The Calgary Flames traded the 29-year-old defender to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday evening in exchange for defender Zach Whitecloud, the rights to unsigned defensive prospect Abram Wiebe, a 2027 1st round pick (top-10 protected) and a conditional 2028 2nd round pick that can become a 2028 1st round pick if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season.
Calgary already owns Vegas’ 2026 1st round pick from a prior trade.
The Flames retained 50% of Andersson’s salary in this transaction, so Andersson will carry a $2.275 million cap hit against Vegas’ total salary cap as the trade deadline looms March 6th.
TSN”s Darren Dreger broke the news of the trade before Sportsnet‘s Elliotte Friedman filled in the details of the return.
There is no extension for Andersson as part of the trade.
Dating back to last season, Vegas had always been an attractive destination for Andersson with his current contract set to expire this summer.
Now, the Golden Knights can do what they’ve already done before when they acquired Noah Hanifin from the Flames in March 2024– they can sign Andersson to an extension anytime between now and July 1st like how they did with Hanifin about a month after acquiring him.
Despite not ending up with the player, the Boston Bruins played a large part in the facilitation of Andersson’s trade to the Golden Knights.
A source close to the Flames indicated that the Bruins had received permission to discuss an extension while working on the potential trade and had an agreement in place with Andersson on an extension late Saturday night. Boston’s general manager, Don Sweeney, would not budge, however, from his offer of Mason Lohrei, Matthew Poitras and a 1st round pick as part of the return to Calgary.
This source also previously indicated a roster player from Vegas and a 2nd round pick as part of the initial offer that Kelly McCrimmon had made to the Flames at one point prior to the widespread report of Boston’s offer making the rounds on the Internet.
It is reasonable to believe that Calgary’s general manager, Craig Conroy, used both offers he had received to sweeten the deal in the return for Andersson.
McCrimmon ended up offering an additional pick and the rights to an unsigned prospect regardless of an extension, thereby meeting Calgary’s demands that Boston was unwilling to match with or without assuring themselves of locking up Andersson long-term as a Bruin.
Sweeney’s front office had some qualms with Conroy’s asking price to begin with and Boston wasn’t going to execute a trade without Andersson extended.
98.5 The Sports Hub‘s Ty Anderson, a Bruins beat reporter, noted that Boston had some internal debate regarding whether or not the Bruins should part with one of their next four first round picks in the potential trade for Andersson (the now former Calgary defender turned Golden Knight, not Ty).
Boston remains intent on adding where they are able to do so approaching this year’s deadline. The Bruins are also aware that they are more likely than not closer to where Calgary is at in terms of the playoff picture– looking on from the outside in.
Bruins management does not want to risk their future with a solid core of David Pastrňák, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman leading rising stars like Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov as well as collegiate prospects, James Hagens, Will Zellers and Dean Letourneau fast approaching the NHL level.
In the end, Vegas gets the defender they want for a potential Cup run and the Flames get Whitecloud, Wiebe and potentially two more of the Golden Knights’ first round picks to add to their stockpile.
Having now acquired Andersson, Vegas is believed to begin negotiations on an extension as soon as possible. The Golden Knights had not received permission to speak with Andersson prior to the trade, unlike Boston.
What Andersson brings to Vegas
Rasmus Andersson is a 29-year-old native of Malmö, Sweden and has 10-19–29 totals in 47 games with the Flames this season.
The 6’1″, 202-pound, right-shot defender was originally drafted by Calgary in the 2nd round (53rd overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft and later made his NHL debut with the Flames in the 2016-17 season, recording 18:33 time on ice in San Jose on April 8, 2017.
He matched his career-high in goals last season (11) in 81 games compared to the 79 games that it took in 2022-23. Andersson had a career-high 46 assists in 82 games with the Flames in 2021-22, and went on to produce a career-high 50 points and plus-30 rating that season as well.
After a dismal minus-38 rating in 81 games last season in Calgary, Andersson has rebounded to a plus-1 rating in 47 games prior to being traded to Vegas.
Andersson has 57 goals and 203 assists (260 points) in 583 career NHL games with the Flames and 7-7–14 totals in 27 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He is averaging 24:12 time on ice this season and is likely to reunite with former Flames teammate, Noah Hanifin, on Vegas’ second defensive pairing and have a little more of a reserved role with the Golden Knights.
What Whitecloud brings to Calgary
Zach Whitecloud is a 29-year-old native of Brandon, Manitoba and has 2-5–7 totals in 47 games with the Golden Knights this season.
The 6’2″, 210-pound, right-shot defensive defender was undrafted and originally signed as a free agent with Vegas on March 8, 2018.
Whitecloud made his NHL debut about a month later against the Edmonton Oilers on April 5, 2018, and was a plus-three in 16:42 time on ice.
He has averaged 17:44 per game in 368 career NHL games (all with Vegas) and was a member of the 2023 Stanley Cup-winning Golden Knights team. Whitecloud has 23 goals and 55 assists (78 points) in his regular season career, while adding 5-12–17 totals in 78 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He carries a $2.750 million cap hit through 2027-28.
What’s up with Abram Wiebe?
An unsigned prospect in his third season with North Dakota, Abram Wiebe is a 22-year-old, 6’3″, 209-pound left-shot defender. The Mission, British Columbia native has 3-11–14 totals in 24 games with the Fighting Hawks this season and was originally drafted by the Golden Knights in the 7th round (209th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft.
He is currently listed as an alternate captain for his NCAA intercollegiate club and had previously served as the captain of the Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL) in 2022-23.
He had 1-9–10 totals in 40 games as a freshman with North Dakota in 2023-24, and 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) in 38 games in his sophomore season.
As you may already be aware, the Calgary Flames are trading Rasmus Andersson. The Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights remain the favorites in a four-team bidding war, while the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs remain linked.
Last night, Elliotte Friedman reported on Sportsnet that the Bruins have been allowed to engage in conversation on an extension with Andersson as part of the frameworks of a potential transaction between Boston and Calgary.
Meanwhile, one of the major components expected in return for Andersson, Mason Lohrei, scored a pair of goals in Boston’s, 5-2, comeback win Saturday night in Chicago. It’s the first of a two-game road trip for the Bruins with a stop in Dallas coming up Tuesday night before returning home to host Vegas on Thursday.
It’s also a siblings’ road trip (similar to moms’ and dad’s trips around the league) for Boston while Saturday also happened to be Lohrei’s birthday too.
The business of professional sports sacrifices birthdays, holidays and more, but that’s understood as “just part of the industry.” What’s not usually part of the business is for a team to ruin the mood for everyone involved during a special outing like Boston’s siblings’ trip.
That might influence the timeline of the expected outcome if the Bruins are favored by the Flames, Andersson and his agent, as well as Lohrei and his respective parties (agent and sibling).
Neither Andersson, nor Lohrei were withheld from their respective lineups as Andersson registered an assist in Calgary’s, 4-2, win on home ice Saturday afternoon against the New York Islanders.
Had both players been kept out of the action– preserved in fear of an untimely injury that would otherwise negate a trade– that would’ve been a dead giveaway regarding the likely winner of the Andersson sweepstakes.
Of course, Vegas could’ve held someone out of Saturday night’s, 7-2, win against the Nashville Predators, but it wouldn’t have been likely that all three teams would’ve sat one or more players in their respective organizations that are potentially on the move as an insurance policy.
If Andersson won’t agree to an extension as part of the proposed trade with Boston and Calgary won’t make a deal with Vegas, then the Flames will have to pivot to a potential move with Dallas or Toronto.
Craig Conroy and his front office executives in the Flames organization hold a lot of leverage over the outcome of this transaction, even if Andersson believes he is more inclined on going to Vegas should an extension not get done with the Bruins.
Andersson has a modified no-trade clause that includes a six-team no-trade list per PuckPedia as part of his current contract that expires after this season.
Unless Andersson has a personal beef with a city like Dallas or Toronto, it’s hard to conceive that– should the Flames not get something done with Boston or Vegas– the 29-year-old defender wouldn’t end up in either of those organizations.
Calgary is back in action Monday night as the Flames host the New Jersey Devils.
Meanwhile, Lohrei’s impressive effort in Boston’s five unanswered goal-comeback victory over the Blackhawks could have been enough to make Bruins general manager, Don Sweeney, reconsider his offer to the Flames.
It could have also helped Sweeney market Lohrei to other potential suitors in the event Andersson does not agree to an extension and this potential trade falls through and Boston remains set on moving their 25-year-old defender.
Rasmus Andersson will be traded. When and where remains to be resolved.
The 29-year-old Calgary Flames defender is more likely than not to be dealt in the next 24-48 hours per a source and if his postgame wave to the crowd at Scotiabank Saddledome, high-fives and hugs from Jonathan Huberdeau, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and others are any indication, he has likely played his final game as a Flame in Saturday’s, 4-2, victory over the New York Islanders.
Andersson had one assist and was a plus-two rating in 25:40 time on ice, while recording two shots and two blocked shots in the win.
In 48 games with Calgary this season, he has 10 goals and 20 assists (30 points) and a plus-three rating– one point shy from his 11-20–31 totals and up from a minus-38 rating in 82 games last season with the Flames.
Four teams are in the running for acquiring Andersson’s services including the Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and one more team from the Eastern Conference.
None of my sources have been able to pinpoint whether the remaining team in the bidding process is the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs or another unnamed team in the conference.
The Red Wings are believed to be buyers approaching this season’s trade deadline on March 6th, while the Leafs hold the familiarity factor if you subscribe to the theory that National Hockey League general managers only ever try to (re-)acquire players they’re had in their possession before.
Brad Treliving was previously Calgary’s general manager from 2014-23, before Don Maloney held the interim title for about a month prior to Craig Conroy‘s hiring on May 23, 2023. Treliving was later hired by Toronto on May 31, 2023.
Andersson was originally drafted by the Flames with the 53rd overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and later made his league debut during the 2016-17 season prior to becoming a full-time NHL defender in 2018-19.
He has 261 points (57 goals, 204 assists) in 584 games (all with the Flames).
What are the Boston Bruins thinking?
Sources close to the Flames and Bruins have overlapped on the big components of a potential deal that would see Andersson swapping out his red and yellow sweater for the black and gold.
Boston is offering Mason Lohrei, Matthew Poitras and a 1st round pick in exchange for Andersson with at least one condition attached to the 1st round pick.
One of the big sticking points, however, for any deal involving the Bruins is that Boston’s general manager, Don Sweeney, needs to have Andersson signed to an extension as part of the trade.
Andersson would likely yield a cap hit around the $8.000-8.500 million range on his next contract, but neither sources have indicated what the length of the extension would be.
One caveat of any long-term extension for Andersson is the fact that he will turn 30 on Oct. 27th, which means there’s a good chance that if Boston acquires Andersson, they’ll add a certified right shot defender that will slide in on their second pairing and be committed to his spot on the roster through his late prime and early twilight of his playing career.
It’s fair to ask if including a 1st round pick in the transaction is a steep price to pay. Certainly, if Andersson won’t commit to an extension with the Bruins, then Boston would be unwise to leave their best offer as the final offer on the table.
For an organization that finally adopted the best draft policy in 2025 (take the best available player at each selection), it’d be wise for the B’s to stay the course and continue to stock their prospect cupboard, while selling pieces as the 2026 trade deadline approaches– playoff race be damned.
That’d mean that a 1st round pick should be a non-starter, regardless of the fact that Boston potentially has four 1st round picks in the next two seasons. The Bruins previously acquired a top-five protected 2026 1st round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs in last year’s Brandon Carlo trade and a conditional pick that converted into a 2027 1st round pick from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Brad Marchand.
If that’s too many words for you, remember this– Boston has their own 2026 and 2027 1st round picks, plus they have Toronto’s 2026 1st round pick (unless the Leafs win the lottery and end up selecting anywhere from 1st through 5th overall) and Florida’s 2027 1st round pick (unless one of the Panthers’ previous transactions renders them unable to keep their 2027 1st round pick, in which case the Bruins will own Florida’s 2028 1st round pick).
