The first set of games from Round 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs was exactly what you want to watch. 6 of the 7 games played between the first two days of the playoffs were decided by two goals or fewer. 4 of them were 1 goal games.
Saturday kicked off with a great start. Captains of the Senators and Hurricanes, Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Staal, dropped the gloves at center ice off the opening draw.
BRADY TKACHUK AND JORDAN STAAL DROP THE GLOVES OFF THE OPENING FACEOFF 🥊 pic.twitter.com/wXKZljIOAd
That was followed by an early 2nd period goal by Logan Stankoven, and a late 3rd period dagger from Taylor Hall. Drake Batherson thought he had tied the game at 1, but a controversial review deemed that the puck never crossed the line. It could have changed the game. Instead, the Canes won 2-0.
The following game was the lone bloodbath of the first two days. Dallas and Minnesota kicked off their highly anticipated series in the Lone Star State. The Wild DOMINATED Game 1 of the series. It was a 6-1 final score, with Joel Eriksson Ek scoring twice on the power play. Matty Boldy scored twice, including an empty-netter.
Then Saturday’s finale, Flyers vs. Penguins, well, we all know how that one went. A tense first period led to a second period in which both teams scored. Travis Sanheim put the Flyers up 2-1, before Porter Martone made it 3-1, and Bryan Rust’s extra-attacker goal brought it to a 3-2 final.
Saturday was a great start to the NHL playoffs, but the games only got better on Sunday.
Day 2 of Round 1 started off with a Western Conference clash between the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche and the exciting wild card Los Angeles Kings.
The Avs took the 1-0 lead late in the 2nd period, before tacking on another early in the 3rd period. Los Angeles made it a close game with Artemi Panarin’s power-play goal, but never got any closer. That game ended with a 2-1 score in Colorado.
Sunday’s second matchup was electric. The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Montreal Canadiens, since the Flyers beat the Habs in the season finale. Montreal took the 1-0 lead late in the first, before the Lightning scored the next two, taking the lead. Juraj Slafkovsky scored two straight power-play goals, giving Montreal the 3-2 lead, before Brandon Hagel forced OT with his goal halfway through the 3rd.
Slafkovsky called game in OT on the power play, ending the game with the 4-3 final score. Slafkovsky must equate the playoffs to international play. What a game for him.
That thriller was followed by the most anticipated game of the postseason: the return of playoff hockey to Buffalo after 15 years. My, oh my, did that game live up to the hype.
The Bruins held the lead for most of the game. Even in the final 10 minutes, Boston was up 2-0. Then, Tage Thompson injected life into the building, getting the Sabers on the board with a little less than 8 minutes to go. He did it again just three minutes later, tying the game at 2. Mattias Samulesson blew the lid off the building with the go-ahead score, making it 3-2, and Alex Tuch scored the empty-net dagger. David Pastrnak scored with the extra attacker and on a power play, but it was too little, too late for the Bs. What a night for Buffalo with the 4-3 win.
Wrapping up the night, John Tortorella’s Golden Knights keep winning. Goals from Logan Cooley and Kevin Stenlund gave Utah the 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission of the Mammoth’s playoff debut. Mark Stone tied it early in the 3rd, and deadline acquisition Nic Dowd scored the game-winner just two minutes later. Ivan Barbashev scored the empty-net goal and ended the game 4-2.
Only one series of the 2026 NHL playoffs has yet to kick off. That is the series between the Pacific Division’s Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks. That will begin on Monday night at 10:30 p.m. EST, following the conclusion of the 3 Game 2s before it.
The Flyers and Penguins kick things off at 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. At 7:30 p.m. EST, the Senators and Hurricanes get Game 2 underway on ESPN 2. The second game of the Stars and Wild heavyweight bout starts following the conclusion of the Flyers-Penguins game, also on ESPN. That game is expected to start around 9:30 p.m. EST.
Will the set of Game 2s be as exciting as the Game 1s were?
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