Withthe first round nowcomplete, the second roundof the begins Saturday. Eight teams have punched their ticket to the next stage and areone step closer to winning the sports world’sgreatest trophy. Remaining in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles are six of the top eight teams when the coronavirus pandemic hit last March,a team you can never count out (the Islanders),and a dark horse that stands as the last remaining Canadian team (the Canucks). The qualifying round was wacky; thefirst round was just good oldplayoff hockey with lots of action,including crazy last-second goals andbig-time saves, and . What will happen in the second round and beyond is anyone’s gue s. Will Vegas finally get itsCup? Can Boston avenge last year’s Game 7 lo s? Or will a dark-horsesquad takehockey’s top prize? The answer is, nobody knows and that’s even more evident this year. Because anything goes in bubble hockey. MORE: NHL playoffs bracket 2020 NHL playoff predictions: Eastern Conference Second round Philadelphia Flyers (1) vs. (6) New York Islanders The backstory This will be a tactical matchup of mastermind coaches. The Islanders’ Barry Trotz knows how to squeeze the best out ofplayers up and down his roster, and the same is true of the Flyers’ Alain Vigneault. If you go all the way back to the 2019-20 regular season, the season series belonged to the Islanders, who won all three meetings (a scheduled fourth matchup was canceledafter the league shut down because of the pandemic). But the past isthe past. Considered adefensive-minded team under Trotz, the Islanders dominated the Capitals on the scoreboard in the first round, scoring 3.40 goals per game while also maintaining what they do best keeping the puck out of their own net (1.67goals against per game). For comparison’s sake,they scored 2.78 GF/GP and allowed 2.79 GA/GP in the regular season. For the Flyers, this series will be all about fast starts: They’ve led after the first period in six of their nine postseason games, and they’ve won all six. They’re outscoring opponents 8-4 in the opening frame. Philadelphia features balanced scoring andone of the league’s best young netmindersinCarter Hart, who just happened to beat his childhood idol, Carey Price, in the first round. MORE: X-factor If the Islanders Gerry Cheevers Jersey want to advance past the Flyers, then their best player, Mat Barzal ,will need to be their best player. Anthony Beauvillier has been a bright spot,but Barzal needs to step up his game. In five games against the Capitals, he had two goals and two a sists and an Expected GoalsFor Percentage(xGF%) of 53.41 at 5v5 ( Brad Park Jersey ), which put him below the likes of J.G. Pageau, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey. He’ll need to bring his speed and scoring touch in this round. The big number Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux has zero goals through ninepostseason games, although it hasn’t beenfor a lack of trying; he has 20 shots on net, one behind Kevin Hayes, who notched his first goal of the postseason in Game 6 against the Canadiens. Girouxscored 21 goals during the regular season, including a team-leading seven power-play goals(tied with Ivan Provorov). Imagine how lethal this Flyerslineup could be iftheir captain can getgoing, too. SN’s prediction: Flyers in 7. Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Boston Bruins (4) The backstory Two of the league’s best teamswill meetin an Atlantic Division rivalry series. The last time theysaw each other in the regular season, afull-on line brawl broke out. Good times. Their round-robin matchup was moresubdued, but expect this series to be a dogfight. It will be an evenly matched tilt between veteranrosters. They’re mirror images, in fact: Boston averaged3.00 GF/GP and allowed 2.20 GA/GP in the first round, whilethe Lightning averaged 2.80 GF/GP and allowed 2.40 GA/GP.Each team has depth scoring, role players, solid goaltending Andrei Vasilevskiy is a Vezina Trophy finalist and veteranson the blue line whocan not only stop the opposition but also put points on the board. This serieswill also be a che s match between Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper and Boston coachBruce Ca sidy, the men behindthe last two teams to win the Presidents’ Trophy. CASSIDY AND COFFEE: X-factor , all eyes will be on veteran netminder Jaroslav Halak , whoshared the 2020 Jennings Trophy with Rask as the league leaders in fewest goals allowed. In three first-round starts, Halak posted an impre sive .932 save percentage, and among 16 goalies who started at least three games, he ranked fourth with a 1.67 goals-against average. He posted a .929 save percentage at even strength, stopping 52 of 54 shots. If he can maintain this against the Lightning’s offense, then the series could tilt the Bruins’ way. The big number But Halak will facea big test at even strength. The Lightning’s Expected Goals For (xGF) through their first eight postseason games at 5v5 was 17.88 ( ). Boston’s xGF was12.87. In their first-round meeting with the Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay posted a 12.46 xGF,second-best in the league. Boston’s was only8.14 in the first round against the Hurricanes. Tampa Bay even had a better xGF in the round-robin meeting (2.72-1.53). And look at this heatmap from that game ( ). The Lightning dominated in front of the Bruins’ net at 5v5. If they can do that again in Round 2, then thismay be a short series. SN’s pick: Lightning in 6. First-round predictions Philadelphia Flyers(1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8) SN’s pick: Flyers in 5 Series result: Flyers in 6 Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Blue Jackets(7) SN’s pick: Blue Jackets in 7 Series result: Lightning in 5 Capitals(3) vs. Islanders(6) S N’s pick: Islanders in 6 Series result: Islanders in 5 Bruins(4) vs. Hurricanes (5) SN’s pick: Hurricanes in 7 Series result: Bruins in 5 MORE: NHL playoff predictions: Western Conference Second round Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (5) The backstory The Canucks dismantled the defending champion Blues in impre sive fashion; now they face an even tougher test in the Golden Knights. Regardle s of the outcome, this serieswill be quite funto watch. Vegas has the best 1-2 punch in net with Robin Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury; at the other end, Vancouver netminder Jacob Markstrom is building quite the resume followingan impre sive regular season with ridiculous acrobatic, diving saves in the playoffs. Jacob Markstrom from outta nowhere! Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) Both teams have depth scoring, speed, solid defense Quinn Hughes continues to show maturity beyond his years, one of the reasons he’sa Calder Trophy finalist and savvy bench bo ses in Travis Green (Vancouver) and Pete DeBoer (Vegas). Vegas’ skill and size push it over the edge X-factor Travis Green. In his third season behind the Canucks’ bench, Green has shown an uncanny knack for gettingthe best out of his players. Not afraid to put his lines in a blender, he found the right combinations at the right times in pushing his team to knock off the Blues. The big number 60.6 Brandon Bussi Jersey percent: That’s the Golden Knights’ Scoring Chances For percentage ( ). Basically, they’ve gottenway more scoring chances for than against: 209 Scoring Chances For to 139 Scoring Chances Against, to be exact.On the flip side, Vancouver has allowed 215 SCA, which could hurt itagainst the highly skilled team from Nevada. Markstrom will have to be on top of his game even more than he was against St. Louis if the Canucks are tokeepthe Golden Knights from moving on. SN’s pick Vegas in 6. Colorado Avalanche (2) vs. Dallas Stars (3) The backstory The Avalanche are rolling along. They won two of their three round-robin games, with the lone lo s being in overtime to the No. 1-seeded Golden Knights, and thenjust dominated the Coyotes in a five-game first-round victory. Dallas is coming off two stunning comebacks in theirseries against the Flames. They’ll definitely be flying high after winning Game 5 in overtime after scoring the game-tying goal with 12 seconds left in regulation and then winning Game 6 in a blowout after going down by three in the first seven minutes. It looks as if Anton Khudobin will be in the crease for Dallas going forward as 2019 Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop has been unfit to play for a number of games. Khudobin, who led the league with a .930 save percentage duringthe regular season, was in net for the Stars’round-robin matchup with the Avs, which Colorado won convincingly 4-0. As for the Avs’ goaltending situation, coach JaredBednar hasrelied heavily upon Philipp Grubauer, who was in net for all four wins against Arizona and posted a sparkling .953 save percentage. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Grubauer has some of the most dynamic players in the game in front of him such as2020 Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon and other players who can bury the puck atamoment’s notice. Colorado won four of its first eight games by three or more goals. Dallas is getting its offense from the likes of Joe Pavelski, Denis Gurianov and sophomore defenseman Miro Heiskanen. If they can get Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin going, then this could be a barnburner Craig Janney Jersey of a series. X-factor Nazem Kadri has finally arrived. He’s known to put up numbers in the regular season, but the center has struggled to stay in postseason lineups, althoughnot because ofcoaches’ decisions or injury. The previous two postseasons, Kadri watched from the pre s box after beingsuspended by the league. A year removed from his second suspension and with anew franchise, a more mature Kadri has become a dominating figure for the Avalanche. He has 11 points (six goals, five a sists) in eight postseason games, and histwo markersin the series clincher against the Coyotes gave him back-to-back multigoal games. He is tied with four others atop the NHL’s postseasongoal-scoringlist and leads the league with five power-play goals. “Reflecting onthe time I spent in Toronto,just looking back, obviously you want to learn from your mistakes and just trying to mature as a person and as a player and as a teammate,” Kadri said after Game 5. “I think I’m no more valuable Cam Neely Jersey on the ice than I am in the penalty box or in the pre s box. So, just trying to stay calm out there and composed and, like I said, I just want to help my team win and I think staying in games would do that.” MORE: The big number The Avalanche’s power play is clicking, to say the least. Colorado isat a whopping 30.6 percent efficiency with the man advantage. Among the 16 teams that played bubble hockey in the first round, Dallas’ penalty kill was tied for 13th (with Vancouver) at 72.2 percent. Needle s to say, Stars coach Rick Bowne s needs to make sure his guys stay out of the box, or else this willbe a short series. SN’s pick: Avalanche in 6. First-round predictions Vegas Golden Knights(1) vs. Chicago Blackhawks(8) SN’s pick: Golden Knights in 5 Series result: Golden Knights in 5 Colorado Avalanche(2) vs. Arizona Coyotes (7) SN’s pick: Avalanche in 4 Series result: Avalanche in 5 Dallas Stars(3) vs. Calgary Flames (6) SN’s pick: Flames in 5 Series result: Stars in 6 St. Louis Blues (1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (5) SN’s pick: Canucks in 7 Series result: Canucks in 6 NHL playoff odds to win Stanley Cup Courtesy of , here are the 2020 Stanley Cup Final odds for theremaining eight teams in the NHL playoff bubbles: Team Odds Colorado Avalanche +350 Vegas Golden Knights +350 Tampa Bay Lightning +425 Boston Bruins +450 Philadelphia Flyers +750 New York Islanders +1400 Dallas Stars +1500 Vancouver Canucks +1800 Stanley Cup Final picks Eastern Conference champion: Philadelphia Flyers Western Conference champion: Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup champion: Philadelphia Flyers in seven games Conn Smythe Trophy: Carter Hart