The Bruins don’t have to use all four of those picks, but they’d be smart to yield the maximum return on their potential value.
Trading for an aging veteran defender, while giving up 25-year-old, Mason Lohrei, and 21-year-old, Matthew Poitras, in the process means there’s too much value exiting Boston’s organization– even if the majority of it is in their system currently and residing in future value.
The Bruins already have their work cut out for them in turning over aging prospects in Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov and have yet to see what current college hockey stars, James Hagens, Will Zellers, Dean Letourneau and Will Moore will bring to their organizational depth among the NHL and AHL rosters.
On the other hand, trading for Andersson addresses a need that the Bruins have now, solidifies their lineup for the near future and presents Boston with the opportunity to continue to attract talent as a desired destination– so long as head coach, Marco Sturm, gets the most out of his players and makes the playoffs from year-to-year.
Moving on from Lohrei
Mason Lohrei is under contract through the 2026-27 season at an affordable $3.200 million cap hit, but it’s not known whether he wants to stay in Boston long-term, nor if the Bruins desire to keep him around that long either.
He had been scratched earlier this season while struggling to adapt to Sturm’s player-on-player coverage and was a league-worst minus-43 in 77 games last season, despite recording career-best totals with five goals, 28 assists and 33 points in that span.
Lohrei averaged 16:57 in 41 games in 2023-24, but was thrust into top-pairing minutes for long stretches last season– averaging 19:32 per game– due to Boston’s battered blue line while Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm missed time.
Despite only being 25-years-old, Lohrei should be entering his prime right now and taking command of a top-four spot on Boston’s defense, yet he’s struggled with elements of his defensive game– losing battles and turning the puck over at inopportune moments, rendering him to third pairing minutes from night-to-night.
If the Bruins are unsure of what they have in Lohrei, unsure of their mutual long-term plans and compatibility or want to take advantage of the fact that 31 other NHL teams would gladly take a player like Lohrei for his offensive upside, they should capitalize on his trade value.
As it is, Lohrei is on pace for another 33-point season and matched his career-high in goals (five) with the tying goal in the second period of Saturday night’s game in Chicago– his 44th game of the season compared to his five goals in 77 games last season.
Moving on from Poitras
Matthew Poitras had an impressive stint in his first five career NHL games during Boston’s Centennial season in 2023-24, but wasn’t able to sustain the momentum before tallying just 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 33 games prior to an injury that shut him down for the rest of the season.
The following year, the 5’11” or 6’0″ (depending on who you ask), 189-pound right shot center had just one goal and 10 assists (11 points) in yet another 33-game span in 2024-25, amidst injury, reassignment and concerns due to his small stature in spite of his offseason bulk.
Poitras made Boston’s NHL roster out of training camp for the second consecutive season, but missed the first game of the year due to a lingering injury.
After playing in 14 out of the first 16 games last season, Poitras was reassigned to the Providence Bruins on Nov. 11, 2024, and later made his AHL debut before amassing 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 23 games with Providence prior to being recalled by Boston.
Upon reinsertion in Boston’s lineup, Poitras recorded an assist in a, 6-2, win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 14, 2025, and remained a pretty consistent component of the Bruins’ lineup through March 6th.
He had one goal and three assists with Boston in 14 games prior to being sent down and just seven assists after his call-up in 19 games thereafter.
The acquisitions of Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov rendered a reevaluation of Boston’s depth charts. The ensuing emergence of the short statured Khusnutdinov combined with his speed and chemistry with a skilled player like David Pastrňák left No. 92 with a more favorable image compared to Poitras’ game.
Khusnutdinov could hold onto the puck, while Poitras could lose an important battle here or there, leaving his teammates helpless in poorly timed situations.
Minten eventually got his call-up in April and made his Bruins debut on April 5th– recording one goal in a six-game stint with Boston before the offseason began. He did not look out of place and was more NHL ready at 6’2″, 204-pounds than Poitras in both his playing experience prior with the Maple Leafs and in his frame.
Whereas Poitras has drawn comparisons to Jonathan Toews in the past for his playmaking abilities– if he can stay at the NHL level for long enough, Minten’s ceiling appears to be rising as the 2025-26 season goes on.
Despite Poitras’ ups and downs in 2024-25, he at least managed a consistent 41-point effort in 40 games with the Providence Bruins, including 17 goals and 24 assists in that span.
This season, however, the offensive elements of Poitras’ game have been evaporating.
Unlike the previous two years, Poitras didn’t make the NHL squad out of training camp and the preseason. Since then, he has just 6-14–20 totals in 34 games with Providence.
It’s not as if the Bruins have given up on developing Poitras, as they’ve given him just about every chance to stick in the NHL prior to this season. They’ve also given him a reason to prove beyond a doubt that he could force a call-up if his assignment to Providence prior to the season would’ve sparked a fire in him to reclaim his status as Boston’s most important prospect.
But with Dans Ločmelis receiving Olympic attention from Latvia and James Hagens, Will Moore, Dean Letourneau, Oskar Jellvik, Andre Gasseau, as well as Kristian Kostadinski turning heads at Boston College while Will Zellers lights the lamp in North Dakota, there’s a sense that Poitras could slip further and further down the Bruins’ depth charts.
It’s not that Poitras can’t become a regular NHL player, but rather that there might not be the time and space for him to become whatever that might look like in a Bruins uniform, especially if he’s only going to get the occasional look in a replacement-level position.
It might be best for both sides to cut ties and give Poitras the added advantage of a fresh change of scenery to reinvent himself in Calgary’s system.
What are the Vegas Golden Knights thinking?
A source close to the Flames indicated that Vegas has presented Calgary with an offer for Rasmus Andersson that includes Brett Howden and a 2nd round pick.
It’s not unusual for the Golden Knights to pivot from protecting one of their highly touted talents within the organization only to flip that player for an immediate impact asset in hopes of securing their second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
2023 Stanley Cup clinching goal scorer, Reilly Smith is 34, and a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
The Golden Knights are getting older and will need to make some tough decisions regardless of the outcome of the 2025-26 regular season and 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While adding Andersson increases Vegas’ average age and would come at the cost of giving Calgary a player with significant term left on his contract– as Howden has five years remaining through the 2029-30 season– McCrimmon can patch a hole on the right side of his defense in light of Pietrangelo’s unavailability.
Regardless of an extension in place for Andersson at the time of the trade, the Golden Knights could convince Andersson that life in the desert is well worth sticking around for a longer term while presenting him with the best opportunity to win his first Cup ring sooner rather than later.
Vegas, unlike Boston, is a legitimate Cup contender this season.
They can well afford taking a risk on acquiring Andersson without an extension in place if it means they’ll use another wish on the metaphorical monkey’s paw for their second Cup banner and magic cure for the inevitable maneuvers they’ll have to make in the salary cap world.
While Boston has the better offer from Calgary’s perspective, there is Andersson’s point of view to consider. Right now, it seems as though Andersson has preference for landing in Vegas rather than in the Hub.
What’s pure speculation?
There may be an ounce of truth to the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames having discussed a swap last summer involving Andersson and prolific goal scorer (albeit not named to Team USA at the upcoming Winter Games in Milano Cortina), Jason Robertson.
What’s not known at this time is if the Stars have considered offering up Robertson in a trade for Andersson in-season.
If the Bruins and Golden Knights are the current leading favorites for a trade with the Flames, then Dallas is going to have to increase the value of whatever might be on the table.
Despite losing in three consecutive Western Conference Final appearances, as well as in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, Stars general manager, Jim Nill, might not want to rock the boat too much with a bold move that could jeopardize his team’s “win now” status.
Especially when you consider the fact that Nill holds all the leverage in Robertson’s future– wherever that might end up.
Robertson won’t turn 27 until July 22nd, which means he is a pending-restricted free agent on July 1st. If an extension can’t get done in Dallas, Nill can still flip Robertson’s signing rights for a decent haul.
In the meantime, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin aren’t getting any younger, even if Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger, Miro Heiskanen and Co. are poised for long-term core stabilization, but is a franchise altering trade worth stunting the offensive output that Robertson brings to the lineup currently?
Friday night was rambunctious night in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs as chaos was abound.
The Montréal Canadiens bested the Washington Capitals, 6-3, to force at least a Game 5 in their series with Capitals now leading 2-1 in their best-of-seven matchup.
The offensive outburst for the Habs wasn’t the only outburst that the Bell Centre crowd witnessed as both teams nearly squared off with their entire rosters heading into the second intermission. More on that in just a bit.
The Carolina Hurricanes paid a visit to Prudential Center as the New Jersey Devils hosted Game 3 of their series and if you thought this one would be over in regulation, well, you were wrong. Šimon Nemec was the hero in double overtime for the home team Devils as New Jersey won, 3-2.
Carolina maintains the series lead 2-1, but will host a Game 5 on Tuesday, April 29th regardless of the results of Game 4 on Sunday.
Finally, Friday night’s late game (for the East Coast, anyway) featured 11 goals between the two teams, rapid momentum shifts and one confusing as hell decision by Los Angeles Kings head coach, Jim Hiller.
In the end, the Edmonton Oilers emerged victorious, 7-4, on home ice at Rogers Place to take Game 3 and trail the Kings 2-1 in the series.
Did someone invite the Nordiques?
Won’t somebody please think of the children?
Sure thing Mrs. Lovejoy, right after we get back from watching comparisons between warmups and in-game scrums back when the Québec Nordiques and Montréal Canadiens went at it to present-day Arber Xhekaj shenanigans and Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson’s visit to the Capitals bench.
If you haven’t seen what went down in Game 3 in Montréal: This happened.
So, yeah, Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson ended up being fined $5,000 each– the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement– for unsportsmanlike conduct in Friday’s night game. Turns out you can’t fight on the bench.
In the meantime, Connor McMichael scored first on a tip-in 3:20 into the first period to give Washington a, 1-0, lead on the road. But late in the opening frame, Montréal tied it, 1-1, when Alexandre Carrier wired a wrist shot from the point in the last minute of the period.
Midway through the second period, both teams swapped goals as Nick Suzuki gave the Canadiens a, 2-1, lead off of an offensive zone faceoff thanks to a turnover from Capitals defender, John Carlson, that ended up right on Suzuki’s stick for backhand shot at 8:37.
Jakob Chychrun, however, caught a pass from Andrew Mangiapane in the offensive zone, corralled the puck and rocketed a slap shot past Sam Montembeault to tie things up, 2-2, about two minutes after Suzuki’s goal.
But once again, Washington allowed a goal against in the final minute of a period as Lane Hutson picked off a pass intended for Alex Ovechkin in the Capitals’ own zone and fed Cole Caufield a one-timer through the slot to put the Habs on top, 3-2, heading into the second intermission.
Then chaos erupted at the horn when– after replacing Montembeault due to a lower body injury– Jakub Dobeš exchanged words with some Capitals on their way across the ice to exit the playing surface.
Everyone partnered up to square dance while Wilson and Anderson tried to throw each other out of the saloon in the meantime.
When the dust settled, the officials handed out 28 minutes in penalties between the two teams.
Xhekaj and Lars Eller each had two minutes for roughing each other, while Wilson and Anderson picked up two minutes for roughing and ten-minute misconducts.
Ahead of the final frame, Montréal announced that Montembeault would not return to the night’s action.
Then Ovechkin scored on an early rush and a pass from Dylan Strome to Ovechkin on the far side after Anthony Beauvillier got the play started. The Caps tied the game, 3-3, at 2:39 of the third period, but the Canadiens started to pull away from Washington shortly thereafter.
Christian Dvorak made it, 4-3, on a shot that ricocheted off of Brandon Duhaime’s own stick past his teammate, Logan Thompson, and into the twine, then Juraj Slafkovský played a game catch with Caufield as they entered the zone.
