Top storylines in 2nd round of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Here are some of the top storylines entering the second round:
Hughes and Makar, again
From the gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics to the second round of the playoffs, the Wild’s Quinn Hughes against the Avalanche’s Cale Makar should be one of the elite individual matchups of the entire postseason.
They are arguably the two best defensemen in the League who have combined to win the Norris Trophy in three of the past four seasons; Makar won it in 2021-22 and 2024-25, Hughes in 2023-24.
Hughes got the better of Makar in the gold medal game, contributing an assist in Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win in Milan. Makar scored Team Canada’s lone goal.
It’s not necessarily a 1-on-1 battle, but it’s also not a stretch to say the superstar defenseman who plays better in the second round will directly impact which team reaches the conference final.
Hughes was the difference in Minnesota’s 5-2 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the first round, scoring two goals, dishing out an assist and simply dominating in his 28:55 of ice time. He finished the series with eight points (two goals, six assists) and averaged 31:40 of ice time.
Makar, like the rest of the Avalanche, did just enough to overwhelm the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, contributing two goals and averaging 25:37 of ice time in the four-game sweep.
He was third among defensemen in the regular season with 79 points (20 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games. Hughes was fifth with 76 points (seven goals, 69 assists) in 74 games.
