The Stanley Cup Playoffs are always a spectacle, but this year with these teams, these players, and these matchups, things are getting out of hand. With two teams having already swept their opponents and other teams looking to take this thing to seven, here is what has happened so far in round one of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes, the top seed in the Metro and in the East, and the Ottawa Senators, the last Wildcard in the East, kicked things off on Saturday, Apr. 18. The ‘Canes won that game in a 2-0 shutout, with netminder credits going to Frederik Andersen. Game tw0 was much closer, ending in a 3-2 double-overtime win for the Hurricanes, Jordan Martinook was awarded a penalty shot in overtime and he missed. However, he got his second chance and scored the double-OT winner to close game two out. Game three was a 2-1 regulation win for the Hurricanes, with goals from Logan Stankhoven and Jordan Blake. Game four, when Carolina was looking for the broom, all ‘Canes. They forced the Sens to pull Linus Ullmark from net and Sebastian Aho made them pay, scoring two empty-netters. Carolina took the series 4-0 to move onto the second round where they’ll play Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.
Moving over to the Flyers and the Penguins, things have been interesting. Game one was also on Apr. 18 in Pittsburgh. Philly came out hot with their identifying gritty play and took game one 3-2. Game two was all Philly, as Dan Vladar posted a 3-0 shutout to give the Flyers a 2-0 series lead. Upon returning to Philadelphia for game three, the Flyers were looking to take the commanding 3-0 lead and they did just that. They won 5-2 and rookie Porter Martone scored his third goal in three straight. Not to mention, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby took his first even embellishment penalty after being high-sticked by Garnet Hathaway. The penalty must have got The Kid going, because he came out hot in game four, scoring the first goal of the game on the power play. The Penguins took game four 4-2, forcing a game five back in Pittsburgh for the Battle of Philadelphia to continue. Game five was another tilt between these two teams, but the Pens came out on top in a 3-2 Pittsburgh win for a 3-2 series and a pivotal game six on the way.
As for the Atlantic, the Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins have put up absolute barn-burners over the last week. Things started in Buffalo where, up until the third period, things were looking ugly for the Sabres. They were down 2-0 early in the third with the crowd growing restless after 14 years of no playoffs. But Tage Thompson clutched-up for Buffalo and scored two goals in three minutes to tie the game at two. Matthius Samuelson scored with under four left to make it 3-2 Sabres and then Jack Quinn scored the go-ahead goal, with Boston Capitalizing on a late power play. Buffalo took game one 4-3. Boston came out with a vengeance in game two, scoring for unanswered goals. Buffalo did break through late in the third but not enough for a win, and the Bruins took game two 4-2. Going into game three, the series was tied at 1-1 and both teams were looking to take the series lead. Buffalo came into B-Town looking for ‘W’ and they got it in a 3-1 win on the road for a 2-1 series lead. Game four seemed make or break Boston, as Buffalo wanted that commanding 3-1 lead. It was all Buffalo from the start, as they scored six straight on Swayman. Swayman was pulled in the third and Boston scored once, but the Sabres took game four 6-1 and have the series on their sticks with a 3-1 lead.
Montreal and Tampa Bay have been just as insane as Boston and Buffalo. Game one was down in Florida, and what a tilt it was. The game was tied 3-3 late in the third, with two goals from Juraj Slafkovsky for the Canadiens, and Brandon Hagel for the Lightning. This thing was going to OT and less than two minutes in, Slafkovsky completed the hat-trick with the OT to put the Habs up 1-0 in the series. In game two, the Bolts said “Wait a minute, young guns” and the Habs said “You wait a minute, gramps”. The game was tied 2-2 late in the third and it was going to OT for the second game in a row. J.J. Moser scored the game winner after a careless icing by Kirby Dach and the series was tied. Game three was headed up to Montreal, in the Bell Centre, and the house was coming down. Things were even at two’s late in the third. For the third straight game, this thing was going to OT. Lane Hutson came through with a 80 mile-an-hour slap shot from the blue line, and he secured the second win for the bleu, blanc, et rouge in a 2-1 series for the Habs. Game four was almost a mirror image of game three, with things even at 2 late in the third. However, Hagel did it again with the go-ahead 3-2 goal and tied the series at 2-2.