Caufield dished the puck back to Slafkovský as the young Slovak forward crashed the slot and beat Thompson as the Washington netminder struggled to catch up on the play before being trucked by his own teammate in a collision with Strome.
Slafkovský’s goal made it, 5-3, Montréal at 13:23 of the third period, while Thompson was slow to get up, then stumbled as he tried to shake it off and was helped off the ice.
Both starting goaltenders were replaced by their backups due to injury and their statuses entering Game 4 are questionable.
Alex Newhook added the final goal of the night with 2:25 remaining in the action on Charlie Lindgren’s glove side to secure the, 6-3, win for the Habs.
Washington needs to tighten up their play if they want to take a commanding 3-1 series lead back home for Game 5. The Canadiens are skating stride-for-stride with the Capitals and haven’t really been out of a game yet this series by any means. It’s too close for comfort if you’re a longtime Caps fan.
Meanwhile, Montréal just wants to keep riding the momentum they’ve generated. They’re only down 2-1 in the series and they have another home game before having to go back to Washington.
The Bell Centre crowd lives and breathes the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They expect to be in the building through May every year, whether the Canadiens are rebuilding or not. It’s a religion and they won’t take “maybe next year” for an answer.
They also won’t take lightly to Wilson and his new meme that he generated as a result of his “crybaby” gestures.
The torch and LED flames may be a symbol held near and dear to the organization from John McCrae’s famous poem “In Flanders Fields”, but to opponents the flames that are shown across all LED signage before the Canadiens are introduced might as well represent Hell.
Habs fans are praying to the Hockey Gods and they hope their opponents are smote off the face of the Earth.
It’s different in Montréal this time of year.
Nemec gives Devils life in 2OT
Hey, speaking of Hell, the New Jersey Devils!
They’re right back in their series with the Carolina Hurricanes after Šimon Nemec scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal early in double overtime to lift New Jersey over the Canes, 3-2.
The Hurricanes now have a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Sunday in New Jersey and will host a Game 5 Tuesday, April 29th back at Lenovo Center.
Late in the first period Friday, however, Timo Meier dished a pass to Nico Hischier while the Devils’ captain crashed the net while being chased by Carolina defender, Sean Walker.
Hischier sold an intentionally mishandled puck and watched as it strolled past Frederik Andersen on the far side as the Hurricanes netminder dropped into a hybrid stance.
New Jersey held the, 1-0, lead entering the first intermission and neither team managed to score until the third period.
Jesper Bratt skated down the boards and cut from the corner to the front of the net mimicking a wraparound without even having to go through the trapezoid and out the other side around the goal frame.
Andersen fell forward to snag the puck, but Bratt bested the Carolina goaltender as the puck slid to the side of the net.
Andersen’s momentum carried the Hurricanes goalie out of the familiar blue paint of the crease while Dawson Mercer scooped and curled the loose puck– guiding the rubber biscuit over the goal line for a, 2-0, lead 1:18 into the final frame of regulation.
About five minutes later, though, Carolina started to swing momentum in their direction while on the power play. Shayne Gostisbehere worked the puck to Seth Jarvis through the neutral zone as Jarvis gave the puck to Sebastian Aho before receiving the give-and-go in return and wiring a shot past Jacob Markström.
Jarvis cut the lead in half with the power-play goal, while Aho later tied the game, 2-2, with a power-play goal of his own– snapping a shot from the bumper at 12:20 of the third period.
Nobody else could score thereafter and one overtime wasn’t enough, so a second overtime period was in order.
This time it didn’t take long for Nemec to retrieve a puck from the neutral zone and skate into the attacking zone before releasing a shot from the faceoff circle that deflected off of the Carolina goaltender and in to give Nemec his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal and the game-winner in the process.
The Devils won, 3-2, as Nemec became the youngest overtime goal scorer in franchise history– beating Adam Henrique’s 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal game-winner in the process. Nemec is only 21, whereas Henrique was 22 at the time.
Friday night was a huge moment for New Jersey’s 2nd overall pick in 2022, as the defender has had stints in the American Hockey League while coming into his own game between NHL appearances.
New Jersey can even the series Sunday afternoon and make things really interesting heading back to Carolina for Game 5 afterwards.
Then again, the Hurricanes can shake off their Game 3 loss– that’s been a trend in recent years for them in every playoff series it seems– and get right back to dominating possession and the scoreboard for a commanding 3-1 series lead with a Game 4 victory.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN VIDEO?”
It’s a question everyone in a remote production truck has heard at one point or another, but in this case it applies to the Los Angeles Kings’ coaching staff and their decision to challenge Evander Kane’s goal for goaltender interference after an already lengthy officials’ review.
In the meantime, now we’ve got a series.
The Edmonton Oilers beat the Kings, 7-4, after Jim Hiller’s questionable decision to challenge what everyone but someone in Los Angeles’ coaching staff saw, apparently.
Here’s a little secret for those of you that don’t already know how writing works in the world of game recaps and more: You start writing a lede where one team wins and another lede where the other team wins. Prior to Kane’s goal I started setting the scene for a Los Angeles 3-0 series lead.
The Connor McDaivd-Leon Draisaitl era Edmonton Oilers have been here before. They trailed 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final just last year to the Florida Panthers before generating momentum with a blowout win in Game 4, another win in Game 5 and a third-consecutive win in Game 6.
They were looking to become the first team since the Los Angeles Kings came back from a 3-0 series deficit to eliminate the San Jose Sharks in seven games in the 2014 First Round.
Then Edmonton lost in another Game 7 on the road in the Stanley Cup Final. Just like they did in 2006, in Carolina– only this time it was after nearly pulling off the highly improbable. There was no reverse sweep for McDavid’s postseason MVP-winning glory.
Instead, only the inevitable. Just delayed by a few.
Think about how great that would’ve looked here, Mr. Hiller.
Instead, only the inevitable. Edmonton forces their way back into the series and upsets Los Angeles for the fourth-straight year.
Now, I’m getting ahead of myself, but that’s what we could end up looking at here, folks.
No matter how hot Adrian Kempe is right now– McDavid and Draisaitl are worth at least five of him. And with Evan Bouchard warming up? There’s circles to be skated ’round and ’round.
You were already playing “catch-up hockey” all night, then you go and do that. How the hell are any of the Kings players supposed to keep their poise and confidence going into Game 4 while still in Edmonton?
The Kings had a good story going in Game 3 as it was after trailing, 2-0. Kempe made it a one-goal game before heading into the first intermission.
Kevin Fiala tied it early in the middle frame with a power-play goal and Drew Doughty added another about ten minutes later to give Los Angeles their first lead of the night.
Then Connor Brown continued a bonkers run of goals– tying the game, 3-3, on a redirection at 17:19 of the second period before Trevor Moore one-handed an accident through Calvin Pickard’s legs to make it, 4-3, on the ensuing faceoff from Brown’s goal. The game had been tied for nine seconds.
Oh, yeah, Pickard got the start for the Oilers, by the way, over Stuart Skinner.
And then a few minutes past the midpoint of the third period, Kane and the Oilers thought they scored, but the call on the ice was initially “no goal” due to a perceived distinct kicking motion from Kane.
An official review determined that Kane had, in fact, kicked the puck from his skate to his stick in a wise move to ensure no issues with the kick in the first place and to corral possession and just tap it in over the goal line with the blade.
It was a good goal and Kane’s first in his second game back from an injury that somehow kept him out all season (the NHL isn’t thrilled about some of the long-term injured reserve use this year, apparently).
Then Hiller used his coach’s challenge and, predictably, lost. If Kane had made contact with the blade of his stick touching Darcy Kuemper’s pads, it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.
The call on the ice– which, by now, was a “good goal”– stood. Los Angeles was assessed a bench minor for delay of game.
Bouchard scored his second power-play goal of the game off the ensuing faceoff– 10 seconds after Kane’s goal, to be exact. The tally also rendered Bouchard as the first Oilers defender in franchise history to
Now Edmonton was ahead, 5-4, and the Kings were forced to pull Kuemper for an extra attacker with all of the momentum fully swung in the Oilers’ favor.
Doughty got crushed on a hit, lost the puck and McDavid ended up with possession on a short pass to go end-to-end from Zach Hyman to Edmonton’s captain for an empty-net goal to make it, 6-4, with 1:40 remaining in the action.
Brown beat what would have otherwise been an icing about 90 seconds later and collected his second goal of the game– Edmonton’s second empty netter– to secure the, 7-4, victory.
The Kings now lead the series 2-1, but the Oilers have home ice for Game 4 Sunday. It’s going to be a tough mountain to climb for Los Angeles to head back home with a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Thursday night’s action brought us a close, 2-0, win for the Florida Panthers over the Tampa Bay Lightning– stealing home ice advantage in the process heading back to Florida for Games 3 and 4 with a 2-0 series lead for the Cats.
What’s more, it also brought a 3-0 series lead for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Ottawa Senators as an unlikely hero scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 3 on the road.
Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov continued their hot streaks for the Minnesota Wild as they downed the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2, and took a 2-1 series lead in the process.
Finally, the St. Louis Blues blew out the Winnipeg Jets, 7-2, which is bad news for Connor Hellebuyck fans as the Jets netminder was pulled from the action and good news for Hellebuyck haters, I guess. At least Winnipeg still leads that series 2-1, however.
Now it’s a battle
Just the other day I asked if the “Battle of Florida” actually kind of sucks and it’s good to see both teams are rejecting the hypothesis.
Game 2 was a low scoring battle of attrition. Then Brandon Hagel went and threw gasoline on the fire.
Now, I didn’t mean for someone to do that and go about making an illegal check rendering a five-minute major for interference and knocking Aleksander Barkov out of the game in the process.
I want to note I’m a fan of heavy hockey, not bullshit hockey.
A physical presence is always a good thing and a corresponding immediate response to it via fisticuffs is sometimes necessary and encouraged under heavy hockey pretenses. Unlike in bullshit hockey where premeditated or staged fighting occurs at, say, the opening puck drop of a 4 Nations Face-Off game between the U.S. and Canada.
Heavy hockey is a grind and something to pride oneself on when the final score reads in your favor. Bullshit hockey is a five-minute major penalty in the waiting and possible other supplemental discipline upon a hearing.
The latter tends to lead to being embarrassed in the next matchup too when it matters most– at least as Team USA found out.
Now, I’m not saying that fighting isn’t part of the game or anything. Quite the contrary. It’s always been part of the game– as a penalty.
You run the risk of being penalized and you will be penalized for shedding the gloves in an attempt to enact vigilante justice.
Yet, big, clean hits are always perfectly legal and well within the range of “normal expectations and teetering on the edge of ‘the line’ or whatever.”
The best way to handle something like Hagel’s illegal check? Score more goals than his team. Then win the next game for good measure too.
In fact, make it a living hell for the opposing team. Finish every check. Capitalize on as many scoring chances as possible.
Anyway, the Panthers still won Thursday night, 2-0, courtesy of a goal from the red-hot defender, Nate Schmidt, and an empty-net goal from Sam Bennett in the dying seconds of the game for insurance.
Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside all 19 shots that he faced for his fourth career Stanley Cup Playoffs shutout in 96 postseason games. Bobrovsky has now recorded at least one shutout in each of the last three postseason runs for Florida and currently has a 1.00 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage to boot.
Tampa spent a lot of time in the attacking zone with no results on the scoreboard and Jake Guentzel sent a rebound through the crease behind Bobrovsky and out the other side at one point late in the action too.
The Bolts dropped home ice advantage and despite only trailing 2-0 in the series are basically in a do-or-die situation heading into Game 3 Saturday on the road.
For the Panthers, their focus has to remain on the bigger picture– score goals and beat the Lightning on the scoreboard. Don’t try to settle the score, but let Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand do the talking (and walk the walk). A 3-0 series lead is within reach and can be accomplished with some home cooking.
