The 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Saturday, and every team in the 16-team field has some sort of weakness. Let’s take a look at the biggest one for each team.
It might be weird to say the highest-scoring team in the NHL, with some of the league’s best players, has a power play weakness, but that is kind of the case with the Avalanche. Their 17.1% success rate is only 27th in the NHL, with only two playoff teams (Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers) worse than them.
This always seems to be the concern with the Hurricanes, and it always seems to catch up to them later in the playoffs. Their top scorer is Sebastian Aho. He is 25th in the NHL. After him, Nikolaj Ehlers is 50th. It is a rock-solid, well-rounded team from top-to-bottom with no real weaknesses. But do they have enough game-changers?
The Stars have elite, All-Star talent all over their lineup, but the one flaw that has existed the past couple of years is on the right side of their defense. It is not enough to prevent them from winning, but something that could be a concern.
The Sabres are back in the playoffs after an NHL record 14-year drought, and it is one of the most unexpected success stories in the league. Sabres fans don’t (and shouldn’t) care about how it happened. But there are some potential red flags here that suggest this is not a sustainable long-term recipe. Goaltending has outperformed expectations, and they do not really carry the pace of play as other contenders do. It is a Cinderella team. Will the clock strike midnight?
The Lightning do not have many flaws and should be a serious contender in the East. That is mostly due to their top players, specifically Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point. But their secondary scoring beyond their top five or six forwards leaves a little to be desired.
The Canadiens top line and top defensemen are all excellent. But there is a big drop in talent and production when you get beyond them. It takes four lines to win in the playoffs.
The Wild have two superstars in winger Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Quinn Hughes, and they are game-changers. But their top-two centers are Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman. Neither player is a star, and there are not many other teams in the playoffs where they would be top-two centers. That is a problem.
Starting goalie Jeremy Swayman has been one of the best goalies in the NHL this season, but despite his brilliance, the Bruins are only 14th in the NHL in goals against per game (3.01). How is that possible? This team is lousy defensively, and the goalie bails them out repeatedly. They will go as far as Swayman takes them.
Linus Ullmark has had one of the worst seasons of his career in net for the Senators, and it pushed an otherwise strong team to the playoff bubble. They do not need Ullmark to steal games to give them a chance; they just need him not to lose games.
This is the highest-scoring Penguins team of the Sidney Crosby era, and they have two really outstanding defensive pairs, including a top defensive pair led by team MVP Erik Karlsson. Those two elements can take them a long way. But the goaltending has been a consistent issue, and unless Stuart Skinner finds his game, their return to the postseason could be brief, ruining an otherwise strong season.
Philadelphia Flyers: Offense
The Flyers have an outstanding defensive structure, but they simply do not score a lot of goals. They are 21st in goals per game, do not have a ton of proven star-power and have the league’s worst power play.
John Tortorella has them playing strong hockey going into the playoffs, and they have a championship-winning core. But nobody has stepped up in goal and provided any consistency. It could cost them.
When neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl is on the ice during 5-on-5 play, the Oilers have been outscored by a 55-86 margin this season. That is an awful number. Those two are superstars, but they can not do it alone.
Between Dylan Guenther, Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley, the Mammoth have some outstanding high-end young talent. But they are lacking another second-line scorer and some depth that could help make them a serious contender.
The Ducks have the offense to be a dangerous team and can outscore anybody. They have a defense that could result in them getting outscored by anybody.
Los Angeles Kings: Offense
The Kings are probably the worst team in the playoffs, having won just 22 games in regulation all season. That was one of the worst makes in the league. Not just among playoff teams, but all teams. A lack of impact talent and offense was a big part of it.