NHL playoffs take on fresh look as new teams surge into second round

The NHL playoffs have shifted from a familiar hierarchy to a bracket full of firsts, long waits and teams rewriting their own timelines. Philadelphia, Anaheim and Minnesota all reached the second round after seasons away from that stage, and depending on the remaining first-round results, as many as seven of the eight second-round teams could be different from last year.

The most jarring change came in Florida, where the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention on April 5 after a 9-4 loss to Pittsburgh. Florida had won the Cup in 2024 and 2025, qualified every season since 2018-19 and reached three straight Finals before injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk helped knock the defending champions out entirely. Their exit guaranteed a new Cup winner and underscored how fast the league’s balance can tilt.

Philadelphia has become one of the clearest signs of that shift. The Flyers advanced to the second round for the first time since 2020 after Cam York scored at 2:28 of overtime to beat Pittsburgh 1-0 in Game 6 at Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 29. Dan Vladar stopped 42 shots in the clincher, giving the Flyers a survival game that felt bigger than a single series. Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Pronger called the moment exciting because younger players are getting a chance to feel the pressure of a deep run and learn what playoff hockey demands.

Anaheim’s rise has been just as striking. The Ducks won their first Stanley Cup Playoff series since the 2017 Western Conference Second Round, beat Edmonton in six games and reached the second round for the first time since 2017-18. Their first home playoff victory since May 2017 came in a 7-4 Game 3 win over the Oilers, a night when Anaheim scored seven goals, a franchise playoff record, and seven different Ducks found the net. Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said the Oilers were an average team that did not meet its standard.

Minnesota joined the surge by closing out Dallas in Game 6 on April 30 and advancing to the second round for the first time since 2015. Jesper Wallstedt, 23 and in his first NHL playoff run, said the experience was “so much fun” after seeing how much the result meant to fans. Now the Wild meet Colorado, while Carolina prepares to face Philadelphia in a series that has never existed before in Stanley Cup playoff history. The old order is still there, but this bracket is being driven by younger cores, long-suffering franchises and a league that looks more open than it has in years.