ESPN Staff May 18, 2023 7:00 am ET4 Minute Read
The Best of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Check out the best moments from the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, from four-goal performances to OT thrillers.
The second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs was perhaps less shocking than the first, as two division winners (the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes) made it through, along with the No. 2 Central Division seeded Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers , whose Cinderella run continues after becoming the last team to qualify for the postseason.
We are now in the finals of the conference which begins tonight with the Hurricanes-Panthers (8 p.m. ET, TNT) and Friday Night with Golden Knights Stars (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+).
Which clubs make it to the Stanley Cup finals? Here are the picks from the extended ESPN hockey family:
Skip ahead:
CAR-FLA
VGK DAL
east conference
Sean Allen: Panthers in six
Brian Boucher: Panthers in six
John Buccigross: Panthers in five
Ryan Callahan: Panthers in seven
Cassie Campbell Pascall: Six hurricanes
Sachin Chandan: Panthers in six
Chris Chelios: Panthers in six
Ryan S Clark: hurricanes in seven
Linda Cohn: Panthers in seven
Ray Ferraro: Six hurricanes
Leah Hextall: Panthers in six
Emily Kaplan: hurricanes in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Panthers in six
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Six hurricanes
Steve Levy: Panthers in seven
Vince Masi: Six hurricanes
Victoria Matiash: Six hurricanes
Sean McDonough: hurricanes in seven
Mark Messier: Panthers in seven
Mike Monaco: Six hurricanes
Arda Öcal: Panthers in six
Kristen Shilton: Six hurricanes
Bob Wischusen: hurricanes in seven
Greg Wyshynski: hurricanes in seven
consensus prediction: Draw (12 picks each)
Oettinger: Stars can win the whole thing
Jake Oettinger assesses his team’s chances against the Golden Knights after the Stars defeated the Kraken in Game 7.
Western Conference
Sean Allen: stars in six
Brian Boucher: Golden Knights in Seven
John Buccigross: Golden Knights in Seven
Ryan Callahan: Golden Knights in Six
Cassie Campbell Pascall: Golden Knights in Six
Sachin Chandan: stars in seven
Chris Chelios: Golden Knights in Seven
Ryan S Clark: Golden Knights in Seven
Linda Cohn: Golden Knights in Seven
Ray Ferraro: Golden Knights in Seven
Leah Hextall: stars in seven
Emily Kaplan: Golden Knights in Seven
Tim Kavanagh: stars in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Golden Knights in Seven
Steve Levy: Golden Knights in Seven
Vince Masi: Golden Knights in Seven
Victoria Matiash: Golden Knights in Seven
Mark Messier: Golden Knights in Seven
Mike Monaco: Golden Knights in Seven
Arda Öcal: stars in six
Kristen Shilton: Golden Knights in Seven
Bob Wischusen: stars in seven
Greg Wyshynski: stars in six
consensus prediction: Golden Knights (16 of 23 picks)