Panic meter: Which Stanley Cup playoff teams should be worried most?

Five days into the Stanley Cup playoffs, the cracks are already showing — and for some teams, the alarm bells are blaring. 

Here’s our reverse-order ranking of the NHL postseason teams closest to full-blown panic.

5. Ottawa Senators, down 2-0 to Carolina Hurricanes

It's hard to fault Ottawa for the way it has played. The Senators didn't create enough in Game 1, but they took over parts of Game 2 and forced overtime. But they couldn't finish the job.

The issue comes back to a core that has never won a playoff series together and how long the fan base and even some of the players (like star American winger Brady Tkachuk) will tolerate this.

Bad note for Ottawa: Carolina is 8-1 in the playoffs under coach Rod Brind'Amour when it wins the first two games.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning, tied 1-1 with Montreal Canadiens 

Being tied with a team that finished with the same number of points (106) — and is a popular dark-horse Stanley Cup pick — is less concerning than how the Lightning have played as the series shifts to Montreal. 

Tampa Bay ranks last this postseason in high-danger chances created at five-on-five per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. It has also handed Montreal a nightmarish nine power plays, four of which the Canadiens have converted — the second-best mark this postseason.

3. Buffalo Sabres, tied 1-1 with Boston Bruins

The Sabres' brilliant comeback in Game 1 was a disaster for Boston. But that disaster was short-lived as the Bruins mitigated it by holding off another third-period rally in Game 2 on the road. 

Boston's Jeremy Swayman has been excellent so far, with a .931 save percentage and a ranking of sixth of 17 netminders in MoneyPuck's goals saved above expected metric. 

No team has spent more time trailing (79 minutes, 58 seconds) this postseason than Buffalo, which pulled goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after a nightmarish Game 2 start.