2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Previews: Tuesday’s Games

The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs recently began with all 16 teams vying for the championship. Now, on Tuesday night, two teams face potential elimination from their postseason runs.

• The Ottawa Senators avoided a sweep by winning an exciting overtime game at home in Game 4, but they still trail the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 going into Game 5.
• Similarly, the New Jersey Devils secured a home win in Game 3 but suffered a decisive loss in Game 4, putting them in the same 3-1 deficit against the Carolina Hurricanes as Game 5 approaches in Raleigh.

Can these two teams extend their postseason lives and force another game at home?

In the Western Conference, the two series featuring Pacific Division teams are level at 2-2, with the action returning to the home ice of the higher seeds. Which teams will gain a crucial advantage in these pivotal Game 5 matchups between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild, and the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers?

Below are previews for tonight`s games, including statistical insights. Also included are the top performers from Monday night`s action.

Matchup Previews

Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs

Game 5 (Toronto leads 3-1) | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN

Games 2 through 4 marked the 11th time in the last 20 years that teams have gone to overtime in three consecutive playoff games within a single series. Jake Sanderson`s game-winning goal in overtime was the first of his NHL career, making him the ninth defenseman aged 22 or younger to score an OT goal in the playoffs and the first for the Senators franchise. Veteran David Perron scored his first playoff goal with the Senators, making them the fourth team he`s scored a postseason goal for (previously with the Blues, Golden Knights, and Ducks). Matthew Knies` sixth career playoff goal places him tied for fourth most by a Maple Leafs player aged 22 or younger since the 1976-77 season. Surprisingly, Toronto defensemen have scored five goals this postseason, the most among all teams, contrasting with their league-low 21 goals from defensemen during the regular season.

New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes

Game 5 (Carolina leads 3-1) | 7:30 p.m. ET | TBS

While the Devils have outscored the Hurricanes 7-5 during 5-on-5 play in the series, they have been outscored during their own power plays (0-1), the Hurricanes` power plays (0-4), and when the net is empty (0-2). Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen was injured in Game 4 following a collision with Devils forward Timo Meier. Meier, who hadn`t scored on Andersen in the series, scored on his first shot against backup goalie Pyotr Kochetkov. Andersen`s status for Game 5 is uncertain, but he currently leads all playoff goaltenders with a 1.59 goals-against average and is second among qualified goalies with a .936 save percentage this postseason. Andrei Svechnikov recorded his second career playoff hat trick in Game 4, becoming the only player in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history with a playoff hat trick.

Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights

Game 5 (Series tied 2-2) | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

Game 4 ended one trend for Vegas while continuing another for Minnesota. Ivan Barbashev`s overtime winner ended a three-game losing streak for Vegas in playoff OT games. For Minnesota, the loss marked their fifth consecutive defeat in home playoff games that have gone to the extra session. Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson made 42 saves in the loss, his second career playoff game with 40 or more saves, making him the only goaltender in franchise history with multiple such performances in the playoffs. Kirill Kaprizov`s assist in Game 4 brought his postseason point total to eight in four games, just one point behind the current playoff scoring leaders. Vegas forward Tomas Hertl is currently hot, scoring his third goal this postseason in Game 4 and having eight goals in his last nine games dating back to March 22. The Wild have largely been successful at limiting Jack Eichel`s offensive impact, as his assist in Game 4 was his first point of the series after leading his team with 94 points in the regular season.

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings

Game 5 (Series tied 2-2) | 10 p.m. ET | TBS

With his two-goal performance in Game 4, Evan Bouchard became the fourth defenseman in Stanley Cup playoff history to have back-to-back multi-goal games, joining a rare list including Rob Blake (2002), Al Iafrate (1993), and Denis Potvin (1981). Leon Draisaitl, who scored the overtime game-winner in Game 4, now has eight four-point games in his playoff career, ranking him fourth in Oilers history behind Wayne Gretzky (20), Mark Messier (10), and Jari Kurri (10). Tied with Draisaitl for the playoff scoring lead is Kings winger Adrian Kempe, who also shares the goal-scoring lead with four. Kempe had accumulated 19 points in 22 previous playoff games, all with the Kings. Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper has faced a high volume of shots, with 134 in the series, second only to Gustavsson`s 136 among postseason goaltenders. Kuemper`s current .881 save percentage is the second lowest of his playoff career.

Monday Night Standouts

Wyatt Johnston, C, Dallas Stars

Johnston scored his first goal of the 2025 postseason just nine seconds into the game, tying for the fifth fastest goal to start a game in Stanley Cup playoff history. He had an impressive night overall, finishing with two goals and an assist in the Stars` victory.

Mikko Rantanen, RW, Dallas Stars

Rantanen scored his first postseason goal with the Stars against his former team. He is now the seventh player in NHL history to score a playoff goal against a team with which he previously recorded 100 or more postseason points. The others include Jaromir Jagr, Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Bernie Geoffrion.

Jon Cooper, Coach, Tampa Bay Lightning

Coach Cooper earns recognition for his increasingly memorable post-game press conferences. His comment, “I`m sick of talking about hits,” followed by asking the media for their opinions, was particularly noteworthy.

Monday`s Results

Florida Panthers 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 2

Florida leads series 3-1 | Game 5 Wednesday

After a scoreless but exciting first period, the intensity escalated in the second. Anton Lundell opened the scoring for the Panthers. Aaron Ekblad delivered a hard hit to Tampa Bay`s Brandon Hagel, who left the game; the hit was not penalized on the ice. The Lightning responded with two quick goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak within 11 seconds to take the lead in the third period. However, the Panthers matched this feat, scoring two goals in another 11-second span with markers from Ekblad and Seth Jones, igniting the home crowd. Carter Verhaeghe sealed the win with an empty-net goal.

Dallas Stars 6, Colorado Avalanche 2

Dallas leads series 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday

Following a wild opening game Monday night, this contest started just as quickly. Dallas` Wyatt Johnston scored nine seconds into the game, the fastest goal ever to start a playoff game in Stars franchise history. Young defenseman Thomas Harley added another goal with 45 seconds left in the first period. From that point, Dallas maintained control, adding goals from Mikko Rantanen, another from Johnston, and one from Mason Marchment. Roope Hintz added an empty-net goal to cap the scoring. Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored for Colorado in the second period, but it wasn`t enough to challenge Dallas on this night.