The NHL playoffs 2026 are starting to show who actually belongs and who was just along for the ride. The following all took place in the year 1975. Gerald Ford was President of the United States. Jaws was the top movie in the world. Gas was only 53 cents a gallon and the Thrilla in Manila between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier took place. In 1975 the Philadelphia Flyers also won the Stanley Cup, for presumably the last time. 51 entire years.
Really, congrats to Philly for beating Sid quite the achievement. Twenty years and they have beat him twice, super impressive stuff.
It’s a damn shame the Penguins laid an egg in the first three games of the first round because Philly was never going to be a fight for Carolina. Pittsburgh may not have been able to beat them either, but I will personally guarantee they would have put up more of a fight than the scumbags from Eastern Pennsylvania.
Absolutely dominated in game 4 with their season on the line. Their season felt on the line in game 6 against Pittsburgh too, but they pulled one out of their ass as the Pens peppered Vladar. Much like the Pens, they weren’t supposed to get this far so their fans will take this season as a success. I would cautious all those idiots on that ideology. Their team showed their complete ineptitude offensively. Konency, Zegras, and Tippett are great role pieces for contending clubs. However, in Philly, that’s the best they got. Martone looked like a player, but much like Mitchkov, they’ll find a way to ruin him. Speaking of Mitchkov he was benched, again, for game 4. Their fans love defending that fat pig, but maybe he just isn’t the good. Maybe they are all right, but it might not matter because he might find his way into a new city by the time next season begins. It’s more likely that he is just a decent middle 6 player, time will tell. Selfishly I want Pittsburgh to grab him and completely turn his career around, it would be hilarious.
The real story between all the jabs at the Flyers is just how good Carolina is playing. Sweeping two straight series is incredibly impressive, even if the second one came against Philly.
Could this be a bad thing for Carolina though? There’s a chance they are going to go 10 days without playing hockey. They had a decent layoff between Ottawa and Philadelphia, but Montreal/Buffalo seem like an entirely different beast. Rest vs. Rust is going to be a major factor for Carolina in the Eastern Conference finals. It should be mentioned that Carolina has also stumbled frequently in this exact spot the last few years. The major difference is the fact neither Montreal, nor Buffalo, will be able to rough them up like Florida has the last few years. I’d still likely end up picking whichever team emerges from the Atlantic to beat the Hurricanes, they’ll be more tested and ready for the moment.
As of right now, the team that looks likely to come from the Atlantic is Montreal. I’d be remiss to not take a moment to talk about Lane Hutson. This kid is an absolute wizard. He completely dominated last night’s game, where he saw his team take a 2-1 series lead. Every time he gets the puck the fans in Montreal begin to inch up in their seats, and with good reason.
The speed and the shiftiness he plays with is really a treat to watch. He has yet to win a Norris trophy, but it won’t be long until he starts stacking them up. Makar, and Hughes, are both better but I don’t know if either is more fun to watch.
Hughes and Makar are duking it out in what has the looks of an incredible series. Colorado was unable to match Carolina with back-to-back sweeps in part because Quinn Hughes (and Brock Faber) decided they weren’t losing game 3 on Saturday night.
I’d love nothing more than that series to go 7 games. Those are the two best teams left in the playoffs, and I do expect the winner of this series to raise Lord Stanley, seeing them go the distance would be great theater for the league.
The other series out West is definitely tracking towards a game 7. The Golden Knight and Ducks are tied at 2 through 4 games. The Ducks have been extremely impressive so far in these playoffs. They had a huge letdown in game 3 when Vegas smacked them, but they showed great resiliency evening up the series. Their young guns are obviously driving the bus in Anaheim, but what I find more impressive is how unfazed they seem to be in any situation. Lukas Dostal has not provided them with great goaltending, but they continue to find ways to win which is exactly what you need to do in the playoffs. Vegas should win this series, but with Mark Stone being injured (again, shocker) things could get a little dicey in Sin City. The hockey in this series has been extremely enjoyable, but as I said earlier, I don’t think either team has a prayer at beating the winner of the other series in the West.
Lots of great hockey to come, and I’m sure plenty of storylines will emerge. I will cover them as they pop up. It’s also time the rumors for all the other teams in the league begin to populate, I will cover those too.
The rumor mill in Pittsburgh has already been swirling, but their GM has yet to speak on the season ending. Dubas will change that tomorrow when he holds his end of season presser. I am sure he is going to get peppered with questions about Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang too. Dubas’ words will be calculated but you can usually read between the lines with what he says. I will be listening to every word and blogging my thoughts on what he has to say.
