NHL Playoff Predictions 2026: Will The Hurricanes Or Canadiens Win The East?
The NHL playoffs have reached the semifinal stage, so it's time to get in those predictions before the action begins Wednesday.
The final four teams are the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference final and the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference. And this writer did better with his second-round predictions than we did in the first round.
After going 4-for-4 through Round 1, we went 3-for-4 in the second round, getting both Eastern predictions right and splitting the predictions in the West. But while it's foolish to count out any team that's made it this far, we have to say we're going with the favorite teams in Round 3.
Brady Tkachuk's Senators Shouldn't Be As Rattled After Hurricanes Sweep Flyers The Same Way
The Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers' power plays were nearly shut out in their 4-0 series losses to the Carolina Hurricanes. Players on Ottawa and Philly were left wondering what on earth happened.
Why Montreal will win: As the clear underdog, the Canadiens don't have the pressure to prove they can take the next step, unlike the Hurricanes, which have lost in the Eastern Conference final three times in the last seven years.
Montreal has already shown it can knock out very good teams that finished higher in the standings, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres. So it wouldn't be the biggest shock in hockey history if the Habs won the East.
If they're to do so, the Canadiens will need the Game 7 performances they've got out of Dobes.
The rookie netminder allowed only three goals in Montreal's Game 7 against the Bolts and Game 7 against the Sabres combined.
The minor problem with Dobes has been his consistency. He recorded a save percentage below .900 in six games, while Andersen has only done so once in this post-season.
Coach Martin St-Louis pulled Dobes in Game 6, although the netminder has shown he can bounce back after a loss all season long. He must quickly hit his stride against Carolina and thwart the Hurricanes' group of talented offense-generators when they come at him in waves.
Although the Hurricanes are well-coached by Rod Brind'Amour, the emergence of St-Louis as one of the NHL's best bench bosses is paying off in spades for the Canadiens. St-Louis is pushing all the right buttons right now, and his experience as a Cup-winning superstar player will only benefit Montreal's players as they deal with the mountainous task of beating Carolina.
NHL Playoff Predictions 2026: Who Will Represent The Western Conference In The Stanley Cup Finals?
The regular-season champion Colorado Avalanche are set to clash with the powerhouse Vegas Golden Knights in a heavyweight showdown in the Western Conference final. Can the Avs' league-leading offense overwhelm Vegas to push Colorado into the Stanley Cup final?
That said, the Canadiens will be taking on a Canes team that's like Star Wars' Death Star: there's only going to be one or two ways Montreal can beat this Hurricanes team. Solving Carolina's elite penalty kill is one of them, because being shorthanded 40 times in eight games is usually not a recipe for success.
But what's far more likely is the Habs' playoff dream ending in the Eastern final.
And unfortunately for Canadiens fans, we believe this will be another short series for Carolina.
Prediction: Hurricanes in five games
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 2:12 PM.