After writing this, Tampa forward, Brandon Hagel, was suspended by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for one game for interference against Florida forward, Aleksander Barkov. Hagel can return to the series in Game 4.
Sonny and Cher approaching
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2, in overtime in a playoff game.
Unlike in Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, this time the Leafs did it in Game 3 on the road from Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa sorry, Kanata (well, technically it’s still Ottawa– it’s just 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa).
Toronto now has a 3-0 series lead heading into Saturday night for Game 4 and can sweep the Senators while on the road and become the first team to advance to the Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Claude Giroux kicked off the night’s scoring to give the Senators a, 1-0, at 1:38 of the middle frame.
Almost midway through the period, however, Matthew Knies had other plans and evened it up, 1-1, at 8:31 of the second period.
Nobody else could muster anything on the scoreboard through the second intermission.
Then it happened.
A mere 32 seconds into the final frame of regulation, Leafs forward, Mitch Marner, fed Auston Matthews a pass with his golden stick while Ottawa’s goaltender, Linus Ullmark, was caught looking the other way and had no idea the puck was now briefly on Matthews’ stick.
Matthews sent a one-timer behind Ullmark’s back to give Toronto their first lead of the night, 2-1, and people will still find a way to complain about Marner despite his offensive awareness and playmaking abilities.
In any case, he’s due for a surefire raise this summer. Where he’ll be getting his new salary from, however, remains to be seen.
Midway through the period, Brady Tkachuk carried the Sens into the attacking zone and proved Ottawa wouldn’t go down without a fight as he tallied a wrist shot goal on a breakaway from the faceoff circle– top shelf blocker side while using Maple Leafs defender, Brandon Carlo, as a screen– and tied the game, 2-2.
Giroux picked up the primary assist as the home crowd came alive at 11:22 of the third period.
But nobody could seal the deal on a regulation victory thereafter.
Signed as a free agent by the Anaheim Ducks on March 7, 2019, before making his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season, Simon Benoit joined the Maple Leafs via free agency on August 28, 2023, and has recorded just six goals in 279 career regular season games.
Benoit notched his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal in his 10th career postseason game.
It also happened to be the game-winning goal at 1:19 of the overtime period.
See, Benoit received a pass off the kickplate from Matthews– who had just won an offensive zone faceoff– then blasted a slap shot from the point with eyes past Ullmark.
Benoit had served as the screen and had the only assist on Max Domi’s overtime goal in Game 2. This time in Game 3, he was the hero.
For the first time since the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, the Leafs have the chance to sweep a postseason series. Coincidentally, that 2001 series also happened to be against the Senators.
Toronto can also improve to 5-0 in all-time playoff series’ against Ottawa with a win in Game 4 on Saturday, having most recently beaten the Senators in seven games in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Sens head coach, Travis Green, has a difficult task ahead of him– besides the obvious “reverse sweep” attempt, Green has to contemplate starting Ullmark in Game 4 or, perhaps, looking to someone like Leevi Meriläinen to tend the crease.
Meriläinen has never appeared in the postseason before and went 8-3-1 in 12 games (11 starts) with a 1.99 GAA, a .925 SV% and three shutouts in that span this season.
Either way, it’s do or die at home for Ottawa and they look very much on their deathbed.
Xceling in the Wild?
Xcel Energy Center is getting a new naming rights partner next season and the Minnesota Wild opened up the 2025 postseason on home ice with a, 5-2, win in Game 3 of their First Round matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Wild took a 2-1 series lead in the process and chased Adin Hill from the net after 40 minutes in favor of Akira Schmid.
Zeev Buium recorded his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs point via the primary assist on Kirill Kaprizov’s power-play goal to give Minnesota a, 1-0, lead just a few minutes into the game Thursday night.
Matt Boldy notched the secondary assist on the goal and, like Kaprizov, remained hot the rest of the night.
Hill lost his focus a few minutes later after Wild forward, Justin Brazeau, sent the puck around the boards in the attacking zone. Hill went to play the puck in the trapezoid– stopping the rubber biscuit for a few seconds before going right back up the boards and directly to… …Brazeau.
Brazeau eagerly worked the puck back down low to Yakov Trenin, who fed Marco Rossi in the slot for a one-timer goal while Hill was caught playing catch up.
The goal marked the first of Rossi’s postseason career and gave the Wild a, 2-0, lead at 6:51 of the opening frame.
Midway through the period, however, Alex Pietrangelo willed Vegas back into the game– if only for a little while, anyway.
Pietrangelo received a pass from Noah Hanifin and rushed the attacking zone before unloading an old-school slap shot through Filip Gustavsson’s five-hole to cut Minnesota’s lead in half, 2-1.
Midway through the second period, however, Boldy re-extended Minnesota’s lead to two-goals with a wrist shot goal.
Then in the dying seconds of the period, the Wild struck gold on the power play. Again.
This time Kaprizov put the puck in the back of the twine on a deflection to send the Wild into the second intermission with a, 4-1, lead.
That goal was enough for Golden Knights head coach, Bruce Cassidy, to make a change in net and utilize the services of Schmid for the rest of the night.
Midway through the final frame, the Golden Knights were shorthanded and Reilly Smith made it a two-goal game again, but Vegas couldn’t do anything else to erase the, 4-2, deficit.
Boldy rang the post from way downtown while Schmid was on the bench for an extra attacker, but Marcus Foligno followed Boldy’s effort up with a surefire empty-net goal while shorthanded. Mostly because he skated the puck into the attacking zone and everything.
Vegas finds themselves in a “must-win” situation entering Game 4 Saturday in light of the fact that the Golden Knights split Games 1 and 2 on home ice.
Minnesota, meanwhile, can take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a win in front of their home crowd Saturday and try to eliminate Vegas on the road in Game 5.
Of note, The Athletic‘s Michael Russo pointed out that Boldy and Kaprizov became the first Wild players in franchise history with multiple points in each of Minnesota’s first three postseason games. Eric Staal had multiple points in a two-game streak back in 2020.
Hat’s all folks!
Lately– and I haven’t had a chance to look at the swath of data, so I’m just going off of the “eye test” here– it seems like teams that have a blowout win in a series go on to win the series more times than not.
Well, the St. Louis Blues ran away with a, 7-2, victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 3 in front of St. Louis’ home crowd at Enterprise Center Thursday.
Pavel Buchnevich scored a power-play goal 48 seconds into the night, then added two more goals– including one more on the power play– to complete the hat trick and give the Blues a, 4-1, lead at 5:24 of the third period.
Then the flood gates opened and Connor Hellebuyck was chased from the net and replaced by Eric Comrie as Winnipeg head coach, Scott Arniel, tried to wake up his team.
Hellebuyck didn’t help himself, admittedly, after mishandling the puck with pressure bearing down on him from Blues forward, Robert Thomas, in the trapezoid leading to a gift goal for Buchnevich for the hat trick on a grab and go effort.
The long story short is that “playoff Hellebuyck” might be back and the Jets couldn’t score (or defend, really) and that’s a dangerous combination for Winnipeg’s hopes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Especially after their best season in franchise history– having won the Central Division, clinched the best record in the Western Conference and league courtesy of the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time ever.
It’s not quite a 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal collapse like when the Atlanta Thrashers were swept by the New York Rangers after winning the Southeast Division title in their only playoff appearance before relocating to Winnipeg in 2011, but…
Wednesday night featured a lighter schedule with only three games on the docket as Logan Thompson stood on his head– in the third period especially– in Washington, D.C., Gabriel Landeskog played his first National Hockey League game in 1,032 days and everyone’s favorite harmonica group returned for Game 2 in Los Angeles.
The Washington Capitals took a 2-0 series lead over the Montréal Canadiens with a 3-1 victory in Game 2 at Capital One Arena.
Tyler Seguin scored the game-winning goal in Game 3 on the road at Ball Arena as the Dallas Stars won back-to-back games in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead over the Colorado Avalanche.
And Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe each had four points in a, 6-2, blowout victory for the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 of their series with the Edmonton Oilers to take a 2-0 lead on home ice.
Shots shots shots shots shots (everybody)
Despite outshooting Montréal, 32-26, in Game 2, everyone was talking about Thompson’s performance after Wednesday night’s, 3-1, win for Washington.
Thompson made 25 saves and recorded a .962 save percentage in the victory and now has a 1.47 goals-against average and a .951 SV% thus far in the postseason.
The Capitals held the Canadiens to 12 shots on goal through 40 minutes Wednesday– outshooting the Habs, 9-4, in the first period and, 18-8, in the second period alone for a, 27-12, advantage entering the final frame.
That means Thompson faced a barrage of 14 shots against in the third period itself as Montréal mustered every effort to tie the game and force overtime for a second game in-a-row in the series.
Despite the loss, Sam Montembeault still had 29 saves on 31 shots faced for a .935 SV% in Game 2 for Montréal and has a respectable 2.49 GAA and .921 SV% through two games in the series.
That stat line would be fantastic in just about any other playoff series normally.
The only problem is that the Canadiens have allowed six goals against thus far to their three goals for while Thompson has put up even better numbers than Montembeault as a result.
Christian Dvorak slid a rebound under Thompson’s legs to give the Habs a, 1-0, lead 1:16 into the first period. Despite the fast start for the Canadiens, they weren’t able to get anything else past the Washington netminder.
In fact, Montréal couldn’t hold the lead for long before the Capitals evened things up, 1-1, at 3:47 courtesy of a backhand goal from Connor McMichael.
Then Washington’s leading scorer in the regular season, Dylan Strome, shoveled his own rebound past Montembeault for a, 2-1, lead a minute after McMichael had tied the game.
The shift in momentum rendered a raucous crowd inside Capital One Arena as Strome put the home team ahead.
Both teams settled in thereafter and McMichael wouldn’t add his second goal of the night until he hit the back of an empty net in the final seconds of the action to make it, 3-1, Washington.
The series shifts to Montréal for Games 3 and 4 and the Habs can get back into it by just a few lucky bounces in front of their home crowd.
Gabriel Landeskog returns! (for real this time)
But Dallas ruined the party!
Landeskog’s first game in almost three years featured six hits, one blocked shot, one giveaway and one takeaway to go along with a 50% draw on the faceoff dot.
The first hit in his return? Delivered to former Avs teammate turned current Star by way of the Carolina Hurricanes, Mikko Rantanen.
Almost halfway through the opening frame, the two teams were skating at 4-on-4 and Valeri Nichushkin made Matt Duchene look silly– shaking off the Stars forward with a quick cut and circle in the attacking zone before deking Jake Oettinger out of his mind to give Colorado a, 1-0, lead.
Unfortunately for Avalanche fans in attendance, the 8:09 mark of the first period was also the last time they would experience joy for the rest of the evening as only anguish and dread was afoot.
Posts were ringing, possession was to be had and play spent much of the time in Colorado’s own zone.
Dallas outshot Colorado, 14-5, after one period and held onto an, 18-13, advantage through 40 minutes despite the Avalanche holding an, 8-4, shot advantage in the middle frame alone.
Mackenzie Blackwood was the only reason why the Avs held their lead most of the night and finished with 26 saves on 28 shots against for a .929 SV%.
Through three games this postseason, Blackwood has a 2.07 GAA and a .923 SV% for Colorado. Oettinger has a 2.37 GAA and a .910 SV% for Dallas. The Stars lead the series 2-1, however.
Shortly after killing off a minor infraction, the Avs found themselves shorthanded once again when Nathan MacKinnon took what some experts are calling “a stupid penalty.”
MacKinnon tried to be sneaky as he just happened to plant his stick on the ice while Colin Blackwell’s was heading backwards to defend his own end– catching the Stars forward’s skates in the process and sending Blackwell flying.
The Stars were clicking on the power play opportunity just prior, but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
This time, Dallas did not miss.
Jamie Benn tipped a shot from Thomas Harley just under the bar to tie the game, 1-1, nine seconds into the skater advantage at 9:18 of the third period.
