1 Word for Every 2025 NHL Playoff Team Left
The second round of the NHL playoffs is well underway, and the eight remaining teams are starting to cement their identities as they get closer to one raising the Stanley Cup.
We've got the two Round 1 Game 7 survivors battling it out in Stars vs. Jets, high-end skill going pound-for-pound in Golden Knights vs. Oilers, a Leafs team ignoring how good the Panthers looked against the Lightning, and a Metropolitan showdown all tied up in Capitals vs. Hurricanes.
How is each team holding up, and where are things trending a few games into Round 2? Let's assign one word to each of the eight teams still standing.
Carolina Hurricanes: Typical
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Typical Hurricanes, grinding down their opponent by crushing the puck possession battle, taking a million shots, and keeping things in check on the penalty kill.
The Canes won Game 1 by forcing the Capitals to play their game and eventually finishing things off in overtime. It looked like Game 2 was headed the same way, but the Capitals finally broke through on the power play -- which could be the even-strength savvy Canes' kryptonite.
Either way, this Hurricanes team is exactly who we thought they were, and Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery even called them the "easiest pre-scout" because of their predictability. It wasn't a slight, it was a nod to the fact that they have an identity -- that requires a lot of effort -- and they don't back down from it.
We'll see how they dig into it as the series heads to Raleigh tied 1-1.
Dallas Stars: Revenge
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How else can you describe what Mikko Rantanen is doing? After a lot of (fair) criticism following his first few playoff games as a Star, he's breaking records every night and almost single-handedly won two straight games.
He’s the first NHL player in almost 40 years to have a hat trick in consecutive playoff games and the third in league history. He's the first player in NHL history with multiple three-goal periods during the same postseason, and the first player in NHL history with back-to-back games with four-point periods.
Other Stars will have to step up (and some have, like Wyatt Johnston), but Rantanen has elevated Dallas to the Game 7 win in the third period to send the team to Round 2 and the Game 1 win vs. the Jets with the only three Stars goals of the game.
This is why you trade for Rantanen, and now Jason Robertson is back to shoulder some of this weight.
Edmonton Oilers: Inevitable
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The Oilers have now enjoyed six straight comeback wins, an NHL playoff record they achieved with the fifth and extended Thursday night in a 5-4 overtime win to go up 2-0 on the Golden Knights.
Some of these wins aren't exactly gorgeous, especially Thursday's in which the Golden Knights played a fantastic game and could've just as easily won. But the Oilers are finding any and every way to win, Leon Draisaitl is playing overtime hero, and Calvin Pickard is giving the team a chance to come back every night.
This time of the year, the name of the game is confidence. A team with Draisaitl and Connor McDavid is never fully out of it. They'd like to have an early lead at some point, but they're having no trouble winning things the hard way.
.png?w=256 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
Florida Panthers: Leaky
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Just when we thought this Panthers team was the closest thing to unstoppable after their first-round thrashing of the Lightning, playoff Bob has entered the chat.
Florida finds itself down 2-0 to the Leafs in Round 2, and Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed some leaky goals. According to MoneyPuck.com, he's ranked 23 out of 26 playoff goalies with -2.6 Goals Saved Above Expected in seven playoff games. He's rocking a .876 save percentage and a 2.90 goals against average.
Will he -- and the Panthers -- regain that confidence from the first round as the series shifts to Florida, or have the Leafs exposed Bobrovsky's weak spots and made this series simple as that?
Toronto Maple Leafs: Calm
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We wondered how the Leafs would follow up a Battle of Ontario in which they let a 3-0 series lead turn into a 4-2 series win. We especially wondered how they'd fare against the Panthers, who established themselves as the team to beat after a dominant gentleman's sweep of the Lightning.
The Leafs heard the noise about both themselves and the Panthers, and they took none of it to heart. They're up 2-0 in the series with the most confidence we've ever seen them play with -- even despite goaltender Anthony Stolarz's unfortunate injury and no punishment for noted pest Sam Bennett.
William Nylander has been an absolute star through both rounds with six goals and 13 points in eight games, second only to Rantanen for the playoff scoring lead. The core four is doing what it needs to do, and so is the entire supporting cast around it. The shored-up defense featuring Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo is just the cherry on top.
Vegas Golden Knights: Difficult
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The Golden Knights are down 0-2 against the Oilers as the series shifts to Edmonton, but they have not gone down easily. Game 2's overtime loss featured a 1-0 Golden Knights first-period lead, and Vegas out-chanced Edmonton 11-1 at the start of the second before the Oilers scored three goals in fewer than six minutes.
A few things are at play here, like Edmonton's come-from-behind nature. But now we need to look at goaltender Adin Hill and expect more from him. He's had his moments, but hasn't strung together consistency in net. He ranks 25 out of 26 playoff goalies in Goals Saved Above Expected with -5.5 according to MoneyPuck.com, and his save percentage is .874.
It's hard to absolve him of blame for two of the three Oilers' second-period goals that led to Vegas losing an otherwise hard-fought game.
Washington Capitals: Particular
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Like their opponent Hurricanes, the Capitals like to win a certain way. They want to cash in on the power play, they want to capitalize off that break in play, and they are picky about their shots.
This usually ends up working in their favor with high-end talent like Alex Ovechkin at their disposal, and they ended the regular season No. 2 in scoring for a reason. The two games between the Canes and the Capitals have been extremely close as each side attempts to get its opponent to play a different style of hockey.
The Canes and their puck possession won Game 1, but the Capitals responded in Game 2, with the Canes' first goal allowed on the penalty kill of the postseason for the win.
As the series heads to Raleigh tied 1-1, we'll see which style of play wins out. Either way, both teams have distinct styles of play and the Capitals' is particular.
Winnipeg Jets: Inconsistent
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The Jets aren't a first-round exit this time around, but it took them -- and Connor Hellebuyck -- until about halfway through that Game 7 to really lock in. Since winning that game, they dropped Game 1 3-2 via Mikko Rantanen's hat trick, and they've gotta dig in once again.
When the Jets are good, they're great. When they are anything less, the defensive breakdowns in front of the net are tough to watch. It's even tougher to watch Hart Trophy finalist Hellebuyck fumble the puck to end those plays. According to MoneyPuck.com, he's got the worst Goals Saved Above Expected metric of any playoff goalie, with -9.9.
They aren't all his fault, but it's a reflection of a team making things far too difficult. Will the Jets establish a more consistent identity in Game 2?
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
