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2021 NHL playoff bracket preview: Second-round matchups, series picks

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The first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs was a wonderful appetizer to the remaining courses, the first of which begins on Saturday with the Boston Bruins hosting the New York Islanders at 8 p.m. ET.

As a reminder, this season's first and second rounds are intradivisional. Once the postseason division champs are crowned, the final four teams will be rebracketed based on their regular-season records, with No. 1 taking on No. 4 and No. 2 facing No. 3. The winners of those series will square off in the Stanley Cup Final.

How will the matchups play out? Let's take an in-depth look at each second-round matchup and make our picks for which teams will advance.

Note: Emily Kaplan previewed the East and Central, while Greg Wyshynski handled the West and North. Advanced stats are from Hockey Reference, Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.

More: Check out the full NHL postseason schedule here.

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BOS-NYI | CAR-TB
COL-VGS | WPG-MTL