Duchene cut a rut to the sin bin and presented the Avalanche with a chance to take momentum and the lead back into their own hands.
No dice.
Instead, Dallas had a tremendous shorthanded opportunity and sent Colorado’s power play units into disarray.
Just as everyone settled in for overtime, Rantanen bounced a lead pass off the boards for Mason Marchment to rush into the attacking zone and drop a pass back to Seguin as No. 91 in his road white jersey with the familiar Dallas green yoke crashed the net.
Seguin wristed a shot past Blackwood to secure the, 2-1, overtime victory and give Rantanen his first point of the series in the process as No. 96 for the Stars had the secondary assist on the game-winning goal.
The Stars improved to 42-49 in overtime all-time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 25-22 record in the extra frame on the road in that span.
The Avs fell to 47-37 in postseason overtimes and are now 20-21 on home ice in that span.
In all, Dallas has led for just 72 seconds three games into the series. The Stars have a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on the road Saturday night.
Martin Nečas is not living up to his full potential.
The regular season doesn’t have the same kind of pressure the postseason has. Whereas the expectations of the ebbs and flows of the regular season are predicated upon playing the right game to peak at the right time (now through June), you cannot have an “off” night in the playoffs.
Nečas is clearly a talented player in his own right and now receives the benefit of playing on a line alongside MacKinnon– picking up additional points he could have only previously dreamed of in Carolina.
But there’s an element of his game that he brought with him from the Hurricanes to the Avalanche that he hasn’t been able to shake off just yet.
His failure to elevate his game from that regular season routine to the postseason grind.
The Stars are doing enough to quell MacKinnon and Nečas. They’ve clearly done something to get under MacKinnon’s skin– just enough to annoy him and throw him off of his game.
Remember after Game 1 when I said:
“The bad news? Game 1 isn’t Dallas’ thing.
The good news? History is on their side.
The Stars dropped Game 1 against the Avalanche, 4-3, in overtime last year on home ice in their 2024 Second Round matchup. They went on to win the next three games before losing Game 5, but won Game 6, 2-1, in double overtime on the road in Denver– courtesy of former Colorado forward, Matt Duchene’s game-winner.
Dallas also holds the 4-2 series advantage against the Avalanche in their lifetime….”
Yeah, about that. The Stars still have history on their side– and not only that, they have a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4. They are trying to go from being 4-2 to being 5-2 against Colorado in all-time playoff series matchups.
Last year, when these two teams met I wasn’t enthused about the Avs’ odds. This year, that doubt has only grown further and further.
It’s always the Stars or the Minnesota Wild when you think you “deserve” it more than the other team. They’re inevitable.
Kopitar still has it, but Kempe has arrived too
Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe each had four points on Tuesday night and that’s awesome and all, but you know what’s pretty cool too? Quinton Byfield keeps scoring.
While Los Angeles’ certified stars in Kopitar and Kempe are doing their thing (as they should), Byfield has quietly been having a breakout of his own this series.
Two games into it and Byfield has two goals and one assist– good enough for three points while centering the second line for the Kings.
Kempe, meanwhile, has seven points (three goals, four assists) in two games. He’s already one point away from matching his previous postseason-high of eight points in six games in 2023.
And Kopitar? Well, he’s having a better playoff run through two games this year than he did in five games last year against the Oilers.
Kopitar has 1-4–5 totals in 2025, compared to his 1-2–3 totals in 2024 (five games played).
And the Kings have a 2-0 series lead heading up to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4. Los Angeles has the Oilers right where they want them.
All they have to do is win at least one of the next two games.
That might be pretty easy to do if Stuart Skinner is still in net for Game 3.
The Kings chased Skinner after he allowed five goals, but it’s not like the Oilers were completely out of the game– until they were really out of it.
See, Los Angeles’ power play is cooking and, well, L.A. only had a, 3-0, lead by the midpoint of the middle frame. We saw in Game 1 how Edmonton isn’t out of a game by any means until the final horn sometimes.
So Leon Draisaitl got the Oilers on the scoreboard. Then Viktor Arvidsson scored against his most recent former team on a tip-in early in the third period to bring Edmonton within one, 3-2.
The Kings watched as their three-goal lead was suddenly back down to a one-goal lead.
But a little over two and a half minutes after Arvidsson scored, Kempe answered. There would not be a weird (almost) comeback in Game 2.
Kopitar notched his first goal of the postseason on the power play at 9:07 of the third period to extend Los Angeles’ lead to three goals once more, 5-2.
Naturally, after Skinner was replaced by Calvin Pickard after a media timeout, Kempe scored on the first shot that Pickard faced to make it, 6-2, Los Angeles.
If Kris Knoblauch decides to give Skinner another start in Game 3, there’s a very real chance we end up seeing Skinner join the revolving door of goaltenders in Edmonton’s recent history (yes, even before and after Ken Holland insisted that Mike Smith was the one, then tried to convince Jimmy Howard to come out of retirement).
It’s insane, right?
Skinner and the Oilers were just in the Stanley Cup Final last year because of, well, Skinner– oh, and some guy named “Connor McDavid” (plus Draisaitl– can’t forget him too).
Yet, here we are.
Through two games this postseason, Skinner has an 0-2 record with a 6.11 GAA and an .810 SV%. Sure, that save percentage might be half decent in, like, the 1980s (fitting for the greatest team of the 1980s, to be fair), but yikes. That’s no bueno.
In his Stanley Cup Playoffs career (37 games played), Skinner has a 3.00 GAA and an .889 SV%.
Now hear this– Pickard has a 2.48 GAA and a .903 SV% in four career Stanley Cup Playoff games (all with the Oilers and including his relief appearance on Wednesday).
In Pickard’s two starts last spring, he went 1-1 with a 2.21 GAA and a .915 SV%.
The Oilers clearly rallied around their goaltender when faced with the realization that Pickard of all people would be thrust into a position he once was expected to live up to when he was drafted 49th overall by Colorado in 2010, but hadn’t yet.
So, riddle me this, why not see if the magic can work itself out again?
Goaltenders are weird in more ways than one– personality, style and sometimes postseason runs.
Is it time to consider Pickard the unlikely savior and turn to him when you need him most?
By the way, Los Angeles has not won a playoff series since they won the Cup back in 2014. In case Edmonton needed more fuel for their manifestations or whatever.
Tuesday night marked the fourth night of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and– well, I’m not going to keep track of the number of days that have passed. I WILL forget one of these days, so let’s just get ahead of it now.
Anyway, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of their series and took home a, 3-1, victory to go along with a 2-0 series lead heading to New Jersey for Games 3 and 4. Jordan Martinook scored the game-winning goal for the Hurricanes after they fell behind, 1-0, through 20 minutes of action.
The Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators and had a, 2-0, lead in Game 2 from Scotiabank Arena before the Sens tied things up late and forced overtime. Max Domi was the hero for the Leafs early in the extra frame to give Toronto a, 3-2, victory.
The “Battle of Florida: Part IV” commenced as the Florida Panthers paid a visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 1 of their series. Florida upset the Bolts on the road, 6-2, at Amalie Arena with Nate Schmidt credited as the game-winning goal in the dominant effort from the Cats.
Finally, after an 11 p.m. start for the East Coast crowd, the Minnesota Wild jumped out to a huge lead and never looked back as they beat the Vegas Golden Knights on the road, 5-2, to even their First Round series 1-1. Mats Zuccarello had the game-winning goal, but Matt Boldy continued his hot start with a goal and an assist in the effort.
Hello Hurricanes
Two of their last three series meetings were quick five-game routs by Carolina and thus far in the 2025 First Round, there’s nothing to show that the Devils might make it past a Game 4.
Though closer on the scoreboard than Game 1’s, 4-1, win for the Hurricanes, Game 2’s, 3-1, victory by the Canes felt like a classic, defensively dominant game in the Rod Brind’Amour era.
Shots on goal were pretty even with Carolina holding the 28-26 advantage by the end of the night and Seth Jarvis’ first goal of the 2025 postseason occurring on an empty net to add the insurance marker to Carolina’s triumph.
Former Hurricane, Erik Haula, fired a shot off of Frederik Andersen early in the action that New Jersey’s regular season leading scorer, Jesper Bratt, pounced on to give the Devils a, 1-0, lead 3:51 into the first period.
That was it for the night for New Jersey, however.
Shayne Gostisbehere tied things up, 1-1, for the Hurricanes early in the middle frame after collecting his own rebound for a snap shot goal at 2:57.
Just a few minutes later, Martinook added a shorthanded goal to give the Hurricanes a, 2-1, lead at 5:54 of the second period after Dmitry Orlov fed Martinook a pass to breakout of Carolina’s own zone and skate up the ice without much pressure before unloading a snap shot past Jacob Markström.
Another display of a strong defensive zone effort resulted in the Canes winning the draw from their own end with New Jersey’s net empty in the last minute of regulation.
Martinook fed the puck up to Jarvis, who split the Devils defenders and skated through the uprights to guide a soft poke check empty net goal into the back of the twine for the, 3-1, win.
Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes did not appear in Game 2 after both Devils defenders exited Game 1 due to injury with the latter later returning late in the third period.
This series doesn’t look like it’s going to be an offensive dynamo only two games into it. Yet, if New Jersey wants to have any chance of defending their home ice for Games 3 and 4, they’re going to have to get pucks in the back of the net.
“Thanks Captain Obvious.”
“You’re welcome!”
One of the good things for the Devils heading home for Game 3 Friday night (8p ET on TBS, MAX, SN360, TVAS2, FDSNSO, MSGSN) is the fact that Carolina was only 16-21-4 on the road in the regular season, though New Jersey went 19-17-5 on home ice this season.
The Hurricanes had a .439 points percentage in away games, while the Devils had a .524 points percentage at Prudential Center.
Not your fathers’ Leafs?
Morgan Rielly and John Tavares each scored for the second time in as many games to give Toronto a, 2-0, lead less than halfway through the first period Tuesday night– 8:20 into the opening frame, to be exact.
The Maple Leafs recorded just seven shots on goal in the first 20 minutes and had scored on two of them.
Things weren’t looking like they were going to bounce back for Linus Ullmark from Game 1 to Game 2, but then the Leafs just… …didn’t score again for the next 40 minutes and only had 12 shots on goal in the remaining two periods of regulation.
Ottawa outshot Toronto 10-7 in the first period and 13-3(!) in the second period before the Maple Leafs held the advantage in shots on goal over the Senators 9-4 in the third period.
The Leafs also had two shots on goal in overtime to Ottawa’s one shot on Anthony Stolarz in the extra frame.
The final shot totals may have looked pretty close with the Sens holding a 28-21 advantage by the end of Game 2, but the Senators had fired far more rubber in the Leafs’ direction that didn’t end up hitting twine.
Instead, the Vulcanized rubber disk smattered against the end boards, glass and Ottawa’s opponents. Toronto finished Tuesday night with 32 blocked shots– a number that would make John Tortorella smile, even if Craig Berube is the actual head coach of the Maple Leafs.
At the other end, the Senators recorded six blocked shots themselves as the Leafs hit bodies with pucks few and far between by comparison.
Heading into Game 3, Ottawa is going to have their work cut out for them to open up the shooting lanes and focus on getting more quality shots on net to make Stolarz earn every save.
Power plays were few and far between with Toronto capitalizing on their only skater advantage of the night on Tavares’ goal. That’s something the Sens need to improve on too– their penalty kill.
That said, Brady Tkachuk notched his first goal of the postseason while on the power play for Ottawa on a backhand shot late in the second period.
Tkachuk’s goal planted a seed of doubt as Toronto’s lead was cut in half, 2-1, and the all too familiar comeback that Leafs fans have suffered through almost annually in the Stanley Cup Playoffs crept to the forefront of their minds.
It wasn’t until late in the third period, too, that Adam Gaudette tipped a shot from the point by Tyler Kleven past Stolarz– tying the game, 2-2, in the process at 14:47 of the third period.
