Welcome fantasy managers to another edition of the Eastern Edge. This week we'll be taking a look at round two of the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Let's get to it!

Carolina Hurricanes / Philadelphia Flyers (CAR leads series 2-0)

The Carolina Hurricanes entered their second round series against the Philadelphia Flyers the same way they dispatched their first-round opponent, the Ottawa Senators, by clinically dismantling the opposition through a smothering style of play at both ends of the ice. The Flyers were stymied at every turn as the up-tempo Hurricanes ran roughshod in Game 1, prevailing with a dominating 3-0 victory that was never in doubt. The 'Canes followed up that game one performance by claiming a come from behind victory in OT to claim game two as well.

The line of Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake – Taylor Hall continues to shine and dominated once again with that line accounting for a combined five points in that first game with Logan Stankoven potting two goals in the process, bringing his postseason total to six which is tied for the league lead alongside Tampa’s Brandon Hagel and Minnesota’s Matt Boldy. Coach Rod Brind'Amour has this squad playing some impressive defensive hockey allowing the Flyers a measly nineteen shots on goal in game one, it's the third time out of the six postseason games Carolina has played in which they have given up twenty-two shots on goal or less.

Speaking of the defensive side of things leads us to the dominating play of 'Canes netminder Frederik Andersen who is currently playing some of his best hockey in years as the big Dane has fashioned a superb 6-0 record accompanied by a mind-boggling 1.02 goals against and ridiculous .958 save percentage, both of which lead the league. If Andersen can remain healthy as well as continue this current level of play the Hurricanes will have turned what was seen as a team weakness into a formidable strength.

What is even more impressive about this Carolina Hurricanes team is that they are dominating the opposition without sizable contributions from some of their elite offensive players such as Sebastian Aho (three goals, zero assists), Seth Jarvis (one goal, three assists), Andrei Svechnikov (zero goals, one assist), Nikolaj Ehlers (one goal, two assists in five games played) and Shayne Gostisbehere (zero goals, zero assists) over the course of the team’s six postseason contests. It's only a matter of time before one or more of the players listed breaks out offensively in a big way, giving the 'Canes even more weapons at their disposal.

In what should be another thrilling series between Metropolitan rivals, I've got the Carolina Hurricanes taking down this series against an up-and-coming Philadelphia Flyers squad in six games.

You can view my picks for the entire second round here along with others from the Experts panel at Dobber Hockey   

Buffalo Sabers / Montreal Canadiens (Series starts on Wednesday)

The Buffalo Sabres are making the most of their first postseason appearance in 15 years as the upstart Sabres defeated the Boston Bruins in six games to move onto the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs where they will take on the Montreal Canadiens. It should be a very exciting matchup to determine the Atlantic division's representative in the Eastern Conference final.

The Sabres' top line of Peyton Krebs – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch is leading the offensive charge with each member of that trio playing at or above the point-per-game threshold. Solid contributions from the likes of Bowen Byram (three goals, two assists), Rasmus Dahlin (one goal, three assists) and Owen Power (zero goals, four assists) on the blueline have gone a long way in supporting the club's forwards production-wise.

In goal, Alex Lyon has been incredible for the upstart Sabres as the 33-year-old has fashioned a 3-0-1 record accompanied by a 1.14 goals against and .955 save percentage with an 80% quality-start rate. Lyon's level of play was a major factor in helping Buffalo to their first series win in almost two decades (19 years to be exact!) while also contributing to the Sabres third ranked defense in this year's postseason conceding only 2.00 goals against per game.

The Montreal Canadiens earned a berth in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs thanks to their thrilling Game 7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning last Sunday. In what was an incredibly entertaining series, Montreal's depth (in particular their bottom six) as well as the play of rookie netminder Jakub Dobes certainly went a long way in helping the Habs defeat a seasoned playoff roster with plenty of championship pedigree.

Dobes outdueled Andrei Vasilevskiy in this series no matter which way you slice it as the native of Czechia posted a tidy 2.03 goals against and .923 save percentage including a 57.1% quality start rate. In comparison, Vasilevskiy finished the postseason with a 2.18 goals against average and .897 save percentage. Montreal will need Dobes to continue his strong play as the Buffalo Sabres currently rank sixth (out of the sixteen playoff teams) offensively at 3.33 goals per game, a mark that has them as the top offensive team out of the four remaining in the Eastern Conference.

One area of concern for Montreal heading into their second rounfirst-rounduld be the lack of goal scoring from the team's top line of Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky who combined for a grand total of thirteen points throughout their first round matchup. Suzuki and Caufield netted only one goal each while Slafkovský potted a hat-trick in game one but did not light the lamp for the remainder of the series. That will need to change if Montreal has any thoughts of making their way to the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

I'm sticking with the Montreal Canadiens to take down the Buffalo Sabres in a hard-fought seven-game series that should be a highly entertaining matchup between two young up-and-coming teams vying for a spot in this year’s Eastern Conference final. Stay tuned!               

Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on X @mikeouellet9 or BlueSky @mikeouellet9.bsky.social

(All stats courtesy of: Dobber's Frozen Tools)

See you all again next Tuesday!