The Caps and 'Canes let things boil over late in the season matchup on April 2 in which there were eight 10-minute misconducts handed out, four fighting majors and a whole lot of bad blood that was created and, yes, Tom Wilson was involved in it. But so were a lot of guys on both teams.

The Athletic polled its staff on who would win each second-round series, plus the conference champions, Stanley Cup winner and Conn Smythe.

After the Islanders, the San Jose Sharks landed the second pick while the Chicago Blackhawks will pick third. The Sharks own a top-five pick for the third straight season after selecting Macklin Celebrini with the top pick in 2024 and Will Smith with the No. 4 pick in 2023.

O'Brien would be a steal at this point in the draft, as Buffalo could try to replace center Dylan Cozens for the long haul with the sharpshooting O'Brien. He's coming off a 32-goal, 66-assist season in the OHL.

The Flyers dropped the maximum two spots as their worst-case scenario played out in Monday’s lottery. The hockey gods can be cruel. Despite finishing with the fourth-worst record, the Flyers dropped to the sixth slot in the 2025 NHL draft after Monday’s lottery played out in nightmare fashion for the Orange and Black.