But Domi made it look easy in overtime as he skated past Dylan Cozens and avoided Drake Batherson’s last-ditch effort flyby to breakup Domi’s advance.
Domi wired a wrist shot from the slot just inside the outer edge of the faceoff circles through traffic past Ullmark to win the game, 3-2, at 3:09 of the overtime period.
Toronto is going to want more of the same effort from Games 1 and 2, but without the jitters towards the end of the latter as they head to Canadian Tire Centre Thursday for Game 3 (7p ET on ESPN2, SNE, SNO, SNP, CBC, TVAS).
Who wanted this exactly?
Ever since the Florida Panthers were introduced to the National Hockey League in 1993, we’ve been dreaming of the intensity of Stanley Cup Playoff games between the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
But I have to ask– does the “Battle of Florida” actually just suck?
We were treated to the first edition of the “Battle of Florida” back in the 2021 First Round. Yep, it only took 28 years, but we rejoiced when it finally happened.
The first game was a thrilling back-and-forth, 5-4, victory for the Lightning on the road. The Bolts stole the Cats’ thunder in Game 2 with a, 3-1, victory and stole home ice advantage out from under the Panthers– despite both teams still playing in Florida, mind you.
Then the Panthers responded with a, 6-5, overtime win in Game 3– proving that home ice simply didn’t matter at all.
Well, until Tampa lit up Florida, 6-2, in Game 4 and took a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Then the Panthers responded with a lopsided, 4-1, win of their own in Game 5 to force a Game 6.
Despite the final scores, the Hockey Gods were setting the scene for what could have been a thrilling finish in a Game 7– except the Lightning shutout the Panthers on home ice in Game 6, 4-0.
Tampa outscored Florida, 24-17, in the series.
We didn’t have to wait another 28 years for the next rendition of the “Battle of Florida” as the sequel “Battle of Florida II: 2 Fast 2 Florida (Teams)” happened in the 2022 Second Round.
The Panthers were riding high after advancing from the previous round for the first time since 1996– the same year that Florida went to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.
The Lightning were looking to keep their younger brother (by a year) down and win their second series in as many years against the Panthers.
Game 1 was a, 4-1, win for the Lightning. Game 2 was a closer, 2-1, win for the Lightning as once again the Panthers dropped their first two games on home ice in the “Battle of Florida Part Deux.” Game 3? You guessed it, another win for Tampa– this time, 5-1.
The Bolts completed the sweep, 2-0, in Game 4 and outscored the Cats, 13-3, in the 2022 edition of the “Battle of Florida.”
Then we had a year off as the Everglades went fallow as the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the unthinkable and won a playoff series for the first time since 2004– knocking off the Lightning in six games in the process in 2023.
But in 2024, we witnessed the return of the “Battle of Florida” with the third edition: “The Battle of Florida III: Medium Sized Edition.”
Whereas their 2021 First Round meeting required six games and the 2022 Second Round meeting required four, the 2024 First Round matchup between the Panthers and Lightning required just five games. A happy medium of sorts.
Florida won Game 1, 3-2, then Game 2, 3-2, but this time in overtime.
The Panthers took a 3-0 series lead with a convincing, 5-3, victory in Game 3 and, well, everyone thought “oh, great, this one’s going to be another rollover isn’t it?”
But then Tampa rattled off a, 6-3, win on home ice in Game 4 just to play with us a little because Florida came back and stomped the Lightning to the curb, 6-1, in Game 5– clinching the series– their first series victory in the “Battle of Florida” on home ice.
The Panthers outscored the Lightning, 20-14, in the 2024 First Round series win.
And so far in 2025?
Game 1 was a, 6-2, blowout for Florida on the road in Tampa.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers had goals from Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Nate Schmidt (x2) and Matthew Tkachuk (x2). The Lightning had goals from Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point.
Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 20 out of 22 shots faced for a quality start and a .909 save percentage in the win.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 11 saves on 17 shots against for a .647 SV% in the loss. Oof.
Let’s hope the rest of the series gives us the “battle” part in “Battle of Florida.”
Call of the Wild
Matt Boldy became the second player in Minnesota Wild history to score three consecutive team goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs joining Marián Gáborík in the process.
Gáborík did it on three consecutive goals in Games 3 and 4 of the 2003 Western Conference Semifinal.
Boldy, meanwhile, kicked off the scoring as the Wild went on a run of four goals– three in the first period, one early in the middle frame– to jump out to a, 4-0, lead in Game 2 of their series with Vegas.
For a moment, we all held our breath as the Golden Knights got on the board courtesy of Noah Hanifin to make it, 4-1, just past the midpoint of the second period.
If Monday night was any indication in Los Angeles, then Tuesday night might have been a rerun in Vegas (kind of).
Tomáš Hertl continues to be hot and made it a two-goal game at 2:26 of the third period, but the Golden Knights couldn’t muster anything else on the scoreboard.
Kirill Kaprizov tallied an empty-net goal to put it away, 5-2, for Minnesota in Game 2– evening the series at 1-1 in the process.
The Wild had five goals on 17 shots on net.
Adin Hill’s 12 saves on 16 shots faced yielded a .750 SV%, which was better than Vasilevskiy’s save percentage over in Tampa at least. But still, that’s… …not a good look for Vegas.
This series will be closer than you think and it could generate enough momentum to propel the winner on a deep run.
The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continued Monday night with a pair of ones and twos– as in “Game 1s and 2s.”
First, the Montréal Canadiens paid a visit to the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their First Round series from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The St. Louis Blues took on the Winnipeg Jets in Game 2 of their series from Canada Life Centre.
Later on, the Colorado Avalanche visited the Dallas Stars for Game 2 of their series at American Airlines Center before the Edmonton Oilers opened up their First Round matchup with the Los Angeles Kings on the road at crypto.com Arena.
Shoutout to Dave Goucher, by the way.
The play-by-play voice of the Vegas Golden Knights took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend the good, hard-working people of regional sports networks not just for his own Scripps Sports crew, but across the entire National Hockey League in the face of some remarks from ESPN’s John Buccigross.
History doesn’t repeat itself
In 2010, Tomáš Plekanec was the overtime hero for Montréal in Game 1 as the eighth seed Habs beat the first seed Capitals and later toppled Washington in a seven-game series upset.
In 2025, none of the Canadiens skaters could be like Plekanec and recreate the magic as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference in overtime in Game 1 against the Caps.
Instead, Alex Ovechkin added to his storied career with his first-ever game-winning goal in overtime in a Stanley Cup Playoff game.
That’s right, folks, the National Hockey League’s all-time regular season goal scoring leader hadn’t scored an overtime-winner in the postseason before Monday night.
The ESPN broadcast had just finished highlighting a shot of Ovechkin on screen before the face off prior to his game-winning goal because of course that would happen.
It was written and produced by the Hockey Gods. Absolute cinema.
It only took 45 postseason overtime games, but Ovechkin finally has what has eluded him longer than getting a Stanley Cup ring and surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goal mark.
Ovechkin also kicked off the night’s scoring late in the first period with a power-play goal to put Washington ahead, 1-0, at 18:34.
Midway through the second period, Anthony Beauvillier– a clutch playoff performer reminiscent of the likes of Michael Ryder, Joonas Donskoi and my other personal favorite “glue guys” that always seemed to show up when it mattered most– made it a, 2-0, lead for the Capitals at 12:09 of the middle frame.
Dylan Strome was off to a hot start with two assists and would finish the night with three assists– playing a helping hand in all three Washington goals and becoming the 19th player in Capitals history to record three assists in a playoff game (with John Carlson having been the most recent Capital to do so on April 11, 2019).
Washington and Montréal were pretty evenly matched despite the Caps’ two-goal lead through 40 minutes.
The Capitals led in shots on goal 23-21 entering the final frame, then pretty much forgot that there’s three periods in hockey.
The Canadiens outshot the Capitals 14-7 in the third period alone and with it scored a pair of goals about five minutes apart from one another.
Cole Caufield put the Habs on the scoreboard thanks to some good puck luck that bounced his way for an easy tally.
Then Montréal’s other longtime veteran– a relative term for such a young team– Nick Suzuki pounced on a loose puck amidst a mad scramble with bodies all over the ice and Washington goaltender, Logan Thompson, wildly out of position– far from the familiar blue paint of the crease.
Suzuki tied the game, 2-2, as the Canadiens had the Capitals holding on for dear life through the end of regulation.
And then it happened.
Just 2:26 into the extra frame after a 15-minute overtime intermission, Ovechkin sent the Washington fans home happy– especially since there was plenty of time to catch the Metro.
If you subtract Nicklas Bäckström and T.J. Oshie’s postseason experience, Washington entered the First Round with 776 games of playoff experience under their belt across the entire roster.
Montréal only had 385 games of playoff experience with none of those games stemming from a single goaltender entering Monday.
But neither of these teams have really meshed in a playoff environment like this.
The Capitals significantly overhauled their roster between their four-game exit in the 2024 First Round to the New York Rangers and the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Canadiens have been working towards getting back into the postseason, though might have been ahead of schedule in their arrival this spring.
Despite attaining the best record in the Eastern Conference, Washington hasn’t faced the adversity of being a Stanley Cup favorite and thus forced to defend their honor in a while.
Did this season pry the Cup window back open in Ovechkin’s twilight– well, biologically speaking, anyway– or are we witnessing a happy accident in the making?
Both teams will progress further going into next year from having attained a playoff berth and gaining the experience from this matchup, regardless of who wins.
More first line heroics for Winnipeg
While depth scoring is paramount, sometimes all you really need to win a playoff game is more goals than the other team and doing so thanks to your best players.
Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves on 22 shots faced for a .955 save percentage in the, 2-1, win in Game 2 for Winnipeg, while Mark Scheifele continued to cement his status as a Jets legend and Kyle Connor added the game-winner early in the final frame.
Scheifele notched his 23rd career Stanley Cup Playoff goal– the most in Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise history– and gave the Jets a, 1-0, lead late in the first period.
The Jets defenders came to play in Game 2 with some dominant shifts and big hits as Logan Stanley imprinted his opponents along the glass and Dylan Samberg cleared the slot to bail out Hellebuyck when it mattered most.
Blues forward, Jimmy Snuggerud, tied the action, 1-1, on a power-play goal in the last second of the opening frame– beating Hellebucyk’s blocker side in the process for his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, but that was all the offense that St. Louis would get Monday night.
Luke Schenn led Winnipeg’s defenders in hits with seven, while Stanley amassed three, Neal Pionk and Samberg each had two and Josh Morrissey had one.
Only Dylan DeMelo failed to record a hit from the Jets’ blue line, while David Gustafsson, Scheifele, Nino Niederreiter and Connor were the only forwards without a hit in the action.
Snuggerud and Jordan Kyrou were the only Blues forwards without a hit, while Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk were the only St. Louis defenders to record at least one hit (Tucker had four).
Winnipeg led the physical aspect of the game in the first period, but St. Louis responded with vengeance in the middle period as Brayden Schenn and Jake Neighbours led the charge with five hits each by the end of the night.
If Game 1 was more speed and skill based, then Game 2 was more of a calculated response with a booming physical presence crunching both Jets and Blues players in the process.
Hellebuyck and Jordan Binnington both locked in, which is good news if you like low scoring goalie battles in postseason action.
Early in the final frame, Scheifele worked the puck low from the trapezoid to Cole Perfetti, who promptly setup Connor for the one-timer in the slot to give the Jets the, 2-1, lead 1:43 into the third period.
Winnipeg takes a 2-0 series lead heading back to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 and is doing everything they need to be doing so far: (1) ensure your star players are performing, (2) get some depth scoring, (3) Hellebuyck dials in and (4) don’t let up the pressure, like, at all.
St. Louis is doing… …whatever Jim Montgomery is doing while singing along with “Your Love” on the bench (love that for him, though– we could all use a little more fun in the midst of our workdays).
