The biggest shocks of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs
In Game 2 between the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, a fan in Edmonton threw a chicken on the ice. Yes, a fully cooked rotisserie chicken — presumably to troll the Ducks. Not a plush duck (or anything else duck-related), but a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I have a lot of questions: How…
In Game 2 between the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, a fan in Edmonton threw a chicken on the ice.
Yes, a fully cooked rotisserie chicken — presumably to troll the Ducks. Not a plush duck (or anything else duck-related), but a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
I have a lot of questions: How did they smuggle it in? In their backpack? Taped to their leg like the Nashville catfish? Why a cooked rotisserie chicken?
It was certainly one of the more bizarre things tossed onto the ice at a hockey game, but definitely not the most shocking thing that has happened in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Here are five of the biggest surprises of the postseason to this point:
Superstars haven’t been shining — but young stars are leveling up
A week into the playoffs, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon each had one assist through three games. Crosby finally scored a goal in Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers — with his team in a 3-0 hole at the time. MacKinnon finally got on the board with a pair of goals in the Avs’ Game 4 win to sweep the Kings.
Brady Tkachuk went scoreless as the Ottawa Senators were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes. Tim Stutzle had one assist.
Nikita Kucherov just scored his first playoff goal in 18 postseason games.
Connor McDavid finally got on the board, with two points in Game 3 of the Oilers-Ducks series, and a pair of assists in Game 4.
But while the NHL’s biggest stars haven’t been scoring the way they did in the regular season, emerging names such as Logan Stankoven and Jackson LaCombe certainly have. Stankoven is on a goal-per-game pace this postseason, and LaCombe leads playoff scorers with eight points through four games.
American fans know the names Matt Boldy and Brock Faber from the Olympics, and they have three goals and two assists apiece through four games against the Stars.
Juraj Slafkovsky had a hat trick in leading the Canadiens to a Game 1 win. Philly’s Porter Martone has a pair of winning goals already, and does not look out of place despite just joining the team this month.
It’s not necessarily an indictment on the superstar players who aren’t factoring in on the score sheet early on — sometimes depth players emerge as standouts in the postseason. But it is jarring to see the perennial Art Ross contenders not dominate the postseason.
Meanwhile, some star goalies are also struggling
Frederik Andersen, Scott Wedgewood and are Alex Lyon are all north of a .940 save percentage. Linus Ullmark is far from the reason the Senators were swept — he finished with a .932 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average in four games.
Arturs Silovs was key in Game 4 for Pittsburgh, saving 27 of 29 shots in an inspired performance. It was his first start of the playoffs in place of Stuart Skinner, and extended the postseason by at least one more game for the Penguins.
Meanwhile, Andrei Vasilevskiy has given up 11 goals on 93 shots and Jake Oettinger is at a .902 save percentage.
In other words, the goalie stats list doesn’t look like one a hockey fan might have predicted in terms of top-performing netminders. But just like the depth forwards, unlikely names emerge as playoff standouts who lead their teams to important victories; it was only three years ago that Adin Hill backstopped the Golden Knights to a Cup with zero previous starts in the postseason.
Home ice hasn’t really been an advantage
Through 21 games in this year’s playoffs, 11 were won by the visitors (52%).
Since 2014, only three other first rounds have seen the visiting team win more games than the home team: 2016, 2017 and 2023.
The Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche each won their first two games at home, while every other series saw the home team win one or none. (And those two teams won their second two games on the road to complete sweeps.)
Friday — the sixth day of the playoffs — has been the only day of the postseason when every home team won, and it was right back to the “road warriors” on Saturday as both the Canes and Pittsburgh Penguins won in their opponents’ buildings.
Sunday produced one of the most lopsided examples of a visiting team victory: the Sabres’ 6-1 demolition over the Bruins in Boston, taking a 3-1 series lead in the process.
The Sabres went up 4-0 in the first period after not scoring a single first-period goal in the series — the third time in NHL history that has happened. Every Sabres skater, all 12 forwards and six defensemen, were at least plus-1 in the game; since 1959, when plus/minus was first tracked, that had happened in only three other postseason games (the Oilers had two of them in the 1980s). Utter dominance.
The only thing that would have made this better for the Sabres is if the Bruins didn’t score on a power-play goal with a minute left to spoil Lyon’s shutout; he made 23 saves in the victory.
The Battle of Pennsylvania had been anything but competitive … until a pivot in Game 4
In September, not many people believed the Flyers and Penguins would reach the playoffs, let alone be facing each other. And before Game 1, the brighter spotlight was shined on the success of the Penguins, and how this might be one more kick at the can for the timeless trio of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Then the puck dropped, and the Flyers took over.
They have effectively brotherly shoved Pittsburgh nearly out of the equation entirely, quickly winning the first three games before Pittsburgh won in Game 4 in Philly.
The Penguins were third in goals per game in the regular season (3.54) and the Flyers were 21st (2.93). The Flyers are fourth in goals per game in the playoffs (3.25) and the Penguins are third from the bottom (2.00).
It’s not for a lack of trying. In the series, the Penguins have had more scoring chances (including high-danger scoring chances), more puck possession and more shot attempts — but Dan Vladar has been incredible, giving up only seven goals on 94 shots.
The Penguins finally won in their fourth attempt. Silovs took command of the crease, while Crosby came alive with a goal and assist.
Is Game 4 the lone win of a gentleman’s sweep, or will the Battle of Pennsylvania stay competitive?
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Sidney Crosby keeps Penguins alive in Game 4 win vs. Flyers
Arda Ocal recaps the Penguins’ victory over the Flyers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Power plays have been relatively powerless
Through 21 games this postseason, power-play efficiency was at 18.5%, the lowest rate in the first round since 2015. Teams are effectively killing the 7.7 power-play opportunities seen per game this year, which is in the top five of power plays per game in the first round in the past 15 years.
The Senators scored only one power-play goal in 21 opportunities. The Sabres haven’t scored once with the man advantage dating to April 1. And the Avalanche were among the shockingly scoreless power plays until they finally scored one in Game 4. Nine of 16 teams are below 20% at this point. For comparison’s sake, only five finished below 20% last season.
Not all teams have been afflicted, of course; the Ducks lead the way with a 50% power-play efficiency, followed by the Stars at 42.1% then the Oilers at 30.0%.
Honorable mention: The jersey exchange line in Utah
The Utah Mammoth are full of marketing home runs this season — led by Ryan Smith, who is hitting all the right notes as a team owner. Inviting fans into suites, introducing the Zammoth and pulling off terrific stunts such as fans being able to line up and trade in their Golden Knights jersey for a Mammoth jersey for free.
What’s shocking is how long the line was — although given how popular this team has become, maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising. It’s another win on a long list of them for the Mammoth this season.
