Round 2 NHL Playoff Predictions 2025 – See Expert Picks for Each Series

• Round 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins Monday
• The defending champion Panthers are the favorites to win the Cup, followed by the Hurricanes and Stars
• See my Round 2 NHL playoff predictions and expert picks for every series below

Round 1 of the NHL playoffs produced very chalky results on the East side of the NHL playoff bracket. The same cannot be said about the West. The 6-seed Oilers advanced past the Kings, while the President’s Cup winning Jets came within 3 second of an opening round exit.

There’s no time to dwell on Winnipeg’s historic Game 7 rally, as the club will have just two days off before beginning a new series versus the Stars. The puck drops on Round 2 tonight, as the Leafs host the defending champion Panthers as sizeable underdogs.

Panthers vs Maple Leafs Prediction

• Panthers to Win Game 1 and the Series (+130 at DraftKings)

Despite knocking off the Senators in Round 1, Toronto was outplayed by Ottawa at even strength. The Sens held a 55% to 45% Corsi For advantage, and produced more expected goals than the Leafs. As the series went on, Ottawa seemed to dictate the play, but the difference was ultimately Toronto’s ability to capitalize on the powerplay.

If the Leafs play as poorly at even strength against Florida, this will be a very short series. The Stanley Cup odds favorites dismantled the Lightning in Round 1, and are -170 favorites to advance to the Conference Final. The Panthers allowed the lowest expected goals in the opening round (11.82), and have extreme depth across all four lines.

Seven skates produced at least 4 points in only 5 games, while the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Co. are built for postseason hockey. They’ll expose Toronto’s softness again this year, sending Leafs Nation back to the drawing board.

Hurricanes vs Capitals Best Bet

• Capitals +1.5 Games (-135 at DraftKings)

Despite what the odds say, if there’s one series that’s going to go 7 games, this matchup feels like the one. I’ll gladly take Washington +1.5 games at -135 odds, especially since the price is as long as -165 at other books.

The Canes and Caps split the regular season series 2-2, and are both well rested after dispatching their Round 1 opponent in 5 games. Carolina, the 4th seed, is a hefty -160 series favorite, which seems steep given Washington’s home ice advantage.

The Caps were one of the best teams in their own rink this season, and got significant production from Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome against Montreal. Haters will point to Washington’s poor possession stats, but no team has posted better shooting percentage numbers this season. The Caps led the NHL with a 12.6% shooting percentage in the regular season, and continued that trend versus the Habs scoring at a 13% clip. If there’s a weakness for the Canes it’s in net, as both of their top-2 netminders posted a sub .900 save percentage this season.

Oilers vs Vegas Expert Pick

• Oilers Series Winner (-102 at FanDuel)

My favorite Round 2 pick is the Oilers over the Golden Knights. Edmonton produced the second most expected goals in Round 1, and had the largest gap of any team between expected goals for and against (+7.29). Abysmal goaltending sunk them in Games 1 and 2 versus the Kings, but they went a perfect 4-0 once they made the switch to Calvin Pickard.

NHL Expected Goals Leaders – Round 1

Vegas meanwhile, was largely outplayed by the Wild. The Knights allowed more goals than they scored, and have serious goaltending issues of their own. That’s screams trouble against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the two best players on the planet.

Stars vs Jets Prediction

• Stars -1.5 Games (+120 at DraftKings)

Winnipeg is in trouble. Top forward and captain Mark Scheifele and number one defensman Josh Morrissey are dealing with significant injuries. As much as that stings, what’s worse is the play of Connor Hellebuyck. His playoff struggles continued in Round 1, as he posted the worst save percentage (.830) of any goalie who started more than two games.

As for the Stars, they dispatched the insanely talented Avalanche in 7 games, led by Mikko Rantanen’s 12 points. While the Jets are dealing with injury woes, Dallas is expected to get key pieces back for Round 2. Both leading goal scorer Jason Robertson and top D-Man Miro Heiskanen missed Round 1, but will join the Stars at some point in Round 2. Despite being a 3-seed, only Florida and Carolina have shorter Stanley Cup odds than the Stars.