There’s no Point in warmup, but there was Landeskog
Famously, Brayden Point plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning and I’m referencing Elliotte Friedman’s tweet from back in the day, but Gabriel Landeskog did take part in warmup for the Colorado Avalanche for the first time since June 26, 2022.
Landeskog did not, however, dress for Game 2 Monday night in Dallas.
Instead, Ross Colton wasn’t good to go and Miles Wood drew into the lineup for the Avs, while Landeskog’s return will have to wait for Game 3 in Denver at the earliest.
Nathan MacKinnon grabbed a quick, 1-0, lead for Colorado with a power-play goal before Tyler Seguin tied the game, 1-1, with a power-play goal of his own for the Stars in the last minute of the opening frame.
Thomas Harley fanned on a shot attempt while traffic blocked Mackenzie Blackwood’s sight lines on Harley’s recuperated effort and the Dallas defender scored on the far, glove side– giving the Stars a, 2-1, lead.
But the Avalanche continued to get the most out of their depth as Jack Drury tied things up 62 seconds after Harley’s goal.
A couple of huge penalty kills led to a shift in momentum for Colorado and Logan O’Connor sent a backhand top shelf while falling to give the Avs a, 3-2, lead with 32.1 seconds left in the middle frame.
The goal was O’Connor’s first goal in 22 postseason games and his second career Stanley Cup Playoff goal in the process.
In the playoffs, it’s important for your top six forwards to do their job and maximize depth scoring as much as possible when you can take it.
Outside of MacKinnon’s goal, Colorado’s top six forwards weren’t doing enough to maximize their depth contributions and get the desired results of a team looking to sap the Stars of their home ice advantage.
Just past the midpoint of the final frame, Evgenii Dadonov reminded everyone that age is just a number as the 36-year-old Russian forward collected a garbage goal– pocketing a rebound to tie the game, 3-3, with 9:47 remaining in regulation.
Both goaltenders faced a barrage of shots Monday as Blackwood turned aside 35 out of 39 shots faced in the overtime loss– good enough for an .897 save percentage– while Jake Oettinger made 34 saves on 37 shots against for a .919 SV% in the win.
Blackwood made a hell of a save on Mason Marchment early in the extra frame, but it wasn’t enough to rally his teammates as the Stars continued to surge as the game progressed.
Colin Blackwell– inserted into Dallas’ lineup for Game 2 in place of Mavrik Bourque– pounced on a loose puck before roofing it short side over Blackwood’s glove and under the bar after Sam Steel screened the Colorado goaltender and the Avs defenders were out of position.
Clearly, if Avalanche head coach, Jared Bednar, utilizes Landeskog in his lineup for Game 3, Colorado can continue the trend of “guys who just made their debut this postseason scoring the game-winning goal” in this series.
The Stars dictated the pace of Game 2 more than they did in Game 1, which if they’re able to do in Game 3 on Wednesday (9:30p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, Victory+, ALT) in front of a raucous crowd in enemy territory could be a good sign moving forward.
Dallas can’t get caught up in the emotion of the game, but rather needs to stay focused on the unfinished task at hand– getting back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2020, and winning it for the first time since 1999.
Colorado, meanwhile, could use a tremendous boost from the potential return of Landeskog in front of their home crowd and what Avs fan wouldn’t want to see him score in his first game back since Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final? Especially if it plays a pivotal role of taking command of a 2-1 series lead.
Phillip Danault is probably a little tired of the Oilers
For a guy that alleged the Edmonton Oilers were trying to hurt the Los Angeles Kings in their final meeting in the regular season to disrupt Los Angeles’ chances of (a) getting home ice in their divisional matchup and (b) potential long-term success in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, Phillip Danault sure played like a guy that was pissed.
And it’s not like you can blame him when the Oilers have had the Kings’ number eight times in their 10 previous postseason series’– let alone for the last three years in the First Round in progressively fewer games each time.
Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023, and five games in 2024, and each time it seemed like the Kings lost their footing more and more– even on their own ice.
But not Monday.
“Not one more day.” — Phillip Danault, probably
The Kings had a, 4-0, lead late in the second period. Danault had his first goal of the game at 17:43 of the middle frame, mind you, to give Los Angeles and all but in the bag effort for the night.
Then it looked like Kings head coach, Jim Hiller, might need to utilize a bag skate for his players to shake off whatever colossal collapse of Maple Leaf-sized proportions they were about to encounter.
Leon Draisaitl planted the seeds of doubt when he scored at 19:54 of the second period to get the Oilers on the scoreboard, 4-1.
Mattias Janmark scored at 2:19 of the third period to pull Edmonton to within two. How’s that for a wake up call?
“No worries, Kevin Fiala’s got this.” — Kings fans everywhere, probably after Fiala scored a little more than two minutes after Janmark’s tally
BUT THEN
Corey Perry notched his 55th career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal to pull Edmonton back to within two goals of tying the game at 7:43.
Maybe start to panic a little? But then again, there was still plenty of time left on the clock for Kris Knoblauch to pull Stuart Skinner for an extra skater and, well, Los Angeles would surely put it away by then, right? Right!?
Zach Hyman made it a one-goal game, 5-4, at 17:56. Connor McDavid once again put his team on his back and tied the game, 5-5, less than a minute later in the chaos.
Uh oh. The Kings were on their backs again at the hands of the Oilers. Surely the inevitable was looming.
Nope.
Trevor Moore rushed into the attacking zone on a lead pass from Vladislav Gavrikov and dropped the puck back to Danault.
Danault fluttered a knucklepuck shot past Skinner 46 seconds after McDavid knotted things up.
Danault’s goal at 19:18 of the third period was the latest that anyone in Kings history has scored a game-winning goal in the postseason.
Los Angeles had done it. They had one, 6-5.
But it’s only Game 1. The recent trend would’ve indicated that the Oilers were going to pull of the sweep this year, but it’s at least going to take five games now. A gentleman’s sweep.
Unless the Kings have anything to say about it.
They just might– especially if Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, Danault and Fiala keep scoring. They also might want a little more effort from their defenders in Game 2 (I’m sure Darcy Kuemper would appreciate that as well).
Oh, but shoutout to Oilers forward, Jeff Skinner, by the way for making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut after playing in 1,078 regular season games before doing so. That ended the longest active postseason appearance drought.
Whether you were out celebrating Easter on Sunday or busy having a regular Sunday that may or may not have included watching any of the action Sunday afternoon and evening, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs rolled along with three more Game 1s.
By now you probably already know the final results, but in case you were under a rock or emerged from a tomb yesterday, all of the home teams won on Sunday as the the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Ottawa Senators, 6-2, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild, 4-2, to open their respective series’.
This could be quick
Already without Jack Hughes, the Devils lost Brenden Dillon and Cody Glass to injuries in Game 1 Sunday as the former got tangled up with Hurricanes forward, William Carrier, and landed hard on the ice in front New Jersey’s own net while Dillon’s legs went all kinds of ways that they normally aren’t supposed to go.
Devils defender, Luke Hughes, also briefly missed time Sunday after colliding with Hurricanes forward, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and sliding into New Jersey’s net before clutching his arm as he skated off the ice. The younger Hughes, however, returned to the action in the waning minutes of the final frame.
Glass, on the other hand, was self-inflicted casualty courtesy of his teammate, Jacob Markström, as the Devils goaltender appeared as though he meant to deliver a quick slash to Carolina forward, Andrei Svechnikov, and, well, he missed.
New Jersey head coach, Sheldon Keefe, provided a report on the injuries on Monday, telling reporters that– despite his eagerness to return to action– Dillon was held out for the remainder of Game 1 as a precaution by doctors and indicated there was no update on Glass.
The Devils were outshot 45-24 in Game 1, while Logan Stankoven notched a pair of goals for the Hurricanes in their, 4-1, victory.
Jalen Chatfield and Taylor Hall each had a goal for Carolina as well, while Nico Hischier recorded the lone goal for New Jersey.
Carolina went 2-2-0 in four games against New Jersey in the regular season, but outshot the Devils 125-93 in that span with 13 goals for and 12 goals against in their season series.
In the postseason, history is on the Canes’ side with the Hurricanes holding a 4-1 advantage in all-time best-of-seven series matchups.
New Jersey took their first meeting in six games in the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, but Carolina’s been successful ever since. The Hurricanes beat the Devils in six games in their 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal rematch, five games in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinal on their way to their first– and only– Stanley Cup ring thus far, seven games in the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal and five games in the 2023 Second Round.
If there’s one thing that’s for certain for either of these teams, it’s that a deep run can be expected when they meet in a playoff series.
The Devils beat the Hurricanes in 2001, then wound up losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final that spring.
The Hurricanes beat the Devils in 2002, and lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final that year. The Canes won again in 2006, then won the Cup that spring after beating the Edmonton Oilers in a Game 7 on home ice. They won again in 2009 and 2023, but both of those playoff runs came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers, respectively.
With so many injuries hampering New Jersey’s lineup and Carolina looking like a team that’s logged over 1,100 career Stanley Cup Playoff games across the roster on top of a rowdy Lenovo Center crowd on their side for Game 2 Tuesday night (6p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, FDSNSO, MSGSN), this series really shouldn’t get past a Game 4.
Yikes, what was that
For the first time in 21 years, we have ourselves a Battle of Ontario, but unlike 2004, this Game 1 wasn’t exactly close.
The Ottawa Senators have the least playoff experience out of the 16 teams that qualified for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 361 career postseason games among their roster before Sunday’s, 6-2, loss in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs have just over 1,000– 1,003, to be exact– career Stanley Cup Playoff games played entering the series and wasted no time capitalizing on their shots early– recording five shots on goal in the first period, but scoring on two of them to lead, 2-0, heading into the first intermission.
We knew goaltending would be one thing Toronto would have on its side with Anthony Stolarz having amassed a 21-8-3 record in 34 games played in the regular season to go along with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage and four shutouts in that span prior to starting in Game 1, while Senators goaltender, Linus Ullmark produced a 25-14-3 record in 44 games with a 2.72 GAA, a .910 SV% and four shutouts as well.
But what we didn’t know was how, exactly, would Game 1 pan out given Stolarz had only ever recorded one postseason appearance– just 35 minutes worth– before with a 5.17 GAA and an .842 SV% in that span, while Ullmark had a 3-6 record in 10 career Stanley Cup Playoff games (all with Boston) with a 3.59 GAA and an .887 SV% entering Sunday.
It was a little surprising, in all honesty, that Joseph Woll didn’t get the start in Game 1 given his 3-2 record in seven postseason games previously with a 1.78 GAA and a .933 SV% in that span despite his 2.73 GAA and a .909 SV% in 42 games in the regular season this year.
Perhaps Maple Leafs head coach, Craig Berube, has a tandem approach in mind as both Stolarz and Woll handled the season well working diligently behind Toronto’s defense to render the Leafs their first division title in a non-pandemic influenced season since 2000.
Then again, maybe they keep riding Stolarz until Ottawa finds a way to chase him from the net.
That’s where things get interesting for the Sens, since Ullmark struggled early and made 18 saves on 24 shots against for a .750 SV% in Game 1.
Toronto was on pace for about 15 shots if they hadn’t amassed 13 shots on goal in the second period alone and that would’ve made Ullmark’s numbers even worse.
Ullmark battled injuries in the regular season, but still managed to appear in 44 games while Anton Forsberg, Leevi Meriläinen and Mads Søgaard split the duties in relief and out of necessity.
Forsberg matched Ullmark’s 2.72 GAA, but had a .901 SV% and three shutouts in 30 games played with an 11-12-3 record. Meriläinen had a 1.99 GAA and a .925 SV% to go along with three shutouts and an 8-3-1 record in 12 games, while Søgaard appeared in two games and had a 5.24 GAA and an .800 SV% in the regular season.
