2026 NHL Playoffs – Round 2 Betting Guide

Round 1 is officially in the books, and the ledger is illuminating. The field of 16 is down to 8, three of our five pre-series picks cashed, and two of the four remaining first-round series — Buffalo over Boston and Anaheim over Edmonton — produced the kind of genuine upsets that reshape the entire playoff market. We’re now one week into the second round, with two series already tilted toward one team and two still completely unsettled.

Below is a full accounting: how Round 1 finished, what we got right and wrong, and a complete second-round betting guide covering all four remaining series.

Round 1 Final Report Card

Five of eight pre-series calls were correct. The three misses — Boston, Utah, and Edmonton — share a common thread: all three were teams the market favored that ran into young, hungry rosters playing above expectation. The Ducks eliminating Edmonton in six games is the upset of the first round. The Flyers winning as +140 underdogs is the value play of the round.

FIRST ROUND — KEY STORIES THAT DEFINE ROUND 2

Buffalo Sabres d. Boston Bruins 4-2

The full series arc: BUF wins Game 1, BOS levels in Game 2, Buffalo takes Games 3 and 4 to go up 3-1 before Boston survived OT in Game 5. Buffalo closed it out in Game 6 at home (4-1). The key development mid-series was Buffalo’s goaltending switch — UPL came out, Alex Lyon came in, and Lyon allowed one goal in each of his three wins. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch (four goals, two game-winners) led the offense. The Sabres’ 14-year drought is over. Now they face the Canadiens, and this team is not backing down.

Montreal Canadiens d. Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3

The most dramatic series of the round. Seven games, five of them decided by one goal, three in overtime. Juraj Slafkovský’s OT hat trick goal in Game 1 set the tone. Lane Hutson won Game 3 in OT. Vasilevskiy was brilliant in a 1-0 Game 6 shutout to force Game 7, where Jakub Dobeš made 28 saves and Kaiden Guhle assisted twice in a 2-1 Montreal win. The Canadiens held Tampa to three goals or fewer in all seven contests. Dobeš, a rookie, has now earned his postseason stripes. Montreal is a legitimate threat.

Anaheim Ducks d. Edmonton Oilers 4-2

The biggest upset of the playoffs so far. Anaheim kept McDavid off the scoresheet for the first two games, then won all three home contests to put the two-time defending Western Conference champions on the golf course. Joel Quenneville’s first year behind the Ducks’ bench has been a revelation — the combination of young stars (LaCombe 9 pts, Carlsson and Terry with 3G/5A each) and veterans with championship pedigree (Killorn, Kreider, Granlund) gave Anaheim the perfect cocktail. The Ducks haven’t been to the conference final since 2017. They’re three wins from it now.

Minnesota Wild d. Dallas Stars 4-2

Minnesota trailed 2-1 after Dallas stole that double-overtime Game 3, then reeled off three consecutive wins to advance to the second round for the first time since 2015. Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber were exceptional defensively, holding Dallas to four five-on-five goals over the entire series. Jesper Wallstedt was impeccable in net in the final three games. The Wild are now facing a much stiffer test in Colorado — but they’ve already done something nobody expected.

Round 2 Odds Tracker — Current Snapshot

Odds approximate DraftKings/BetMGM as of May 8, 2026 morning. Shop lines before placing.

EASTERN CONFERENCE — SECOND ROUND

Carolina is relentless. Three games, three wins — a 3-0 shutout in Game 1 and a 3-2 OT win in Game 2 to open the series, and the results through Game 3 confirm that this Hurricanes team is on a different tier than anything Philadelphia can match. Rod Brind’Amour’s system has suppressed the Flyers’ offensive identity completely. Samuel Ersson, who was excellent in Round 1, has faced a wall of defensive structure that limits his ability to be the difference-maker. Carolina allowed just 0 goals in Game 1 and has conceded only five total through three games.

Philadelphia won this series’ equivalent against Pittsburgh on pure emotion, desperation, and a favorable matchup. This is not that. The Hurricanes are the best team in the Eastern Conference and one of the top two teams left in the tournament. At 3-0, they are 27 wins in the last 28 playoff series when reaching this point in the bracket. The Flyers’ series price is nonexistent at -2000+. The only bet worth considering is Philadelphia winning Game 4 at Wells Fargo Center, where the crowd will be deafening for a team facing elimination.

