NHL Playoff Predictions 2026: Which West Teams Win Round 2? Can The Ducks Pull Off Another Upset?
The NHL’s 2025-26 Stanley Cup playoffs are wrapping up their first round, and while the Eastern Conference still has to play out its complete batch of first-round games, the Western Conference’s second-round matchups are all set.
The Western Conference had what many believed were the three best regular-season teams: the Colorado Avalanche , Dallas Stars , and Minnesota Wild . But after the first round was complete, the Wild sent the Stars home – and after the second round concludes, there will only be one of those three teams still standing.
That’s probably a good thing for the Pacific Division teams – by the time they take on Colorado or Minnesota in the Western final, the Wild or Avs could be decimated by the wars they had to fight to get there.
In the first round, we went a regrettable 2-2 with our Western first-round predictions, and in the East, we’ve gone 2-1 in the three series that have been decided. We’ve had better years of prognosticating, but we’re going to take another crack at it with our second-round picks.
In this file, we’ll be looking at the second-round predictions in the West. Remember, these are friendly guesstimates. Use them at your own risk.
Colorado Avalanche (C1) Vs. Minnesota Wild (C3)
Season series: tied 2-2
Why Colorado will win: The Avalanche demolished the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1, sweeping the Kings and ending the Anze Kopitar Era in L.A. The Avs suffocated the Kings with their excellent defense, limiting Los Angeles to only five goals in the entire series.
They got offensive contributions from up and down the lineup, as nine Avalanche players generated at least two points in the four games against the Kings.
The Avalanche showed against L.A. that they could beat you in close, low-scoring games just as easily as they could run-and-gun with any team in the league. The Wild is going to have their hands full, as we’ve said for the year, that all roads to the Cup final go through Denver .
We’re not going to move off that prediction after what we saw in Round 1. The Avalanche remain the odds-on favorite to win it all, and while that’s a shame for a very good Wild team, that’s the reality of how good you have to be to win a championship in hockey’s top league.
The Avs are that good.
Why Minnesota will win: The Wild were stellar in knocking off the Stars in the first round , and in a battle against the Avalanche, when it comes to which team has the better defense corps, the acquisition this year of superstar blueliner Quinn Hughes tips the scales ever-so-slightly in Minnesota’s favor.
The Wild also have excellent goaltending, as rookie Jesper Wallstedt posted a .924 save percentage and 2.05 GAA in six games against the Stars. It’s not inconceivable that Wallstedt will thwart Colorado’s powerful offense, but that will be very difficult for him to do.
Minnesota GM Bill Guerin has built a terrific Wild team, and one likely to be a Cup front-runner for many years to come. But it will take Grade-A performances from just about every Minnesota player for the Wild to outlast the Avs. The Wild might win their first Cup in franchise history, but it probably won’t be this year, thanks to the Avalanche.
Prediction: Avalanche in six games
Vegas Golden Knights (P1) Vs. Anaheim Ducks (P3)
Season series: 3-0 Ducks
Why Vegas will win: The Golden Knights had a scare put into them by the Utah Mammoth in Round 1, but Vegas’ playoff experience and overall depth were what gave them the edge against Utah. After eliminating the Edmonton Oilers in a first-round shocker, the Ducks will be Vegas’ formidable opponent.
Vegas’ offense drove the bus for them against the Mammoth, averaging 3.83 goals-for per game – the second-best number of any playoff team. Against an Anaheim defense that was fourth-worst in the first round at 3.50 goals-against per game, the Golden Knights’ offense could feast.
Vegas is in its honeymoon phase with coach John Tortorella, but don’t fool yourself – Tortorella is going to push his group from the first whistle to the final buzzer. So long as goaltender Carter Hart gives the Knights decent netminding, Vegas will rightly be favored to win this series and get to the Western final for the first time since 2023.
Why Anaheim will win: The Ducks were a handful for the Golden Knights in the regular season, winning all three games against Vegas. Anaheim is currently playing with house money, as they’re a young team that won’t be a favorite to win the Cup this season.
But that lack of pressure, combined with the savvy coaching of Joel Quenneville, might just be enough to push the Ducks past the Golden Knights and into the Western final .
That task will be more achievable if Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal improves his efforts in Round 1. Dostal posted a subpar .874 SP and 3.87 GAA against Edmonton, but he still found a way to be a winner in that series. With less pressure than Hart has on him in Vegas, Dostal could deliver series-changing saves to his team. And remember, Hart posted an .898 SP in the first round. Vegas’ defense may prove to be their Achilles Heel.
If they are to beat the Golden Knights, the Ducks need step-up performances from their young core of talent. But they were more than the Oilers could handle, and for that reason, we’re picking them to beat Vegas in a seven-game showdown that will be compelling to watch.
Prediction: Ducks in seven games
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