Burning Questions for the 2nd Round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eighteen overtime games. Two sweeps. No Game 7s, but one doozy of an upset.

As usual, the first round of this year's Stanley Cup playoffs offered a bonanza of quality hockey entertainment.

Teams spend six months fighting to be one of the chosen 16 that earn a ticket to the playoff dance. For half of them, the adventure is over within less than two weeks. But as the Nashville Predators showed with their sweep of the first-place Chicago Blackhawks, sometimes all you need to do is punch your ticket. After that, anything can happen.

Round 2 starts Wednesday with the two Western Conference series. The St. Louis Blues host the Predators in the Central Division matchup, while the Edmonton Oilers head south to visit the Anaheim Ducks. On Thursday, we'll see Game 1 of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers matchup as well as the next chapter of the storied rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.

Here's what we'll be watching for as Round 2 kicks into gear.

Will the Overtime Trend Continue?

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For the first time since 2001, we had no Game 7s in the first round of the NHL playoffs. But as Jamie Hersch of NHL Network pointed out, we saw a record-setting 18 overtime games.

With the exception of the San Jose Sharks' 7-0 blowout of the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their series, virtually every other first-round game across all the series was close. And it wasn't like teams were driving home the wins after taking early one- or two-goal leads.

Here are a few examples of the many great comebacks in Round 1:

• The Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded after trailing 3-1 at the 6:10 mark of the first period of their first road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins took a 3-0 series lead after a 5-4 win on Jake Guentzel's overtime goal.
• After shutting out the Chicago Blackhawks on the road in their first two playoff games, the Nashville Predators erased a 2-0 Blackhawks lead and took a 3-0 stranglehold on their series after Kevin Fiala's overtime game-winning goal in Game 3.
• The Boston Bruins stayed alive in Game 5 of their series against the Ottawa Senators, erasing a 2-0 lead for the win thanks to a huge performance from rookie Sean Kuraly.
• In what turned out to be a losing cause, the Toronto Maple Leafs overcame 2-0 and 3-1 deficits in their first home game of the playoffs. Tyler Bozak's overtime game-winner gave the eighth-seeded Leafs a 4-3 win in the game and a 2-1 lead in their series against the No. 1 Washington Capitals.

Let's hope we see more tight competition and unpredictable outcomes in Round 2.

Can the Washington Capitals Break the Curse?

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We've been watching Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin duke it out for NHL supremacy since the pair entered the NHL together following the 2004-05 lockout—both as No. 1 overall draft choices.

Ovechkin has held the edge in goal scoring, with six Rocket Richard Trophies and 558 goals in 921 career NHL games. By comparison, Crosby has 382 goals in 782 NHL games—but he's this year's Rocket Richard winner, with 44 goals on the season.

Crosby also has two Stanley Cup rings in his trophy case and was last season's Conn Smythe winner as playoff MVP, while Ovechkin has yet to get past the second round in his 12-year NHL career.

This season marks the second straight time (and third time altogether) that Crosby and Ovechkin have gone head-to-head in a second-round playoff matchup. So far, Sid's 2-0: the Penguins won in seven games in 2008-09 and in six games in 2015-16—both times on their way to the Stanley Cup.

After decades of frustration, the Caps believe they've finally built a team that's capable of winning it all—their first-round scare against Toronto notwithstanding. The Penguins have the historical edge and the knowledge that if they get past Washington, they could be on their way to becoming the first team in nearly two decades to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Can the Veteran Goalies Keep Up Their Strong Play?

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Goalies over 30, hold your heads high!

According to QuantHockey.com, four of the starting goaltenders who have advanced to the second round rank among the nine most experienced netminders in the league. 

Performancewise, the group is led by Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, who allowed just three goals in his team's four-game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks. Not only does he have a 0.70 goals-against average, .956 save percentage and two shutouts, Rinne even collected two assists in Round 1. That tied him with Chicago's leading scorers—Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews—and I bet they got picked in a lot more hockey pools.

Now 34, Rinne is dramatically outperforming his appearance in the last year's playoffs, when he gave up 17 goals in seven games in the first round against the Anaheim Ducks and 21 goals in Nashville's seven-game second-round loss to the San Jose Sharks.

Similarly, the 35-year-old Henrik Lundqvist gave up 15 goals in the New York Rangers' five-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, amassing a 4.38 goals-against average. This year, he cut that GAA to 1.70 with a .947 save percentage and outdueled 2015 Hart Trophy winner Carey Price as the Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games.

