Stanley Cup Playoffs: What to watch as the secound round arrives

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is full of enticing matchups now that the brackets have been filled out.

In the Eastern Conference, Buffalo, Carolina, Montreal and Philadelphia have moved on. The Hurricanes and Flyers have already gotten underway, while the Sabres will face the Canadiens.

In the West, Colorado is playing Minnesota in a must-watch showdown of division rivals, while Vegas will face Anaheim in the Ducks’ return to the postseason.

There will be a new champion and no three-peat after the Florida Panthers were derailed by injuries following three consecutive trips to the final. Both finalists will be new after Edmonton got knocked out by the Ducks.

WESTERN CONFERENCE: The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche swept Los Angeles, the Wild beat Dallas, Anaheim defeated the Oilers and Vegas eliminated Utah, all in six games.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:Carolina swept Ottawa. The Flyers beat archrival Pittsburgh and Buffalo beat Boston, each in six games. The Canadiens defeated the Lightning in Game 7, despite getting outshot 29-9.

The top three teams in each of the four divisions make the playoffs. The other four spots go to the next two highest-placed teams in each conference, regardless of division.

The teams with the best record in each conference open against the wild-card team with the worst record; the other wild card plays the other division winner. Teams that finish second and third in their division play each other in the bracket headed by their respective division winner, so the first-round matchups had some rivalry-style games. The second round thus carries an even higher prospect of division opponents matching up ahead of the conference finals.

All four rounds of the playoffs are best-of-seven; the first team to 16 victories wins the Stanley Cup.

— Carolina vs. Philadelphia, Game 2 Monday night

— Buffalo vs. Montreal, Game 1 Wednesday night

— Colorado vs. Minnesota, Game 2 Tuesday night

—Vegas vs. Anaheim, Game 1 Monday night

Carolina is the favorite to win the Stanley Cup at 2-1, followed by Colorado at just over 2-1 and Vegas at 6-1.

Every playoff game will be nationally televised in the U.S on an ESPN or Turner network. The NHL schedule is here and a streaming guide is here. Much of TNT’s coverage, which includes the Stanley Cup Final, will be simulcast on truTV and available on Max’s B/R Sports Add-On. In Canada, games will be showcased on Sportsnet and CBC.

After three rounds of seven-game series, the final starts in early June. If the final goes the distance, Game 7 could go as late as June 21.

WEST: The West is loaded, even after Connor McDavid’s early exit. Colorado leads the way with MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon and star defenseman Cale Makar. If you don’t know Minnesota standouts Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, you will when you see them take on the Avalanche.

The Pacific Division side of the bracket is weaker and the Golden Knights may have the clearest path to the final. Next up are the Ducks, who have an intriguing mix of youth and experience under one of the all-time great coaches in Joel Quenneville.

EAST: The feel-good stories reside here in Buffalo and Philadelphia.

After snapping the NHL’s longest postseason drought at 14 years in style, the Sabres handled the Bruins in a back-and-forth series. The Flyers vanquished the Penguins, sending Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang home.

All these teams are underdogs to the powerhouse Carolina Hurricanes, who have another chance to show they can break through after early-playoff success and some disappointing losses.

With the losses by Ottawa and Edmonton, Canada’s hopes of ending a 33-year Cup drought rest with the Canadiens. Montreal was the last team north of the border to win it back in 1993.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Minnesota Wild players celebrate after wining Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)

Colorado Avalanche's Devon Toews (7) celebrates his goal with Nathan MacKinnon (29) and Martin Necas (88) against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)

Philadelphia Flyers' Dan Vladar reacts after the Flyers won Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates scoring an empty net goal against the Ottawa Senators in the third period in Game 4 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Philadelphia Flyers' Matvei Michkov (39) scores a goal past the defense of Montréal Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher (11), Kaiden Guhle (21), Adam Engstrom (42), Jake Evans (71) and goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31), center Anze Kopitar (11) and right wing Mathieu Joseph (17) celebrate a win over the Seattle Kraken in an NHL hockey game Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Minnesota Wild fans celebrate a goal against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Lily Dozier)

Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak (88) has his shot blocked by Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) reaches down to block a shot under pressure from Dallas Stars right wing Arttu Hyry, left, and Adam Erne (73) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III will present the U.K. government's legislative program to Parliament on Wednesday as uncertainty clouds the future of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership. Starmer on Tuesday defied calls for him to stand down, following a disastrous showing for his Labour Party in local and regional elections last week. Ahead of the King's Speech, he met with Health Secretary Wes Streeting, seen as one of his potential challengers, at his office in Downing Street.

Here's the latest:

At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he took responsibility for the losses in last week’s elections but would fight on.

As Cabinet members left 10 Downing Street, some voiced their support for the embattled prime minister.

Works and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said nobody publicly challenged Starmer at the meeting, while Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the prime minister was showing “really steadfast leadership.”

Later, Starmer’s deputy David Lammy warned Labour lawmakers that the only beneficiary of the party’s “navel-gazing” is the populist right and the leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, in particular.

“He has my full support, and what I say to colleagues is, look, let’s just step back,” he said. “Take a breath.”

On Tuesday, several junior ministers, some of whom were elected for the first time in Labour’s landslide election victory in July 2024, resigned and urged Starmer to do the same.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister of housing, communities and local government, was the first to quit, urging Starmer “to do the right thing for the country.”

She was followed by Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister and a prominent member of the Labour Party. In her resignation letter, she described Starmer as a “good man fundamentally” but unable to make bold changes.

Despite the party’s dominant win driving out the Conservatives after 14 years in power, Labour’s popularity has plunged and Starmer is getting much of the blame.

The reasons include a series of policy missteps, a perceived lack of vision on the prime minister’s part, a struggling British economy and questions over his judgment. Starmer’s choice of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington despite ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has continued to haunt him.

Starmer insisted Tuesday that he has no intention of resigning as calls grew louder within his Labour Party for him to step down and some junior members of his government quit in protest.

Starmer’s future has become a hot topic over the past few feverish days following historic losses for the Labour Party in local elections last week, which if repeated in a national election that has to be held by 2029, would see it overwhelmingly ejected from power.

Though no Cabinet member has quit or publicly stated the prime minister should step aside for a change in leader, there’s growing speculation that the ambitious health secretary, Wes Streeting, will inform Starmer that his days are numbered when they meet on Wednesday.

Streeting has many supporters within the parliamentary party, including some of those who resigned from Starmer’s government on Tuesday, which stoked speculation that Starmer could suffer the fate of Boris Johnson in 2022 when dozens of ministers quit en masse and forced his departure.

The King’s Speech is part of the state opening of Parliament, a traditional set piece of the political calendar. Many of the expected proposals have been announced previously, raising questions over Starmer’s capacity to win over his doubters.

The speech is expected to include proposals to address the cost of living crisis, create a national wealth fund to stimulate private investment in public infrastructure and tighten rules for asylum seekers.

It may also include the government’s controversial proposal to abolish jury trials for some cases in England and Wales, lower the voting age to 16 and introduce a “duty of candor” for public officials, requiring them to tell the truth and cooperate with investigations.

Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office leaves 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting in London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat yet to his authority after a growing number of disaffected lawmakers called for him to step down.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

FILE - King Charles III looks up as he reads the King's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords in London on July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool, File)

Britain's Health Secretary Wes Streeting arrives in Downing Street for a meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, Wednesday, May 13, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices during a visit to London South Bank Technical College in London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Toby Melville/Pool Photo via AP)