The first round of the playoffs is over, and eight teams remain in the race for the Stanley Cup.
For the first time in the salary cap era,  three Canadian teams are in the second round of the playoffs, as the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/golden-knights-different-challenge-for-oilers">Edmonton Oilers</a>, Winnipeg Jets, and Toronto Maple Leafs all advanced.
Let&#8217;s get set for the second round of the playoffs, the Oilers and their rematch with the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-golden-knights-tactical-preview">Vegas Golden Knights</a>, and discuss who looks like the team to beat.

<h2>How did your first-round predictions go? Any major surprises?</h2>
Cam Lewis: I was wrong about the Avalanche, Senators, and Lightning. The Colorado and Dallas series came down to the wire, but Florida hammered Tampa in the first round, which I didn&#8217;t see coming at all. The Sens gave the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/playoff-preview-maple-leafs-panthers">Leafs</a> a good run, but Toronto probably deserved more credit as a veteran playoff team going up against a lot of first-timers. Again, the biggest surprise for me was the Panthers looking as good as they did.
Baggedmilk: Given the Stars&#8217; injuries to key players, I was surprised by the Avalanche&#8217;s loss to Dallas. I was also surprised by how quietly Tampa Bay went out in the playoffs. I thought they would ultimately lose to Florida, but I was surprised it only happened in five games.
Zach Laing: Oh, terribly. My bracket is an absolute mess. What I got right: Edmonton over L.A., Winnipeg over St. Louis, Washington over Montreal and Carolina over New Jersey. I only went 50 percent, and had the Lightning going to the finals this year, which uh… yeah. Yikes. The biggest surprise for me was Dallas over Colorado despite not having Jason Robertson or Miro Heiskanen.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I went a nice even 4-4. I regretted taking the Habs basically the second that series started. That was dumb and I was trying to get a little too cute. I was legit stunned by both the Avalanche and Lightning losing. The Avs looked so good through two games and I thought they were going to roll even though the series was tied 1-1. They should be very worried about their future, considering their lack of assets and their cap issues. The Lightning getting rolled was the most unpredictable result. The Panthers looked very, very impressive. I&#8217;m proud of myself for not buying into the Senators hype and for staying true to the Oilers when a lot of the public and a lot of national media members were fading them.
<h2>What will it take for the Oilers to get past the Golden Knights?</h2>
Cam Lewis: They absolutely need to have a better start to this series against the Golden Knights than they did against the Kings. Coming back to Edmonton down two games against a team with killer instinct like the Golden Knights would be a massive challenge to overcome. The defence and goaltending also need to be better for the Oilers than it was back in 2023 when they lost to Vegas in six games. Not having Mattias Ekholm makes life more difficult for Edmonton, so the Oilers need depth players to step up.
Baggedmilk: If the Oilers are going to avenge the second-round loss from two years ago, the boys need to do a better job of maintaining their defensive structure and avoiding the turnovers that result in secondary scoring chances. Edmonton got lucky that Los Angeles wasn&#8217;t able to convert on more of their 0dd-man rushes because the boys gave up a ton of them. They can&#8217;t let that happen against a Golden Knights team that feeds off rush chances.
Zach Laing: A lot of elbow grease. The Oilers know their opponent well and the biggest thing is going to be cleaning things up defensively especially — as Bruce Curlock highlighted earlier Monday in his tactical preview of the series — the rush chances against. The Oilers can hang offensively with anyone and Adin Hill has struggled throughout the season and the playoffs so far, posting a .880 save percentage in the first round. Shaking his confidence earlier could play to the Oilers’ benefit.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Good depth scoring and average goaltending. If <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-should-start-calvin-pickard-against-golden-knights">Calvin Pickard</a> can keep making the saves that he&#8217;s supposed to and the Oilers can keep getting timely scoring from their &#8220;bottom-nine,&#8221; then they will absolutely win this series. The last time that they played the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/three-keys-between-oilers-golden-knights-playoff-series">Golden Knights</a> in the playoffs, McDavid and Draisaitl combined for 11 goals, they scored another three on the power play from Bouchard and Hyman, and then the rest of their roster produced just five goals. They need more help when McDavid and Draisaitl are off the ice.
