The 2025 NHL playoffs begin on Saturday, and 16 teams have hopes of lifting the Stanley Cup at the end of it. It will be a long, arduous and worthwhile journey for the last team standing.
Which team will that be? There are a number of legitimate Cup contenders in a rather wide open playoff field, so this postseason could break any number of ways. Today, our NHL experts have logged their predictions for which teams will go the distance and have their names etched onto the Stanley Cup.
The favorites entering the playoffs, according to SportsLine, are the Colorado Avalanche (+750), Florida Panthers (+750), Dallas Stars (+800) and Vegas Golden Knights (+800). Will one of them deliver on those expectations or will an underdog like the St. Louis Blues (+3500) or Montreal Canadiens (+6000) put together a miraculous run?
The next several months will be filled with the best hockey players in the world fighting for the game’s most coveted prize. With so much on the line, our experts decided to make some early picks as to which team will hoist the Cup when the final horn sounds at the end of the postseason below.
Stanley Cup Playoffs 2025: Picks, predictions for every first-round series, including Panthers vs. Lightning
Austin Nivison
Stanley Cup picks
Nivison: I sincerely believe the winner of the series between the Avalanche and Stars will win the West, and I have the Avs taking that one. In the last two postseasons, Colorado hasn’t had the center depth necessary for a deep run, but that has changed now with Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle behind Nathan MacKinnon. That is more than enough to navigate a tough field in the West. In the East, the Lightning will prove that they are still a playoff juggernaut. The Bolts get vintage Andrei Vasilevskiy, and they capture another conference title.
That sets up a rematch of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, which the Avalanche won in six games. This time, Tampa Bay will be able to hang on a little longer, but the speed and skill of the Avs proves too much for the Lightning’s veteran-anchored blue line to handle. Pick — Avalanche def. Lightning 4-3 (Avalanche future odds: +750)
Bengel: The Lightning saw franchise icon Steven Stamkos walk out the door and sign with the Predators in free agency this past summer. However, the Lightning were equipped for that loss as they acquired Jake Guentzel ahead of free agency. That addition arguably may have been the missing piece as he compiled a career-best 41 goals during the regular season. Guentzel’s presence along with the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Brandon Hagel gave Tampa Bay one of most dangerous forward groups across the league.
As should come as no surprise, the Lightning ended up leading the NHL with 3.56 goals per contest and possess one of the best power-play units that the league has to offer. Kucherov, who led the NHL in points, continues to be an elite playmaker that can help carry the offensive load, even though he doesn’t even have to. On top of the offensive power, perhaps the best thing that the Lightning have going for them is the playoff experience of Andrei Vasilevskiy. This is a goaltender that has thrived on the big stage in the past. Vasilevskiy coincidentally tallied a 1.90 goals-against-average in each of Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup-winning seasons in 2020 and 2021. When Vasilevskiy is at the top of his game, there’s few netminders that are better.
After losing in the first round in each of the past two seasons, the Lightning reloaded their roster with the likes of Guentzel and Ryan McDonagh (for a second time). The offensive firepower, Victor Hedman leading the back end, and Vasilevskiy in goal is a recipe for a Stanley Cup, and this group is battle-tested. Pick — Lightning def. Golden Knights 4-3 (Lightning future odds: +900)