Though the sample size might be small, Meriläinen is worthy of getting a look– if anything for the confidence boost that the Sens skaters in front of him might get.
Forsberg, Meriläinen and Søgaard have never appeared in a postseason game before, however.
Speaking of confidence, though, Ullmark is one of the most mentally-focused goaltenders in the league and goes on walks to clear his mind, so he probably won’t be shaken by a disappointing Game 1 effort heading into Game 2 Tuesday night (7:30p ET on ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVAS).
Focus is one of the things Ottawa is going to have to adjust to with a significant portion of their roster having made their Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on Sunday.
The Sens can’t let the small things get to them or allow the Leafs to egg them on and draw penalties– and, for the record, Ottawa captain, Brady Tkachuk, only had two penalty minutes for roughing late in the middle frame as he took Maple Leafs forward, Scott Laughton, to the box with him.
Nevertheless, however, Toronto scored three power-play goals in Game 1 and got top performances from three out of their four usual suspects in Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander.
Auston Matthews later had an assist on a goal from Matthew Knies.
Marner had 1-2–3 totals, while Tavares, Nylander and Knies recorded power-play goals for the Leafs.
Clutch playoff performer (did I read my notes right?) Oliver Ekman-Larsson kicked off the scoring in the series and Morgan Rielly added a fluke goal that deflected off of at least one Senators skater in Sunday night’s victory.
Drake Batherson and Ridly Greig had the only goals for Ottawa.
Entering Game 2 it’s more of the same for Toronto and, well, don’t do that again if you’re the Senators.
The house always wins, but this could be Wild
Look, growing up, the Colorado Avalanche were my second-favorite team, so I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this, Vegas Golden Knights fans, but don’t let a Game 1 victory fool you when you face the Minnesota Wild in a playoff series.
The Avalanche, of course, were upset by the Wild in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinal and in the 2014 First Round– the latter of which the Avs won Game 1. Both times Colorado was the higher seed with the Avs ranked 3rd in 2003, and Minnesota 6th and Colorado atop the Central Division and the Wild as the first wild card in the Western Conference in 2014.
Both series’ resulted in a Game 7 overtime win for Minnesota.
I say all of this because– despite a, 4-2, victory for the Golden Knights in Game 1 on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena– Vegas and Minnesota have gone the distance in their only other playoff series meeting in 2021.
Though, at least then Vegas won, 6-2, in what was their first ever Game 7 appearance.
The scoreboard might not look it– in part because of Brett Howden’s last tenth-of-a-second empty-net goal to give him a two-goal effort and the Golden Knights a two-goal lead– but Sunday night was a grind.
There were only three penalties in Game 1 with the first call against the Wild in the second period before Vegas and Minnesota each had one more minor infraction in the final frame.
Tomáš Hertl tallied the first goal for Vegas at 15:22 of the first period, but Minnesota’s Matt Boldy evened things up, 1-1, at 17:42.
Pavel Dorofeyev rocketed a slap shot power-play goal past Filip Gustavsson to give the Golden Knights a, 2-1, lead at 13:33 of the second period while Marcus Foligno went to cover the shooting lane that Shea Theodore decided against pursuing– instead opting to pass the puck to Dorofeyev for the goal.
Howden gave Vegas a, 3-1, lead early in the final frame with a wrist shot goal at 2:28 before Boldy tied things up again on a wraparound goal midway through the third period.
Then, of course, with the Wild goaltender pulled and Boldy in the box for tripping, Howden capitalized on his less than a second remaining empt- net goal to reestablish a two-goal lead and margin of victory for the Golden Knights.
A lot of people favor Vegas in this series– what with another 50-win season from the Golden Knights and only two years removed from their 2023 Stanley Cup championship, as well as their 3-0-0 record against Minnesota in the regular season, in which the Golden Knights outshot the Wild 102-62 and outscored them, 12-4, in that span– but here’s the thing, Minnesota was built for moments like this.
The Wild like stealing the thunder from teams that were supposed to win Patrick Roy one last Cup in 2003, as a player or his first as a head coach in 2014– I mean, yeah…
Minnesota likes to play spoiler or at least make you face some adversity as they ramp up the intensity in the postseason.
Though I’ll admit, I have the Golden Knights moving on from this matchup, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Adin Hill and Gustavsson are not that far off from each other in postseason performances.
Entering Game 1, Hill had a 12-6 record in 19 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with a 2.09 GAA, a .932 SV% and three shutouts in that span, while Gustavsson was 2-3 in five postseason games with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 SV% in that span.
These are two goaltenders that could keep the scoring in this series pretty low, so I fully expect we’ll get seven games of entertaining playoff hockey.
Game 2 is in Vegas on Tuesday (11p ET on ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS, FDSNNO, SCRIPPS).
The first night of action in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is in the books and if you didn’t get a chance to watch, you missed out on some fun Saturday.
First, the Winnipeg Jets rallied on home ice to beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-3, in Game 1 of their First Round matchup after trailing, 3-2, entering the third period at Canada Life Centre.
Then the Colorado Avalanche took advantage of the Dallas Stars’ recent streak of bad luck in Game 1s and secured a, 5-1, victory on the road as the two teams opened up their series at American Airlines Center.
Whiteout conditions
Winnipeg takes a 1-0 series lead over St. Louis entering Game 2 Monday night (7:30p ET on ESPN2, CBC, TVAS2, FDSNSW) and is poised to take a commanding 2-0 series lead provided they– you know– maintain their home ice advantage.
The Jets won 30 out of their 41 home games in the regular season and spread out their scoring pretty evenly in Game 1 with goals from Mark Scheifele, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Alex Iafallo, Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry.
You may say “but, wait, three out of five of their goals came from the stereotypical first line forwards, isn’t that a little concerning?” and, well, you need your top six forwards to produce this time of year without question.
Scheifele’s goal came on the power play and he later added an assist– giving him Winnipeg’s all-time leading playoff scorer status, having entered Saturday night tied with Blake Wheeler at 39 points.
Scheifele now has 41 career Stanley Cup Playoff points with the Jets in 43 games compared to Wheeler’s 39 in 44 games.
Meanwhile, Iafallo is getting off on the right foot and needs to continue to be a factor throughout the series. The Jets had an early exit in five games against the Avalanche in the 2024 First Round and Iafallo only had one assist in that span.
Connor led the team in regular season scoring with 41-56–97 totals in 82 games– establishing career-highs in assists and points in the process– and is expected to be a point per game type of player.
Lowry added an empty net goal from the third line and Anderson-Dolan picked up his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal in Game 1 as a fourth line winger.
Here’s hoping the positive momentum continues this time around against the Blues.
If anything, the second line was quiet with clutch postseason scorer, Nino Niederreiter, and his linemates, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti recording just three shots combined– one for Niederreiter and two for Perfetti. But, hey, fourth line center, Morgan Barron, failed to record a shot on goal.
At the other end of the rink, St. Louis got ahead at 9:31 of the first period courtesy of Robert Thomas opening up postseason scoring with a power-play goal and cast doubt in the minds of weary Jets fans that have watched countless Vezina Trophy-winning (and worthy) regular seasons from Connor Hellebuyck come to a screeching halt.
Despite Oskar Sundqvist tying the game in the final two minutes of the middle frame and 26-year-old phenom, Jordan Kyrou, capitalizing on another power play to give the Blues a, 3-2, lead at 1:13 of the third period, St. Louis couldn’t hold on as Winnipeg played the long game.
By the end of the night, the Blues became undisciplined and both teams engaged in sending and receiving messages ahead of Game 2.
If there’s one thing St. Louis head coach, Jim Montgomery, can’t afford to do ahead of Monday night– it’s lose the room.
Montgomery’s tenure in Boston saw the Bruins lose focus on the big picture time and time again as they lost in the 2023 First Round and 2024 Second Round to the Florida Panthers– blowing a 3-1 series lead in the former.
While Joel Hofer had a .921 save percentage on the season against Winnipeg– turning aside 70 out of the 76 shots he faced in three matchups while Jordan Binnington turned in an .875 SV% stopping 21 out of 24 shots against in one game against the Jets back in October– Binnington has the proven track record of taking over a playoff series both in the stat lines and in the opponents’ heads.
Whereas the last two years saw Montgomery and his players scrambling to wrap their minds around Florida’s antics, the Blues could be the Panthers this time around. All Montgomery has to do is not screw it up.
And, unfortunately for U.S. hockey fans, there’s the “big game” factor for Binnington in that he did win the 4 Nations Face-Off as Canada’s goaltender back in February, so he’s bound to steal Hellebuyck’s thunder again if St. Louis can channel their antagonistic qualities for the better.
Meanwhile, in Dallas…
The Colorado Avalanche are good. There’s a reason why they won the Stanley Cup in 2022, and remain a Cup contender from year-to-year since then.
The Dallas Stars should be good. There’s a reason why they went out and added Mikko Rantanen ahead of the trade deadline last month and made it to the Western Conference Final in 2023 and 2024.
All of this, of course, after losing in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Since that Cup Final, however, the Stars haven’t been able to get over the hump that is the Western Conference Final and, well, Game 1s.
Dallas has now dropped eight consecutive series-opening games. The last time they won a Game 1 was actually that 2020 Stanley Cup Final against Tampa, when they had a, 4-1, victory in Edmonton during the pandemic-infused “bubble” playoffs.
The bad news? Game 1 isn’t Dallas’ thing.
The good news? History is on their side.
The Stars dropped Game 1 against the Avalanche, 4-3, in overtime last year on home ice in their 2024 Second Round matchup. They went on to win the next three games before losing Game 5, but won Game 6, 2-1, in double overtime on the road in Denver– courtesy of former Colorado forward, Matt Duchene’s game-winner.
Dallas also holds the 4-2 series advantage against the Avalanche in their lifetime having beaten Colorado in seven games in the 1999 Western Conference Final and 2000 Western Conference Final, as well as seven games in the 2020 Second Round and six games in the 2024 Second Round.
Jake Oettinger is the type of goaltender that can get better as the series goes on. He nearly stole the 2022 First Round series against the Calgary Flames in a Game 7 on road ice.
Oettinger faced 67 shots against and made 64 saves that night in the process before Johnny Gaudreau sent the Flames onto the Second Round with a game-winning overtime goal.
We probably– and by probably, I mean we shouldn’t see Jamie Benn on a line with Rantanen again in this series and if Dallas can find a way to get by without Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen, the Stars will get better depth throughout the lineup as they return to full health by the Second Round.
Well, assuming they get there. Rantanen should probably try not to have another minus-two plus/minus rating Monday night (9:30p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS-D, Victory+, ALT).
Nathan MacKinnon notched two goals in Colorado’s, 5-1, victory Saturday night and usual playoff performers, Devon Toews and Artturi Lehkonen, found ways to get on the scoreboard as well– albeit Lehkonen in a rather unconventional, though unintentional manner.
If the Stars can figure out how to (1) remain undisciplined because Cale Makar is a penalty drawing machine and (2) uh, stop MacKinnon and Makar while in the process shutting down Colorado’s heavily invested in depth at the trade deadline, then Dallas can go back to Colorado even in the series 1-1.
The problem is that even if you shutdown MacKinnon’s line which includes Martin Nečas, the Avalanche still have Brock Nelson, Jack Drury and Charlie Coyle working their middle six while waiting for the potential return of Gabriel Landeskog for the first time in Colorado’s lineup since Landeskog raised the Cup above his head in late June 2022.
Avs netminder, Mackenzie Blackwood, however, is largely untested.
Both teams only managed 24 shots on goal aside in Game 1 and Blackwood is still new to playoff hockey even if he is now past his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut heading into Game 2.
Dallas really has to come out on all cylinders Monday otherwise it could a short series.
Even on an off night for MacKinnon– he’s still one of the top two, three or four best players in the world depending on whether or not Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl or Nikita Kucherov are also playing that night for their respective teams.
Down the Frozen River 
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