After a wild, heart-thumping first round, the Stanley Cup playoffs continue with the second round as the four divisions get set to crown their champions.
Eight teams will remain to battle it out for the 2021 Stanley Cup. There are perennial contenders such as the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights. The New York Islanders are giving the Nassau Coliseum quite a sendoff in the Old Barn's last season. It has been 20 years since the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche won a Cup; is this their year?
SECOND ROUND: Predictions, picks, odds & series breakdowns for every series
Don't rule out the Carolina Hurricanes and coach Rod Brind'Amour, a Jack Adams contender. The club last won the Cup 15 years ago and is running on all cylinders. Up north, the Winnipeg Jets have to wait a bit to see who they'll face. Connor Hellebuyck has been a force between the pipes, and he'll go up against one of the best backstops at the other end in Montreal's Carey Price.
Below is everything you'll need to know about watching the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs second round, including matchups and series-by-series TV schedules.
NHL playoff bracket 2021
NHL playoffs 2021: TV channels, live stream
- TV (U.S.): NBC, NBCSN, USA, CNBC, NHLN
- TV (Canada): Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, CBC, FX, FXX and OMNI
- Stream (U.S.): NBC Sports.com | fuboTV (free trial)
- Stream (Canada): SN Now , SN NOW+ , NHL Live
- Playoff results: SN Scoreboard
The 2021 postseason marks the final year NBC's family of networks will broadcast the NHL's journey to the Stanley Cup. Second-round games will be shown across NBC channels in the United States, while in Canada games will be shown on Sportsnet's channels, CBC and TVA Sports.
MORE: Watch every NHL playoff game on fuboTV (7-day free trial)
How will the NHL playoffs work in 2021?
Here's a quick overview of how the 2021 postseason will work, with every series being a best of seven:
- Four teams from each division advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs. First-round matchups are No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in each division.
- The first-round winners in each division will face off to determine the division champion.
- Once the four division winners are crowned, they'll meet in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Seeding for this round will be based on regular-season point totals.
- The semifinal winners will meet in the Stanley Cup Final.
NHL playoffs schedule, results by series
(All times Eastern)
Second round
East Division: (3) Boston Bruins vs. (4) New York Islanders
| Date | Matchup | Time (TV channel)/Results |
| Sat., May 29 | at Boston | BOS, 5-2 (BOS leads 1-0) |
| Mon., May 31 | at Boston | NYI, 4-3 (OT) (Series tied 1-1) |
| Thu., June 3 | at New York | BOS, 2-1 (OT) (BOS leads 2-1) |
| Sat., June 5 | at New York | NYI, 4-1 (Series tied 2-2) |
| Mon., June 7 | at Boston | NYI, 5-4 (NYI leads 3-2) |
| Wed., June 9 | at New York | NYI, 6-2 (NYI wins series 4-2) |
MORE: The Islanders, the Old Barn and taking one more step closer to normal
North Division: (3) Winnipeg Jets vs. (4) Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Matchup | Time (TV channel)/Results |
| Wed., June 2 | at Winnipeg | MTL, 5-3 (MTL leads 1-0) |
| Fri., June 4 | at Winnipeg | MTL, 1-0 (MTL leads 2-0) |
| Sun., June 6 | at Montreal | MTL, 5-1 (MTL leads 3-0) |
| Mon., June 7 | at Montreal | MTL, 3-2 (OT) (MTL wins series 4-0) |
Central Division: (1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3) Tampa Bay Lightning
| Date | Matchup | Time (TV channel)/Result |
| Sun., May 30 | at Carolina | TBL, 2-1 (TBL leads 1-0) |
| Tue., June 1 | at Carolina | TBL, 2-1 (TBL leads 2-0) |
| Thu., June 3 | at Tampa Bay | CAR, 3-2 (OT) (TBL leads 2-1) |
| Sat., June 5 | at Tampa Bay | TBL, 6-4 (TBL leads 3-1) |
| Tue., June 8 | at Carolina | TBL, 2-0 (TBL wins series 4-1) |
West Division: (1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (2) Vegas Golden Knights
| Date | Matchup | Time (TV channel)/Results |
| Sun., May 30 | at Colorado | COL, 7-1 (COL leads 1-0) |
| Wed., June 2 | at Colorado | COL, 3-2 (OT) (COL leads 2-0) |
| Fri., June 4 | at Vegas | VGK, 3-2 (COL leads 2-1) |
| Sun., June 6 | at Vegas | VGK, 5-1 (Series tied 2-2) |
| Tue., June 8 | at Colorado | VGK, 3-2 (VGK leads 3-2) |
| Thu., June 10 | at Vegas | VGK, 6-3 (VGK wins series 4-2) |
* If necessary.