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-153408 size-large" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23207998-1024x683.jpg" alt="Florida Panthers Matthew Tkachuk" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23207998-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23207998-300x200.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23207998-768x512.jpg 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23207998-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23207998-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
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<h2>Who looks like the Stanley Cup favourite as the second round begins?</h2>
Cam Lewis: <span data-slate-fragment="JTVCJTdCJTIydHlwZSUyMiUzQSUyMnAlMjIlMkMlMjJjaGlsZHJlbiUyMiUzQSU1QiU3QiUyMnRleHQlMjIlM0ElMjJUaGUlMjBGbG9yaWRhJTIwUGFudGhlcnMlMjBtYWRlJTIwYSUyMHN0YXRlbWVudCUyMGJ5JTIwZGVmZWF0aW5nJTIwdGhlJTIwVGFtcGElMjBCYXklMjBMaWdodG5pbmclMjBpbiUyMGZpdmUlMjBnYW1lcyUyQyUyMGVhcm5pbmclMjB0aHJlZSUyMG9mJTIwdGhlaXIlMjBmb3VyJTIwd2lucyUyMG9uJTIwdGhlJTIwcm9hZC4lMjIlN0QlNUQlN0QlNUQ=">The Florida Panthers made a statement by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the first round, earning three of their four wins on the road. The Lightning looked like a serious Stanley Cup threat coming into the playoffs, having <span data-slate-fragment="JTVCJTdCJTIydHlwZSUyMiUzQSUyMnAlMjIlMkMlMjJjaGlsZHJlbiUyMiUzQSU1QiU3QiUyMnRleHQlMjIlM0ElMjJUaGUlMjBGbG9yaWRhJTIwUGFudGhlcnMlMjBtYWRlJTIwYSUyMHN0YXRlbWVudCUyMGJ5JTIwZGVmZWF0aW5nJTIwdGhlJTIwVGFtcGElMjBCYXklMjBMaWdodG5pbmclMjBpbiUyMGZpdmUlMjBnYW1lcyUyQyUyMGVhcm5pbmclMjB0aHJlZSUyMG9mJTIwdGhlaXIlMjBmb3VyJTIwd2lucyUyMG9uJTIwdGhlJTIwcm9hZC4lMjIlN0QlNUQlN0QlNUQ=">led the NHL in goals during the regular season and finishing fourth in goals against. The Panthers reminded their Atlantic Division rivals that the playoffs are a different animal from the regular season. The defending champs also reminded the league that they&#8217;re still the team to beat. 
Baggedmilk: The Panthers look really tough to beat in the East, and it&#8217;s going to be interesting how that series with Toronto shakes out, given that both sides have the offensive firepower to turn games around quickly. I still think Florida gets through, but I don&#8217;t know that it&#8217;ll be as quick as some people think. In the West, I still believe in the Oilers. Call me a homer or whatever you want, but the Oilers seem to have found a sense of resiliency where they never look out of games even when they&#8217;re down. That could be a huge X factor for Edmonton as we move along.
Zach Laing: Watching Florida dismantle the Lightning the way they did was outright terrifying. Bet365 has them and the Stars as odds-on-favourites to win the Stanley Cup at +400, implying a 20 percent chance each. The Oilers aren’t far behind at +450, giving them an 18.2 percent chance.
Tyler Yaremchuk: It&#8217;s hard not to say the Panthers at this point. They made a good Tampa Bay team look very average. I&#8217;m still not super high on any of the other Eastern Conference teams, but I think both Vegas and Edmonton look like teams that are capable of winning it all in the West. I&#8217;ll throw Dallas on my watch list. If they get healthy and Oettinger plays well, then they could win it too.
<h2>Which four teams are going to the Conference Finals?</h2>
Cam Lewis: Edmonton, Dallas, Washington, Florida. The Oilers are a different team than they were two years ago and will finally get past the Golden Knights. The Jets have been dealt a difficult blow with injuries and won&#8217;t be able to beat the depth of the Stars. The Hurricanes and Capitals split their regular-season series and both cruised through the first round, making this a difficult series to predict. The Leafs and Panthers are a more predictable series. Toronto had a difficult time with the Ottawa Senators and they&#8217;re now in for a much stiffer challenge with Florida.
Baggedmilk: Give me Edmonton, Dallas, Florida, and Carolina. Basically, I&#8217;m setting the table here for the Oilers&#8217; ultimate revenge Cup run.
Zach Laing: Edmonton, Dallas, Florida, Carolina.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I&#8217;ll say injuries continue to haunt Dallas and they lose to the Jets. We&#8217;ll get an all-Western Canadian Conference Final in the West. Out East, give me Florida and Washington.
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The first round of the playoffs is over, and eight teams remain in the race for the Stanley Cup.

