Happy Monday y'all!

We are officially into the second round of the playoffs, with the Colorado Avalanche facing the Minnesota Wild and the Vegas Golden Knights taking on the Anaheim Ducks. Lots of fun story lines in these series to keep our eyes on; Hughes v Makar, Torts v Gauthier, which goalies are going to show up, and so much more. Before we dive into the two matchups, let's look back at the teams we lost.

Dallas Stars

After three straight appearances in the Western Conference Finals, the Stars fail to make it out of the first round. They started the playoffs with a couple of key injuries and Roope Hintz did not end up suiting up for any of their contests. The Finnish center isn't a superstar by any means, but he does help slot other players in the lineup and creates more depth down the middle, which was missed big time by the organization because they only scored five goals at even strength in their six games. You're not going to win many games when you don't average one goal at five-on-five.

The big question for this club is what direction they are headed in. Their goaltender and the core of their defense is locked up, but captain Jamie Benn is an unrestricted free agent and Jason Robertson AND Mavrik Bourque are restricted free agents. The Stars don't have a ton of cap space and with the two restricted players deserving a nice pay bump, it may be time to move on from a core piece since the team can't seem to get over the hump.

Edmonton Oilers

There is a lot to unpack with the Oilers. The back-to-back Western Conference Champions were knocked out in the first round (your boy picked the upset here), but Connor McDavid was playing through a fracture in his foot/ankle, as was Jason Dickinson. During the player's exit interview over the weekend, both McDavid and Leon Draisaitl stated the team was "average" and not as good as they have been in the past. 

A pretty clear message from your two superstars that they need help and some changes better be made this off-season because it sounds like both of their patience are running thin. McDavid has two years left on his contract, but the German center has four seasons left. The Oilers could move McDavid for a haul, much like they did with Gretzky, and still have the firepower to potentially win a Cup, much like the 1990 Oilers, two years after trading the Great One.

Utah Mammoth

What a fun story the Mammoth was this season. They have a great owner who wants to grow the game in Utah and created multiple flashy marketing techniques (offering up tickets to games in his personal suite, releasing the "Zammoth", and doing a Golden Knights to Mammoth jersey swap before their first playoff home game). Most importantly, he wants to build a winner so he isn't afraid to spend money. Management extended all of their young core and made a big in-season trade for MacKenzie Weegar.

Loaded with cap space for this offseason, all of their future first round picks, plus a number of high-end prospects, Utah could make some noise over the summer as their current core gained some valuable playoff experience.

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What a "wild" and "nice" Game 1 that was between the Avalanche and the Wild. The Avs came out dominating, put it in neutral, and then stepped on the gas again late in the second period and kept their foot on the pedal the rest of the way.

Colorado pulled out the sun so they are probably comfortable rolling out Scott Wedgewood again, but will Minnesota start youngster Jesper Wallstedt again after allowing eight goals. I'm honestly shocked he did not get the gate after Colorado's third tally, just to shake it up and try to create that sense of urgency.

Coach John Hynes stated that Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin will miss the two games in Denver and they'll be reevaluated before Game 3. Center was the big position the Wild tried to upgrade at the trade deadline so losing a player like Eriksson Ek is a huge loss, especially against a team that boasts center depth. Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber will have even more on their plate with Brodin out of the lineup, but with the way those two have played since being paired together, they should hold up.

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The Golden Knights and Ducks start their series tonight in Las Vegas. Anaheim swept the season series, but that was before Vegas fired their coach and found their groove, so you can throw those games out the window.

Vegas imposed their physical will on Utah and while Anaheim may be a young and fast team, they aren't afraid to mix it up. Cutter Gauthier actually leads this team in hits through the first round and Coach John Tortorella and Gauthier have history dating back to their Philadelphia Flyers days so those first couple of pressers after the game should be fun.

One of the big reasons Anaheim advanced was their powerplay. They operated at 50% against Edmonton and if they can find that success again, it will be tough to lose. 

Torts has been the perfect coach for the Golden Knights down the stretch because they are a veteran group that has experience. He obviously favors veteran players so at the time he took over, it was easy for him to get his message across. 

Send me your predictions for Round 2 on Twitter, @LAM1926. 

Have a great week y'all!