2026 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview: The matchups, rankings, and more

Thoughts on every series, ranking the teams and more

The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday, so let’s take a look at every series, every team and every major talking point we can think of before the games begin. We start with some quick thoughts on each individual series.

The Matchups

Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings

The Details

Avalanche: 121 points (first place in Central Division)
Kings: 90 points (second wild-card team; fourth place in Pacific Division)

Thoughts on the series and a prediction

• The good news for the Kings: They avoided the nightmare of what would have almost certainly been a fifth consecutive first-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The bad news for the Kings: They have to play an even better, even deeper, and even more dominant team instead.

• This is the one series I am pretty confident in when it comes to the outcome. Not only is Colorado the best team in the NHL, and has been since the start, the Kings are objectively speaking the worst team in the playoffs. They have just 22 regulation wins, second-lowest in the entire league. Not among playoff teams. All teams. All 32 teams. They have been outscored by 22 goals for the season. How is this team even here?

• Having said that, the Kings do have a pretty good process during 5-on-5 play when it comes to their possession and defensive metrics. They ended the regular season seventh in expected goal share and fourth in expected goals against per 60 minutes, which is normally a great sign for a potential contender. But I don’t trust a defense that is playing Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin regular minutes. Especially not against that Colorado offense. I also don’t know where the offense is going to come from here. Structure will only take you so far. You still need talent. One of these teams has more of it.

• Colorado is the No. 1 team in 5-on-5 goal differential and 5-on-5 expected goal share. They push play. They dominate the scoreboard. If you did a ranking of the best players in the series Colorado easily has the top-two and probably most of the top-10 players.

• Avalanche in five.

Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild

The Details

Stars: 112 points (second-place in Central Division)
Wild: 104 points (third-place in Central Division)

Thoughts on the series and a prediction

• This is the one playoff matchup we’ve had set in stone for what seems to be months now, and it is also going to be the matchup that is going to produce the most yelling about the NHL’s divisional playoff format. In terms of the standings, these are two of the top-three teams in the West and three of the top-five teams in the NHL. One of them is done after the first round. Among the trio of Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota (again, the three best teams in the West), only one of them can make the Western Conference Final. That is a little nuts. If anything were going to get the NHL to change its format, it would be something like this. But since neither of these teams play in Toronto or New York they are not likely to have enough pull within in the NHL to force a change.

• Having said that, I feel like the Stars have all of the pressure on them here. They have been in the Western Conference Final three years in a row and venturing into Stanley Cup-or-bust territory. Since the start of the 2019-20 playoffs the Stars’ 47 playoff wins are the second-most in the NHL. They always advance. They always go far. They, and their fans, are used to that. Now they need the championship to validate all of it.

• The potential return of Roope Hintz will be a big factor both in this series and in future series.

• I like this Wild team. It’s objectively a good team with a pair of superstars in Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes. Having two players like that is important. But here is the thing that gives me serious pause with them when it comes to being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender: Can a team with Joel Erikkson Ek and Ryan Hartman as its top-two centers win it all? I …. just do not see it. This is going to be their problem. And I think in a best-of-seven matchup against a truly elite team (like Dallas is) it’s going to be a BIG problem. Even without Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Matt Duchene are just better game-breakers down the middle. Which is I think this series might not go as far as a lot of other people do.

• Stars in a surprisingly swift five games.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Utah Mammoth

The Details

Golden Knights: 95 points (first place in Pacific Division)
Mammoth: 92 points (fourth place in Central Division)

Thoughts on the series and a prediction