The second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs is set to begin on Saturday, with the Boston Bruins hosting the New York Islanders. On Sunday, the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche begin their series against the Vegas Golden Knights. The North Division is a little behind, so the Winnipeg Jets are waiting to see whether they'll face the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens in Round 2.
How will each of these series play out?
We gathered our panel of NHL experts to hear their picks on each series, along with how many games it will take to get to the result in each case.
More: Playoff schedule | Series previews
Jump to:
BOS-NYI | CAR-TB
COL-VGS | WPG-MTL
East Division
No. 3 Boston Bruins vs. No. 4 New York Islanders
Ben Arledge: Isles in six
Pierre Becquey: Isles in seven
John Buccigross: Bruins in seven
Sach Chandan: Bruins in seven
Linda Cohn: Bruins in six
Emily Kaplan: Bruins in seven
Nabil Karim: Bruins in six
Tim Kavanagh: Isles in seven
Steve Levy: Bruins in seven
Victoria Matiash: Bruins in seven
Barry Melrose: Bruins in seven
Arda Ocal: Bruins in six
Greg Wyshynski: Bruins in six
Consensus pick: Bruins (10/13)
Central Division
No. 1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. No. 3 Tampa Bay Lightning
Ben Arledge: Lightning in six
Pierre Becquey: Lightning in seven
John Buccigross: Lightning in seven
Sach Chandan: Lightning in six
Linda Cohn: Lightning in six
Emily Kaplan: Lightning in seven
Nabil Karim: Lightning in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Canes in six
Steve Levy: Lightning in five
Victoria Matiash: Lightning in six
Barry Melrose: Lightning in six
Arda Ocal: Lightning in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Canes in seven
Consensus pick: Lightning (11/13)
West Division
No. 1 Colorado Avalanche vs. No. 2 Vegas Golden Knights
Ben Arledge: Knights in seven
Pierre Becquey: Avs in seven
John Buccigross: Avs in seven
Sach Chandan: Avs in five
Linda Cohn: Knights in seven
Emily Kaplan: Avs in six
Nabil Karim: Avs in six
Tim Kavanagh: Knights in six
Steve Levy: Avs in seven
Victoria Matiash: Avs in seven
Barry Melrose: Avs in five
Arda Ocal: Avs in six
Greg Wyshynski: Avs in six
Consensus pick: Avalanche (10/13)
North Division
No. 3 Winnipeg Jets vs. No. 4 Montreal Canadiens
Ben Arledge: Jets in five
Pierre Becquey: Jets in six
John Buccigross: Canadiens in seven
Sach Chandan: Jets in seven
Linda Cohn: Jets in six
Emily Kaplan: Jets in six
Nabil Karim: Jets in six
Tim Kavanagh: Jets in four
Steve Levy: Jets in six
Victoria Matiash: Jets in six
Barry Melrose: Jets in five
Arda Ocal: Jets in four
Greg Wyshynski: Jets in six
Consensus pick: Jets (12/13)