By: Chris Nosek

Philadelphia Flyers @ Carolina Hurricanes (Round 2, Game 2)
CAR leads series 2-0

The Flyers are going to look to come out flying on their home ice. They dropped both games on the road, but game two was much closer and a great reaction to game one. They were able to get a two-goal lead in this one, but couldn’t hold it. Carolina did a great job of taking advantage on their power play to get the first goal back and kill the momentum Philadelphia had been building. This game proves that Philadelphia can win in this series. However, I’m still not convinced they can win more than one game over the next three.

Prediction before series: Carolina Hurricanes advance in 6 games
Prediction after Game One: Carolina Hurricanes advance in 5 games
Prediction after Game Two: Carolina Hurricanes advance in 5 games

Anaheim Ducks @ Vegas Golden Knights (Round 2, Game 1)
VGK leads series 1-0

This game should give the Ducks a lot of confidence for the rest of this series. This game proved to them, and their fans, that this Ducks team can hang with the playoff veteran-riddled Golden Knights. It took Mitch Marner tacking on the empty-net goal in the waning seconds as the Ducks made their 6-on-5 push with Dostal on the bench to put this game away. This only happened because a bad bounce sent the puck over Jackson LaCombe’s stick and back into the neutral zone. This forced the Ducks to clear and re-enter the offensive zone. It looks like Dostal has re-found his high-level game, and overall, the Ducks shut down the VGK offense. As this series gets deeper, the Ducks have the elite-level talent in their youngest players. They’ll have a lot of gas left in the tank. I’m not sure the Knights will be able to outlast them.

Prediction before series: Anaheim Ducks advance in 6 games
Prediction after Game One: Anaheim Ducks advance in 6 games