Bold Predictions for Every 2025 NHL Playoff 2nd-Round Series

We had to wait so long for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to wrap up that we went flying headlong into the second round without getting a chance to take a breath.

Throw in the draft lottery on top of that, and life really does come at you fast if you don't stop to look around but goes by doubly fast when you do.

With eight teams left in the playoffs and four series to be played, we don't have quite as many bold takes to make or analysis to do a deep dive into. Fortunately, it means we can max out our thought process for making the kinds or predictions few would have the courage to make.

That's what we're going to provide for you today: Four series, four bold predictions. And we're not going to let the outcome of Game 1 between Toronto and Florida influence our call although that sure is going to be difficult given how it played out.

Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes

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Pyotr Kochetkov and Alex Ovechkin

Prediction: This will be the best series of the second round

When you're thinking of the final four series, all of them have a lot of star power and drama preemptively attached to them but only one won't get so much national attention.

The Jets and Stars each played unbelievable Games 7 to advance. The Oilers and Golden Knights have history with each other and some of the best talent in the league. The Maple Leafs and Panthers also have history and now there's controversy following Game 1 thanks to Sam Bennett taking out Anthony Stolarz.

But the Capitals-Hurricanes? There's heat and there's hate, and there's Alex Ovechkin.

The Caps and 'Canes let things boil over late in the season matchup on April 2 in which there were eight 10-minute misconducts handed out, four fighting majors and a whole lot of bad blood that was created and, yes, Tom Wilson was involved in it. But so were a lot of guys on both teams.

Cooler heads prevailed when they met a week later, but hockey players don't forget things so easily.

On top of all that, both teams are extremely good. The Capitals had the best record in the Eastern Conference, and the Hurricanes were four wins and 12 points shy of them in the division.

Both teams are going to throw everything they've got at each other, and both play great hockey with a lot of action. All of that sets the table for what should be a memorable series.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers

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Auston Matthews and Aleksander Barkov

Prediction: It will be as much of a psychological battle as it is hockey

Hockey games are decided on the ice, but so much of how that plays out is what happens between the ears of the players involved. Between the Maple Leafs and Panthers, whoever has the strongest collective mindset will decide who goes on.

In the Leafs' case, they're the top seed in the Atlantic Division, but they're also a team with a deeply checkered history in the playoffs and got a mild scare from Ottawa in the first round before they closed them out in six.

The way they jumped out in Game 1 thanks to William Nylander and Matthew Knies showed they can get after Florida and put them in a tough spot...but the way Florida roared back in the third period showed there's still work to be done.

The Panthers rolled through the rival Lightning in five games and looked like a team that could get its act together at playoff time (thanks to getting Matthew Tkachuk back).

After all, they've been to the Stanley Cup Final two straight years and won it all last season, so maybe they do have it down. It also takes a lot to go deep into the playoffs like that year after year and at some point, the tank runs out and the mind gets tired.

Mind over matter matters a lot in the playoffs, and these two teams will need to have their psyches steeled.

Winnipeg Jets vs. Dallas Stars

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Connor Hellebuyck

Prediction: Goaltending will overshadow everything, even injuries

Let's all give a hearty round of applause for the joy the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets provided us over the weekend by being part of two phenomenal Games 7.

However, both teams come into their second-round battle with injuries to contend with.

Dallas was able to knock off Colorado without either forward Jason Robertson or defenseman Miro Heiskanen, something that speaks volumes about how good the team is.

Winnipeg, meanwhile, lost forward Mark Scheifele and defenseman Josh Morrissey during their series against St. Louis. With how tight-lipped everyone gets in the postseason about injuries, all of these players are both really close to returning or not at all so.

Despite those superstar players' ailments, all of the focus in this series will be on the goalies.

Connor Hellebuyck had a nightmarish series against the Blues that came while he was announced as a finalist for both the Vezina and Hart trophies. Had they not advanced, the hard questions both he and the Jets would've faced would've been severe.

Jake Oettinger had his hands full dealing with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog for the Avalanche, which meant not putting up super great numbers himself, but if there's been a particularly difficult opponent for him this season, it's the Jets.

He went 1-3-0 against Winnipeg this season and put up a .869 save percentage. Hellebuyck, conversely, went 3-1-0 with a .965 save percentage against Dallas.

Regular-season numbers can get tossed aside in the playoffs, but if they're an indicator of what's to come, hold on to your hats.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers

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Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel

Prediction: Power play will decide the series

It's a mild surprise that the Edmonton Oilers are the team facing the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round this year because it seemed like the Los Angeles Kings were finally going to get over that hump.

Unfortunately for the Kings, they did themselves in by putting the Oilers on the power play, and that's the easiest way to lose to Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Co.

Like the Oilers, the Golden Knights got to the second round in six games and did so with a lot of help from the power play. The Minnesota Wild couldn't help but take a ton of penalties, and Vegas happily cashed in.

Teams aren't supposed to live or die on special teams in the playoffs, and the Oilers have been outstanding at making teams pay for running afoul of the rules and shutting opponents down on the kill. Vegas has excelled at this all season and did so again in the first round.

If either of these teams is careless enough to take penalties in great number, it's going to lose because both the Oilers and Golden Knights can score with ease with the extra man.