Top Injuries Defining the Second Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs
Written By Gina Anton
The second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs has become less about clean hockey and more about survival. Every contender still standing is dealing with injuries, but several key players have now become central figures in the playoff conversation as teams battle through exhaustion, physical pain, and mounting pressure.
Noah Cates — Philadelphia Flyers
Cates is set to miss the remainder of the Eastern Conference Second Round for the Philadelphia Flyers because of a lower-body injury he sustained in an OT loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
"He's a big part of our team," Flyers captain Sean Couturiersaid Wednesday. "I think you can rely on him to really not make any mistakes. He's just going to play the right way, be on the right side of the puck. ... He's just a really reliable player for us."
Cates has quietly become one of the team’s most dependable playoff performers. While he may not generate the same headlines as the league’s elite scorers, his importance to the Flyers’ structure cannot be overstated. He regularly handles difficult defensive assignments, plays key penalty-killing minutes, and provides valuable secondary scoring in tight playoff games.
Mark Stone — Vegas Golden Knights
No player’s injury has drawn more attention than Mark Stone’s for the Vegas Golden Knights. Stone missed Game 4 against Anaheim with a lower-body injury after visibly struggling earlier in the series.
Stone drives the team’s defensive identity, controls puck possession along the boards, and consistently matches up against opposing top lines. Few forwards in hockey combine offensive production with elite defensive instincts the way Stone does.
Without him, Vegas loses its best takeaway artist and one of its most experienced playoff leaders. The Golden Knights can still score, but their structure weakens significantly when Stone is unavailable. The concern now is whether the injury is something he can manage game-to-game or an issue serious enough to linger for the remainder of the postseason.
Cale Makar — Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar continues to carry enormous responsibility on the Colorado Avalanche blue line while dealing with the physical toll of heavy playoff minutes and an upper-body injury suffered after a check in Game 1 of Round 2. However, head coach Jared Bednar has confirmed that he will be in the lineup for Game 2 after previously missing practice.
Makar has been targeted aggressively by opposing forechecks throughout Round 1. As Colorado’s top puck-moving defenseman, he touches the puck constantly, which naturally places him in dangerous situations shift after shift.
Even minor injuries become magnified for elite skating defensemen. Any limitation to Makar’s mobility affects Colorado’s breakout speed and transition offense. So far, he has managed to play through the pressure and injury, but the physical grind will only intensify as the playoffs continue.
