would hear around Christmas. But for hockey fans, there’s no better time of year to enjoy the game than the playoffs. With storylines galore and the intensity at an all-time high, witnessing 16 teams battling for the right to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup is a sight to behold.

Throughout the postseason, Buffalo Sports Page will provide you with series previews and predictions from the start of round one through the finals. Previews will become more in-depth as the playoffs roll along, but for now here is our analysis of the second round:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Washington Capitals (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (2)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals shakes hands with Mike Matheson #8, Joel Armia #40 and Alex Newhook #15 of the Montreal Canadiens after Game Five of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/NHLI via Getty Images)

One year after barely sneaking into the postseason, the Caps have taken everyone by surprise by ending the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Second in goals scored (13th on the power play) and ninth in goals allowed (fifth on the penalty kill), Washington is led by the usual suspects – the NHL’s greatest goal-scorer of all-time in Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson and John Carlson – and talents like Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Ailaksei Protas have bolstered their depth. Defensively Carlson is now joined by Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin, and Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson are holding down the fort in goal for coach Spencer Carberry, general manager Chris Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan. The Caps needed only five games to emerge victorious over the Montreal Canadiens.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 29: Jordan Staal #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes shakes hands with Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils after Game Five of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center on April 29, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)

For the first time since the team moved to Raleigh from Hartford, Carolina has reached the postseason for a seventh consecutive year. General manager Eric Tulsky and coach Rod Brind’Amour lead a team characterized by a combination of guys entering their prime (Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov) and veterans (Brent Burns, Jordan Staal, Dmitry Orlov, Jack Roslovic, Jaccob Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere). While ninth in goals scored but just 25th on the power play, that mix has churned out positive results via Brind’Amour’s stifling defensive system (10th in goals allowed, first on the penalty kill) and the goaltending duo of Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov have brought stability to the Canes’ crease. After the Hurricanes’ five-game win over the New Jersey Devils, they became only the fifth team all-time to win at least one playoff round in seven straight years.

PREDICTION

Capitals in six. The ‘Canes don’t have the offensive firepower that the Caps boast, and while Carolina is always good defensively it won’t be enough to beat Washington. Plus Washington has the edge in goal.

Toronto Maple Leafs (1) vs. Florida Panthers (WC3)

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - MAY 01: Brady Tkachuk #7 of the Ottawa Senators and Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs shake hands after Game Six of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre on May 01, 2025 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Leafs have reached the postseason nine years in a row and led by their core group of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. This roster is a high-flying group that can score in bunches (as evidenced by being seventh in scoring and ninth on the power play) and is augmented by Calle Jarnkrok, Max Pacioretty, Scott Laughton, Max Domi and Matthew Knies. Defensively the Leafs are paced by Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, T.J. Brodie, Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit and Chris Tanev – they’ve helped Toronto end the regular season eighth in goals surrendered but a so-so 17th on the penalty kill. Coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving have one of the league’s most underrated goaltenders in Anthony Stolarz and he is backed up by the capable Joseph Woll. The Leafs have gotten this far by winning a six-game matchup with the Ottawa Senators – just the third time they’ve won a playoff round going back to the 2003-04 season.

TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 30: Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers speak after Game Five of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on April 30, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Florida is playoff-bound for the sixth straight year (the first time in franchise history that’s happened), and the Panthers are coming off back-to-back trips to the Final and a Cup win to boot. Coach Paul Maurice and general manager Bill Zito lead a team bolstered at forward by Selke Trophy-winner Alex Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart, and supplemented by quality depth in Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand. Defensively the Panthers are held down by Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling and Niko Mikkola. Sergei Bobrovsky remains one of the NHL’s better options in net for a team that was 15th in scoring and 14th on the power play, but 10th on the penalty kill and seventh in goals given up. The Panthers needed just five games to take down their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning.

