As three of the four second-round series have now completed two games, certain trends are beginning to materialize. For some teams that were widely expected to make deep playoff runs this year, these early signs are not encouraging.
The reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, find themselves in a difficult 2-0 series deficit as they return home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs for Game 3 on Friday evening. In the later game on Friday night, the Dallas Stars will aim for another road victory against the Winnipeg Jets.
Below are previews for these upcoming games, including statistical insights from ESPN Research.
Matchup Previews
Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers
Game 3 | Friday Evening
Historically, the Maple Leafs have an impressive 84% winning record in best-of-seven series after taking a 2-0 lead. Conversely, the Panthers have lost all five of their previous best-of-seven series when falling behind 0-2.
This series features the top two highest-scoring forward lines at 5-on-5 in the current postseason. The line of Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell, and Brad Marchand for Florida has registered eight points, while Toronto`s line of Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner has seven points, including the winning goal in Game 2.
William Nylander scored for the third consecutive game, bringing his playoff totals to six goals and thirteen points this postseason. He is the first Maple Leaf since Alexander Mogilny in 2003 to score five goals over a three-game stretch and the first since Doug Gilmour in 1993 to record 13 or more points through the first eight games of a single playoff run.
With a goal in Game 2, Marchand`s career playoff point total against the Leafs reached 32, placing him fourth all-time. He is behind Gordie Howe (53), Alex Delvecchio (35), and Henri Richard (33).
Filling in for the injured Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll made 25 saves on 28 shots for Toronto. For Florida, Sergei Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 20 shots, bringing his total goals allowed across Games 1 and 2 to nine. This ties his second-highest total for goals allowed in a two-game playoff span in his career.
Dallas Stars at Winnipeg Jets
Game 2 | Friday Evening
Following their Game 1 victory, the Stars are now considered significant favorites to win the series, while the Jets face unfavorable odds. The win in Game 1 ended an eight-game losing streak for Dallas in playoff series openers.
Mikko Rantanen single-handedly provided the offense Dallas needed in their 3-2 win, scoring a hat trick in a single period for the second consecutive game. He set a new Stanley Cup playoff record by contributing to 12 consecutive team goals (either scoring or assisting), surpassing the previous record of nine set by Mario Lemieux in 1992.
Game 1 marked Jason Robertson`s return after being injured in the final regular season game. He played over 13 minutes, including time on the power play, and registered one shot.
Winnipeg`s Mark Scheifele also returned to the ice in the opening game, having been absent since Game 5 of the first round. Scheifele scored a goal and recorded seven shots in over 22 minutes of ice time.
The goaltenders for this series, Winnipeg`s Connor Hellebuyck and Dallas` Jake Oettinger, are considered leading candidates to be the starting netminder for Team USA at the 2026 Olympics. Oettinger won the first head-to-head matchup, saving 29 of 31 shots to earn the victory, while Hellebuyck stopped 21 of 24 shots in defeat.
Rupert Hartwell