Craig Anderson, who turns 36 in May, has made it to the second round for the first time in four years after a tumultuous season that saw him take time off to support his wife, Nicholle, who has throat cancer. 

Perhaps the most surprising member of the NHL's senior set is Marc-Andre Fleury, the 32-year-old who lost his job to rookie Matt Murray during the 2016 playoffs. Fleury was suddenly pressed back into duty after Murray injured himself during warmups for Game 1 of Pittsburgh's series against the Blue Jackets.

Despite a reputation for shaky inconsistency, especially during the playoffs, Fleury was a rock during Round 1, posting a .933 save percentage as the Penguins cruised past Columbus in five games. 

On Monday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Murray had not yet gotten back on the ice, nearly two weeks after he was injured. At this point, it appears that Fleury will continue as the starter when the Penguins face the Capitals for Game 1 on Thursday.

Can the Nashville Predators Reach the Conference Final for the First Time?

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Pekka Rinne was a big part of the Nashville Predators' success story in Round 1, but he didn't beat the Blackhawks by himself.

The Preds boast arguably the best top-four defensemen left in the playoffs in Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm. They're also rolling out a fiery young top line of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and breakout scoring star Viktor Arvidsson.

Veteran Mike Fisher is also showing his credentials as the team's first-year captain—not only delivering a solid plus-three in a checking role but also tapping into Music City's uniqueness by enlisting his wife, country superstar Carrie Underwood, to sing the national anthem at Bridgestone Arena for Game 3 against Chicago.

The Preds made short work of a Blackhawks team with a championship pedigree. Their next challenge will be to take on the St. Louis Blues, a group whose 44 regular-season points after Mike Yeo took over behind the bench on February 1 were tied with Chicago for the most in the Western Conference.

The Blues did an impressive job of regrouping in the second half of their season after losing key players like captain David Backes, forward Troy Brouwer and goaltender Brian Elliott after their run to the 2016 Western Conference Final—and parting ways with defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk at the trade deadline. 

St. Louis surprised a Minnesota Wild team that expected a long playoff run this year. Will the Blues also shatter the Preds' hopes of reaching Round 3 for the first time in franchise history?

What Will the Anaheim Ducks Defense Look Like?

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Yeah, the Pittsburgh Penguins have injuries. There's the Murray situation, the absence of key defenseman Kris Letang and shorter-term issues with Carl Hagelin and Chris Kunitz. 

But injuries seem to be part of the Penguins' DNA. Ever since the days of Mario Lemieux back in the 1990s, they rarely miss a beat when key players get knocked out of the lineup.

Can the Anaheim Ducks do the same?

They put together a first-round sweep of the Calgary Flames without top defenseman Cam Fowler, while Sami Vatanen played just one game and Hampus Lindholm reportedly aggravated an existing injury in Game 4 against the Flames. In addition, depth defenseman Clayton Stoner has been on the shelf since late March after abdominal surgery, and Simon Despres has been sidelined since October with concussion-related symptoms.

The Ducks got some quality minutes out of rookies Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour in the first round, but there's often a limit to how long players can succeed above their pay grade before the cracks start to show.

Thanks to their full week off between series, Anaheim is looking to start Round 2 with a replenished blue line. Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports that Fowler, Vatanen and Lindholm could all be available for Game 1 against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

We've heard a lot this postseason about players dressing for games despite some pretty serious injuries. As the Ducks' banged-up blueliners get back into action, it'll be interesting to see whether they're able to perform at their usual levels.

Will Connor McDavid Step Up His Game?

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The biggest reason why the Ducks need to be concerned about their defense is their next opponent.

Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid led the Edmonton Oilers with four points against the San Jose Sharks, but his performance was overshadowed by Auston Matthews' four goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs, not to mention teammate Zack Kassian's bull-like effort that delivered winning goals in both Game 2 and Game 3.

The Oilers only averaged two goals per game against the Sharks—well below the 3.5 goals per game that the Ducks tallied against the Calgary Flames. But McDavid proved over the course of the regular season that he's the real deal—and the Oilers won three of their five regular-season meetings with Anaheim.

Now that Matthews has surrendered the spotlight, it's the ideal time for McDavid to show why he's truly the "next one" in the National Hockey League.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.