Puck drop on the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs was just hours away when The Athletic asked its hockey staff for bold predictions, and the answers turned a pregame rush into a wide-open forecast. One of the loudest calls landed on the Penguins, who were said to have the best draw of anyone in the East even though they carried just a 9 percent chance to reach the postseason in Vegas sports books in October.
The Penguins were also described as the better team on paper than the Flyers, while Carolina won the Metropolitan Division and was labeled the clear favorite in the opening round and again in Round 2 if it advanced. The forecast for Philadelphia leaned on Matvei Michkov, who was picked to lead the team in scoring after putting up 26 goals and 63 points in his rookie year and then 20 goals and 51 points in 2025-26. James Hagens, the No. 7 pick from 2025, was in the running to be the No. 3 left wing for Game 1.
Elsewhere in the East, the Senators were picked to reach the Eastern Conference final, while Buffalo drew one of the boldest calls of all: a run to the conference final of its own after winning the Atlantic Division. The Sabres were set to open against the Bruins, and if they got through that series they would face the winner of a Lightning-Canadiens matchup. Andrei Vasilevskiy was predicted to return to playoff form, giving the bracket a familiar veteran anchor at the other end.
Out West, the predictions leaned on history as much as talent. The Wild were forecast to get past the first round for the first time since 2015, a step forward that would matter because Minnesota has spent years trying to turn regular-season promise into playoff progress. The Vegas Golden Knights were the one team in the staff picks most likely to produce a twist inside the tournament itself: a coaching change in the middle of the playoffs, a move that would cut against the usual patience teams show once the games begin.
It was a collection of postseason guesses rather than a game recap, but the timing made the exercise feel sharper. Jason Robertson had been left off Team USA's Olympic roster, and the conversation around the Wild and general manager Bill Guerin gave the forecast a little more edge than a standard preview. The first round is where the league sorts out who looks ready and who merely looked good on paper. The rest follows fast.