For the first time in the salary cap era,  three Canadian teams are in the second round of the playoffs, as the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/golden-knights-different-challenge-for-oilers">Edmonton Oilers</a>, Winnipeg Jets, and Toronto Maple Leafs all advanced.

Let's get set for the second round of the playoffs, the Oilers and their rematch with the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-golden-knights-tactical-preview">Vegas Golden Knights</a>, and discuss who looks like the team to beat.


<h2>How did your first-round predictions go? Any major surprises?</h2>
Cam Lewis: I was wrong about the Avalanche, Senators, and Lightning. The Colorado and Dallas series came down to the wire, but Florida hammered Tampa in the first round, which I didn't see coming at all. The Sens gave the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/playoff-preview-maple-leafs-panthers">Leafs</a> a good run, but Toronto probably deserved more credit as a veteran playoff team going up against a lot of first-timers. Again, the biggest surprise for me was the Panthers looking as good as they did.

Baggedmilk: Given the Stars' injuries to key players, I was surprised by the Avalanche's loss to Dallas. I was also surprised by how quietly Tampa Bay went out in the playoffs. I thought they would ultimately lose to Florida, but I was surprised it only happened in five games.

Zach Laing: Oh, terribly. My bracket is an absolute mess. What I got right: Edmonton over L.A., Winnipeg over St. Louis, Washington over Montreal and Carolina over New Jersey. I only went 50 percent, and had the Lightning going to the finals this year, which uh… yeah. Yikes. The biggest surprise for me was Dallas over Colorado despite not having Jason Robertson or Miro Heiskanen.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I went a nice even 4-4. I regretted taking the Habs basically the second that series started. That was dumb and I was trying to get a little too cute. I was legit stunned by both the Avalanche and Lightning losing. The Avs looked so good through two games and I thought they were going to roll even though the series was tied 1-1. They should be very worried about their future, considering their lack of assets and their cap issues. The Lightning getting rolled was the most unpredictable result. The Panthers looked very, very impressive. I'm proud of myself for not buying into the Senators hype and for staying true to the Oilers when a lot of the public and a lot of national media members were fading them.
<h2>What will it take for the Oilers to get past the Golden Knights?</h2>
Cam Lewis: They absolutely need to have a better start to this series against the Golden Knights than they did against the Kings. Coming back to Edmonton down two games against a team with killer instinct like the Golden Knights would be a massive challenge to overcome. The defence and goaltending also need to be better for the Oilers than it was back in 2023 when they lost to Vegas in six games. Not having Mattias Ekholm makes life more difficult for Edmonton, so the Oilers need depth players to step up.

Baggedmilk: If the Oilers are going to avenge the second-round loss from two years ago, the boys need to do a better job of maintaining their defensive structure and avoiding the turnovers that result in secondary scoring chances. Edmonton got lucky that Los Angeles wasn't able to convert on more of their 0dd-man rushes because the boys gave up a ton of them. They can't let that happen against a Golden Knights team that feeds off rush chances.

Zach Laing: A lot of elbow grease. The Oilers know their opponent well and the biggest thing is going to be cleaning things up defensively especially — as Bruce Curlock highlighted earlier Monday in his tactical preview of the series — the rush chances against. The Oilers can hang offensively with anyone and Adin Hill has struggled throughout the season and the playoffs so far, posting a .880 save percentage in the first round. Shaking his confidence earlier could play to the Oilers’ benefit.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Good depth scoring and average goaltending. If <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-should-start-calvin-pickard-against-golden-knights">Calvin Pickard</a> can keep making the saves that he's supposed to and the Oilers can keep getting timely scoring from their "bottom-nine," then they will absolutely win this series. The last time that they played the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/three-keys-between-oilers-golden-knights-playoff-series">Golden Knights</a> in the playoffs, McDavid and Draisaitl combined for 11 goals, they scored another three on the power play from Bouchard and Hyman, and then the rest of their roster produced just five goals. They need more help when McDavid and Draisaitl are off the ice.