PREDICTION

Panthers in seven. Florida is every bit as good as they were the last couple of seasons, and while Toronto can score goals in bunches they aren’t as rock solid of a two-way club or as experienced as the Panthers are.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Edmonton Oilers (3)

ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - MAY 01: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Minnesota Wild and Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights shake hands at the end of the game during Game Six of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center on May 01, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Luke Schmidt/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Golden Knights are again one of the better outfits in the Western Conference. Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon and president of hockey operations George McPhee have built their core group with many experienced and quality pros – names such as Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, Noah Hanifan and Tomas Hertl have all been acquired from outside the organization. Coach Bruce Cassidy keeps this team on course while Adin Hill has become a reliable starting goaltender over the last three years. This team was fifth and third in goals for and against, respectively – while they were second-best with the man advantage, they were just 26th on the penalty kill. Vegas is coming off a six-game knockout of the Minnesota Wild.

EDMONTON, CANADA - MAY 1: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers shakes hands with Drew Doughty #8 of the Los Angeles Kings following Game Six of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on May 1, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Edmonton continues to blossom in the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era, and the all-world duo (who each had over 100 points again) isn’t doing it alone. With Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane, Adam Henrique and Corey Perry in tow, the Oilers have good secondary scoring threats. The team is held down on the rear by defenders Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm (who is currently injured). Stuart Skinner is the starter in net for head coach Kris Knoblauch and new general manager Stan Bowman. The Oilers, for the first time in a long time, don’t have an elite power play – they were just 12th in that category this year (which is low by their standards) and they were 16th on the penalty kill while 11th in scoring and 16th defensively. They also became just the fourth team to beat another for four consecutive years in the postseason when they eliminated the Los Angeles Kings in six games.

PREDICTION

Oilers in seven. While Vegas seems to have better depth among their skaters, Edmonton looks like they’re on a mission to avenge their loss in the Final from a year ago.

Winnipeg Jets (1) vs. Dallas Stars (2)

WINNIPEG, CANADA - MAY 04: Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets and Jordan Binnington #50 of the St. Louis Blues shake hands following the Jets 4-3 win in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canada Life Centre on May 04, 2025 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Cameron Bartlett/Getty Images)

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and new coach Scott Arniel typically get the most out of Winnipeg’s roster and this season has been no exception. Most of the Jets’ core over the last few years– Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers – remain and are supported by names such as Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti. Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk have developed into two of the NHL’s better defensemen, and Connor Hellebuyck is the favorite to win a second straight Vezina award as the league’s best goaltender (and third of his career). Winnipeg ended the regular season winning the first President’s Trophy in franchise history and had the NHL’s best power play and led the league in goals allowed while being third in scoring and 13th on the penalty kill. They’re coming off a seven-game victory over the St. Louis Blues in which they rallied back from down 3-1 in the deciding contest to tie with 1.6 seconds left and won in double overtime.

DALLAS, TX - MAY 03: Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) leads the handshake line after game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche on May 3, 2025 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Dallas Stars have reached the postseason for the eighth time in the last 12 years. Older forwards like captain Jamie Benn (35), Tyler Seguin (33) and Matt Duchene (34) are still steady point producers as they age while guys with fresher legs like recently acquired Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnson are key contributors. Defensemen Miro Heiskanen (currently injured), Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell have continued to perform well on the back end while 26-year-old Jake Oettinger has been stellar in goal for coach Peter DeBoer (who is now an NHL-best 9-0 in Game Sevens after defeating the Colorado Avalanche in the first round – also the top mark of any coach compared to MLB and the NBA) and general manager Jim Nill. The Stars ended the regular season third in goals, sixth in goals allowed and fourth on the penalty kill, but were just 17th with the man advantage.

PREDICTION

Stars in six. Dallas’ seven-game victory was impressive, and doubly so given that they achieved it without two of their best players in their lineup because of injuries (Heiskanen and Robertson). If they draw back in at some point and if Hellebuyck’s struggles against St. Louis continue against the team from the Lone Star State, we think the Stars will advance to their third straight Western Conference Final.