The 2025-26 NHL season has been a roller coaster filled with ups and downs, especially as a Devils fan myself. Now that I’ve been allowed to take a breath and not worry about my team being eliminated from the playoffs, as they did not make the playoffs to begin with, I have been able to research and make my predictions for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs and championship. Although the odds of crafting a perfect bracket are somewhere around 1 in 137 million, I have faith in my picks and am excited to see who raises the cup above their head in June.
34.8% of brackets selected the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup this year, according to @nhl on Instagram. This is no surprise, as Colorado has been dominant, leading the entire league with 121 total points over the course of the 2025-2026 NHL season. Their incredible goaltending, with starting goalie Scott Wedgewood boasting a .950 save percentage (ESPN) and backup goalie MacKenzie Blackwood a .904 save percentage (ESPN), as well as their leading skaters often controlling the pace of the game, are major factors contributing to their success. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar lead the Avalanche’s offense, especially after winning the 2022 Stanley Cup together. Although the sixteen teams that have made it into the playoffs have immense talent, I think the Avalanche is the only team that has what it takes to win the Stanley Cup.
The Hurricanes have also been incredibly strong defensively, as they focus on preventing shot opportunities from arising. Key players Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis are top scorers among the team, with 80 points (27 goals, 53 assists) (StatMuse) and 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists) (ESPN), respectively. Personally, it was devastating to watch the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils in Game 5. However, the sheer talent I observed was groundbreaking, and it is no surprise that it has continued to grow over the course of this season. Even so, starting goalie Frederick Andersen has a significantly lower save percentage than both of Colorado’s, as it has dropped from .899 at the end of last season (StatMuse) to .874 at the end of this year’s regular season (ESPN). Although I think they can definitely make it to the championship, I do not believe that they will be able to take home the Cup in the end.
Leading up to the Stanley Cup Final, I think the Western Conference Final will feature the Edmonton Oilers against the Colorado Avalanche, and the Avalanche winning this title. The Oilers have trouble in the crease, with starting goalie Connor Ingram having a .899 save percentage (ESPN). Although this statistic is not career-ending, it does not match that of the Oilers’ elite forwards. Connor McDavid (138 points) (ESPN) and Leon Draisaitl (97 points) (ESPN) lead the team, and it seems as though they carry their teammates on their backs. Other players often rely on these two leaders to set the pace of the game, which is nearly impossible for two people to do alone. In comparison, the Colorado Avalanche seem to be more of a unit, working together to control each game.
As for the Eastern Conference Final, I predict that the Carolina Hurricanes will defeat the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens, also known as the Habs, are in the midst of an active rebuild phase that has focused on drafting offensively stronger, younger, and faster players. Carolina’s older, more-developed offensive roster will dominate the Canadiens, a work in progress. Although Jakub Dobes, starting goalie of Montreal, has a strong save percentage of .901 (StatMuse), the Canadiens’ defensive incapability often forces him to make countless lucky saves, preventing the team from having consistent goaltending. Offensively speaking, the Habs are fairly strong, considering the lack of experience among the roster. Even so, many of these young players fresh out of the NHL draft often rely on their teammates, only a few years older than them, especially Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Overall, the Canadiens are simply inconsistent, which is expected with their rebuild phase in mind. The Carolina Hurricanes are quite the opposite and are regularly strong in their offense, defense, and goaltending.
At the beginning of this season, I would have never thought that my bracket would look like this. Drastic shifts in injuries and trades within the NHL have been changing the rankings for the past seven months, but with these two conference finals in mind, I feel confident in my picks, especially those for the Stanley Cup Final.