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<img class="aligncenter wp-image-153408 size-large" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23207998-1024x683.jpg" alt="Florida Panthers Matthew Tkachuk" width="1024" height="683" />

<hr />

<h2>Who looks like the Stanley Cup favourite as the second round begins?</h2>
Cam Lewis: <span data-slate-fragment="JTVCJTdCJTIydHlwZSUyMiUzQSUyMnAlMjIlMkMlMjJjaGlsZHJlbiUyMiUzQSU1QiU3QiUyMnRleHQlMjIlM0ElMjJUaGUlMjBGbG9yaWRhJTIwUGFudGhlcnMlMjBtYWRlJTIwYSUyMHN0YXRlbWVudCUyMGJ5JTIwZGVmZWF0aW5nJTIwdGhlJTIwVGFtcGElMjBCYXklMjBMaWdodG5pbmclMjBpbiUyMGZpdmUlMjBnYW1lcyUyQyUyMGVhcm5pbmclMjB0aHJlZSUyMG9mJTIwdGhlaXIlMjBmb3VyJTIwd2lucyUyMG9uJTIwdGhlJTIwcm9hZC4lMjIlN0QlNUQlN0QlNUQ=">The Florida Panthers made a statement by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the first round, earning three of their four wins on the road. The Lightning looked like a serious Stanley Cup threat coming into the playoffs, having <span data-slate-fragment="JTVCJTdCJTIydHlwZSUyMiUzQSUyMnAlMjIlMkMlMjJjaGlsZHJlbiUyMiUzQSU1QiU3QiUyMnRleHQlMjIlM0ElMjJUaGUlMjBGbG9yaWRhJTIwUGFudGhlcnMlMjBtYWRlJTIwYSUyMHN0YXRlbWVudCUyMGJ5JTIwZGVmZWF0aW5nJTIwdGhlJTIwVGFtcGElMjBCYXklMjBMaWdodG5pbmclMjBpbiUyMGZpdmUlMjBnYW1lcyUyQyUyMGVhcm5pbmclMjB0aHJlZSUyMG9mJTIwdGhlaXIlMjBmb3VyJTIwd2lucyUyMG9uJTIwdGhlJTIwcm9hZC4lMjIlN0QlNUQlN0QlNUQ=">led the NHL in goals during the regular season and finishing fourth in goals against. The Panthers reminded their Atlantic Division rivals that the playoffs are a different animal from the regular season. The defending champs also reminded the league that they're still the team to beat. 

Baggedmilk: The Panthers look really tough to beat in the East, and it's going to be interesting how that series with Toronto shakes out, given that both sides have the offensive firepower to turn games around quickly. I still think Florida gets through, but I don't know that it'll be as quick as some people think. In the West, I still believe in the Oilers. Call me a homer or whatever you want, but the Oilers seem to have found a sense of resiliency where they never look out of games even when they're down. That could be a huge X factor for Edmonton as we move along.

Zach Laing: Watching Florida dismantle the Lightning the way they did was outright terrifying. Bet365 has them and the Stars as odds-on-favourites to win the Stanley Cup at +400, implying a 20 percent chance each. The Oilers aren’t far behind at +450, giving them an 18.2 percent chance.

Tyler Yaremchuk: It's hard not to say the Panthers at this point. They made a good Tampa Bay team look very average. I'm still not super high on any of the other Eastern Conference teams, but I think both Vegas and Edmonton look like teams that are capable of winning it all in the West. I'll throw Dallas on my watch list. If they get healthy and Oettinger plays well, then they could win it too.
<h2>Which four teams are going to the Conference Finals?</h2>
Cam Lewis: Edmonton, Dallas, Washington, Florida. The Oilers are a different team than they were two years ago and will finally get past the Golden Knights. The Jets have been dealt a difficult blow with injuries and won't be able to beat the depth of the Stars. The Hurricanes and Capitals split their regular-season series and both cruised through the first round, making this a difficult series to predict. The Leafs and Panthers are a more predictable series. Toronto had a difficult time with the Ottawa Senators and they're now in for a much stiffer challenge with Florida.

Baggedmilk: Give me Edmonton, Dallas, Florida, and Carolina. Basically, I'm setting the table here for the Oilers' ultimate revenge Cup run.

Zach Laing: Edmonton, Dallas, Florida, Carolina.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I'll say injuries continue to haunt Dallas and they lose to the Jets. We'll get an all-Western Canadian Conference Final in the West. Out East, give me Florida and Washington.

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This article is a presentation of Tourism Jasper. This summer, find your happy place in Jasper.  From hiking trails, paddling wild water or sharing laughs by the fire, happiness find you here. Jasper is open, vibrant and ready to welcome you back for more unforgettable moments. Drive over, play outside, soak up the fresh air, enjoy some food and drink and maybe even stay up late. Your best summer memories aren't behind you, they're waiting for you this summer in Jasper. Plan your trip at <a href="https://www.jasper.travel/summer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.jasper.travel/summer/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1745333186142000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1_IuC6sMqknoQKZGxzPl1h">https://www.jasper.travel/summer/</a>

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