The series nobody had penciled into the second round at the start of the playoffs is now the most evenly priced matchup remaining. Buffalo opened Game 1 with a 4-2 win in KeyBank Center behind Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch continuing their dominant postseason performances. The series price sits at essentially even — BUF -130, MTL +110 — which accurately reflects how close these rosters are.

Three things define this matchup from a betting standpoint. First, the goaltending battle: Alex Lyon replacing UPL mid-series was a revelation for Buffalo, but Lyon has six career playoff starts and has never faced a defense-first team like Montreal’s in a sustained series. Jakub Dobeš, the rookie who just outwilled Vasilevskiy over seven games, is a different kind of challenge than anything Lyon has faced. Second, the Lane Hutson factor: Montreal’s 78-point defenseman is capable of taking over a series the way Cale Makar does for Colorado. Buffalo has no equivalent. Third, Montreal’s defensive structure held Tampa to three goals or fewer in all seven games — the Sabres score in waves, not in grinding low-event hockey, and that style will be tested.

The sportsbooks aren’t wrong that this is a coin flip. But the lean is toward Montreal’s goaltending depth, Hutson’s upside at even money, and the momentum the Canadiens carry from a dramatic seven-game comeback. Game 2 tonight is a true barometer game — a Buffalo win puts real pressure on Montreal before the series shifts to Bell Centre; a Montreal win and this series is immediately 1-1 in Montreal’s preferred environment.

WESTERN CONFERENCE — SECOND ROUND

The marquee series of the second round has delivered exactly the high-scoring spectacle advertised — and then some. Colorado crushed Minnesota 9-6 in Game 1, a result that immediately told bettors everything they needed to know about the Avalanche’s offensive ceiling. Game 2 followed with a cleaner 5-2 Colorado win. MacKinnon, Landeskog, and Makar have been in complete control.

The Wild, to their credit, are not a pushover. They scored six goals in Game 1 and beat Dallas with exceptional defensive hockey in Round 1. But facing Colorado is a categorically different challenge — the Avalanche led the league with 298 goals in the regular season, and Nathan MacKinnon’s 53-goal season has translated directly into playoff production. Wallstedt allowed nine in Game 1 and is being exposed by the quality of Colorado’s shot generation. The -350 series price is steep but reflective of genuine talent disparity.

The under is worth monitoring. Games 1 and 2 were high-event (15 and 7 goals respectively). As the series shifts to Minnesota for Games 3-4, the Wild’s home environment and crowd energy could tighten things up — or Colorado could keep the throttle down. The series total has been bet heavily toward the over given Game 1, but Game 2 at 7 goals suggests some defensive adjustments are happening.

Vegas won Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena, Anaheim responded with a Game 2 win to even the series, and it now heads to Honda Center for Games 3 and 4. This is exactly the pattern we’ve seen from the Ducks all postseason: split the road games, dominate at home. Anaheim went 3-0 at Honda Center against Edmonton in Round 1. Their home record in the playoffs is now 5-1 when they make it back to their building.

The matchup details matter here. Anaheim won all three regular-season meetings against Vegas by a 4-3 score. Joel Quenneville’s deep playoff experience coaching against John Tortorella’s mid-season system installation creates an interesting tactical edge — Quenneville has won three Cups and runs a system perfectly tailored to Anaheim’s roster. Carter Hart’s .898 save percentage in Round 1 for Vegas was shaky; Lukas Dostal’s .874 for Anaheim was similarly unimpressive. Neither goaltender has taken the crease away from the other.

The series price has barely moved from opening — VGK -165, ANA +135 — despite the Ducks’ home dominance pattern and regular-season edge. That is the definition of line value. With Games 3 and 4 in Anaheim and the Ducks 5-1 at home this postseason, buying the Ducks at +135 on the series with their best two environments ahead of them is the best remaining value on the board.

Stanley Cup Futures: Where the Value Sits Now

With the field at eight teams, the futures market is crystallizing. Here is the current Cup odds landscape and RinkHive’s assessment of each:

Top futures pick: Colorado +165 (best team, healthiest roster, deepest system) and Anaheim +1400 (best sleeper value on the board). A small futures position on the Sabres at +1200 as a lottery ticket on the Cinderella story is defensible.