Five things we learned in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

For all the turnover in this season's standings — with five teams that missed last year's playoffs getting in this season and the likes of Buffalo, Utah and Anaheim emerging from the competitive abyss — we arrive in the conference final with plenty of familiarity.

Colorado and Vegas, who will meet in the Western Conference Final, won the Stanley Cups in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and have been aggressively adding to their rosters with win-now approaches ever since. In the East, Carolina hasn't won the Cup since 2006, but this is its fourth appearance in the conference final since 2019 and it's won the Metropolitan Division title four times in the past six years. Montreal is on the upswing and the youngest team remaining, but even it reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

One of these teams will be raising the Cup next month and they've all taken different paths to get this far. As Round 3 is set to get underway Wednesday night with Game 1 of the Western Conference Final (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT), we'll take one last look back at Round 2 with some things we learned.

Colorado may have a Cale Makar injury problem

It's hardly surprising that the Avalanche are back in the Western Conference Final — what is surprising is that they got through the first two rounds in just nine games, and blew past the Minnesota Wild 4-1.

There are two clear favourites at this juncture of the playoffs, and Colorado is the one coming from the West. At 5-on-5, the Avs own the second-best goals share, the best expected goals share, and their power play that struggled all regular season is improving by scoring on 25 per cent of opportunities. The Avalanche's roster depth is envious — 17 of 21 skaters who've played a game this post-season have scored at least once.

So, all arrows pointing up for Colorado, right?

Well, perhaps not. If there's a knock it's a rather big one as star defenceman Cale Makar's status is in question as he clearly laboured towards the end of the Wild series. He still played over 25 minutes in Game 5, but he will not be in the lineup for Game 1 against Vegas.

How injured is Makar really? Can he return to this series and, if so, how effective can he be? A massive storyline to watch for the favoured Avs.

Carolina is undefeated but needs a lot more from its top scorers

The other of the two favourites is Carolina, which has gone a perfect 8-0. Like Colorado, the Canes have dominated the goal and shot share and their goaltending has been nearly perfect — Frederik Andersen has played every minute so far and has a .950 save percentage.

If you want a little more reason to believe they haven't peaked as a team yet, look no further than the first line.

Carolina is scoring three goals per game, which is just average for these playoffs. The Hurricanes have scored more than three goals just twice, which ultimately puts some pressure on Andersen. Any step back from his outrageously efficient puck-stopping might open the door for the Canadiens, as Carolina has not had to get into a track-meet type of game yet.

But there is hope. The top line of Sebastian Aho between Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis has combined for just five of the Canes' 24 goals. The lion's share of offence has been reliant on the second line of Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall — no other Carolina forward is averaging more than half a point per game.

The pressure is now on and you can look at this one of two ways. Either that line is due and the Canes are about to get more dangerous, or it will continue to be an important missing piece of what made them the East's best in the regular season, and something that has bitten them in the playoffs before.

Though Carolina has reached Round 3 in the minimum number of games, this core has been here before and was blown out each time largely because of a lack of finish. After two quiet rounds, that top line will be looked at to provide what's been missing from this group in past conference finals, and to better support the players who have been contributing. On paper, Carolina has a deep collection of talent, but the source of offence to this point has been rather top-heavy.

In last year's East Final against Florida, Svechnikov was held goalless and Jarvis only scored one goal of consequence. In 2023, Aho was kept off the Round 3 score sheet. Now, especially with the support scoring running hot, this series is a chance for that core to come through with a defining series.

Carolina last played on May 9, so it will have had 11 off days between games. That is the longest break any team has had in the modern NHL playoff era, so we'll see what help (or not) that rest brings.

The rest vs. rust debate will be in focus when the Canes line up against a Canadiens team that has been on the winning end of back-to-back seven-game series. But while the young Canadiens are here happily and still building to their best days, all the pressure is on the experienced Hurricanes. They are rested and as healthy as you can be in late May, with the monkey of three conference final losses over the past seven years on their back.

Dominating the first two rounds may not mean as much as you think

So Carolina and Colorado, the best two regular-season teams, have reached Round 3 in eight and nine games, respectively. But does getting here this fast mean anything historically?

According to the NHL, this is just the second time since 1987 (when the best-of-seven format was introduced for all four rounds) that two teams reached the conference final with one or fewer losses. The only other time was in 1995 when both Detroit (8-1) and Philadelphia (8-1) did it. That season, the Flyers lost in the conference final 4-2 to New Jersey. Detroit got past Chicago in the conference final 4-1, but then was swept in the Stanley Cup Final by the Devils.

As strong as the Avalanche and Hurricanes look now, it could quickly turn.

Vegas might be coming around at just the right time, but...

The Golden Knights stumbled through the season like every other Pacific Division contender and the front office was so unsure about their chances that it fired Bruce Cassidy and replaced him with John Tortorella in late March. From there, Vegas finished the regular season 7-0-1 to finish atop the Pacific.

A lot of things have changed for the positive since then. Goaltender Carter Hart returned in April, won all six of his starts with a .930 save percentage and rode that wave into the playoffs. William Karlsson, who had been out with an injury since early November, returned in Round 2 against Anaheim. His placement back in the lineup restored some centre depth and allowed the Golden Knights to move Mitch Marner back to his natural wing. And Tomas Hertl, who hadn't scored since March 4, found the back of the net in Games 4 and 5 against Anaheim and is now on a three-game point streak. If he can get going, Vegas's depth will shine through.

But... there is a massive question for the Golden Knights as they head into their series against Colorado: what is Mark Stone's injury status? Stone hasn't played since Game 3 of the Ducks series and is an integral part to everything Vegas does. Stone's defensive awareness, anticipation and stick play are renowned, but his offensive game can go underrated. He has seven points in eight playoff games, which followed a 73-point season in 60 games. Stone hasn't been skating with the team and no update has been given.

Phillip Danault's still got it

One of our six main takeaways after the first round was that Buffalo's Alex Tuch was making himself even more valuable heading into this summer, where he's lining up to be the best available free agent. Tuch led the Sabres in scoring after Round 1 with seven points (all at even strength) in six games.

And while it's still true that his next contract will be a hefty one — and he will be sought after in free agency if he gets that far — it was startling to see him get completely shut out of the scoring in Round 2. Across seven games, Tuch was held to a minus-8 as the Sabres fell to the Canadiens.

But this section isn't so much about Tuch as it is about the matchups that kept him silent.

Just before Christmas this season, the Canadiens sent a second-round pick to Los Angeles to re-acquire Phillip Danault, an excellent shutdown centre who played a key role in Montreal's last run to the Cup Final. After that run, he cashed in as a free agent, signing for $5.5 million annually with the Kings. Montreal brought him back to round out its roster and provide the defensive capabilities he possesses.

Danault can be a matchup nightmare, and he was just that for Tuch in Round 2. Danault and Tuch shared the ice for 33:36 of even strength ice time over the seven games and the results were decidedly in Montreal's favour. The Canadiens outscored the Sabres 4-1 and out shot them 19-15 in this matchup, leaving Tuch with an expected goals percentage of just 27.86.

For a little more context, Tuch shared the ice with Nick Suzuki for 34:37 of even-strength ice time and though neither side scored a goal in that situation, Tuch's expected goals percentage shot up to 72.01. Danault was a key in tilting the ice for Montreal against a star Sabre who came into the series red hot.

Danault, 33, will continue to be one to watch in Round 3. He still has another season left on that contract, too.