As the intensity of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs` first round escalates, many series are nearing their conclusion. How many teams will advance tonight with potential series-clinching victories?
Wednesday`s schedule features two potential elimination contests. First, the Montreal Canadiens face the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, where Alex Ovechkin`s team could close out the series against the Habs. Shortly after, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, we could see the final game of the 2025 `Battle of Florida`. Will the Florida Panthers secure their fourth win, or can the Tampa Bay Lightning force a Game 6 by making it 3-2?
Concluding the night`s action, the St. Louis Blues visit the Winnipeg Jets at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Their series is tied 2-2 after four games, with particular focus on Vezina Trophy candidate Connor Hellebuyck`s ongoing struggles in net for Winnipeg.
Below, you`ll find previews for each game with statistical insights, summaries of Tuesday`s results, and Arda Öcal`s Three Stars from Tuesday night.
- Matchup Notes
- Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals
- Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
- St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets
- Arda`s Three Stars from Tuesday Night
- 1. Linus Ullmark
- 2. Sebastian Aho
- 3. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle
- Tuesday`s Scores
- Ottawa Senators 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 0
- Carolina Hurricanes 5, New Jersey Devils 4 (2OT)
- Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (OT)
- Edmonton Oilers 3, Los Angeles Kings 1
Matchup Notes
Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals
Game 5 (Washington leads 3-1) | 7 p.m. ET
Historically, teams holding a 3-1 series advantage have won the series 90.8% of the time in Stanley Cup playoff history. The Capitals` own record in this situation is 8-5, a 62% success rate.
Cole Caufield has been very active offensively, with 21 shots on goal, second only to Nathan MacKinnon (31) in the playoffs. He also has 11 shot attempts blocked, tied for second most, behind Jack Eichel.
Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson joins an exclusive group as the sixth first-year blueliner in playoff history to record at least five assists in his debut postseason series. The others are Ray Bourque (1980), Janne Niinimaa (1997), Erik Karlsson (2010), Marc-Andre Gragnani (2011), and Quinn Hughes (2020).
Alex Ovechkin holds the record for most goals in NHL regular-season history and is 13th on the all-time playoff goal list with 75. His next playoff goal will tie him with Mario Lemieux for 12th place.
Anthony Beauvillier is the first player in Capitals history to record an assist in each of his first four playoff games with the team. He is the fourth player with at least one point in his first four (or more) playoff games for the Capitals, following Dave Christian (five GP in 1984), Adam Oates (four GP in 1998), and Mike Knuble (five GP in 2010).
Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 5 (Florida leads 3-1) | 7:30 p.m. ET
While home teams hold a 23-10 record in the 2025 playoffs overall, the `Battle of Florida` series has defied this trend, with the road team winning three out of four games so far.
The Panthers boast a perfect 5-0 record when leading a playoff series 3-1, having closed out three of those previous series in Game 5. Conversely, the Lightning have a historical record of 1-5 in best-of-seven series when trailing 1-3.
Lightning forward Jake Guentzel is tied with Brad Marchand for the fourth most playoff goals since 2017 (40), trailing only Nathan MacKinnon (51), Leon Draisaitl (44), and Brayden Point (44).
Andrei Vasilevskiy has shown improvement after a tough start, allowing a combined five goals in Games 2-4 with a .936 save percentage, compared to giving up six goals in Game 1 (.647 save percentage).
Matthew Tkachuk is tied with Nate Schmidt for the Panthers` series goal lead (three). Tkachuk has 20 goals in 48 career playoff games with Florida, placing him third in franchise history behind Sam Reinhart (22 in 59 games) and Carter Verhaeghe (27 in 65 games).
Sergei Bobrovsky continues to lead all goalies since the start of the 2023 playoffs in games played (47) and wins (31).
St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets
Game 5 (Series tied 2-2) | 9:30 p.m. ET
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is facing another challenging postseason stretch. He allowed a combined 11 goals in the last two games, continuing a trend where he has allowed four or more goals in 10 of his 14 playoff starts over the past three postseasons. This 71% rate is significantly higher than his regular-season rate of 17% over the same period.
After a strong start to the series with five points in the first two games (both Jets wins), Mark Scheifele has been held pointless in the two subsequent losses (Games 3 and 4). Kyle Connor`s performance has been slightly better, with four points in the first two games but only one goal in the following two.
Despite being outshot 31-23 in Game 4, Jordan Binnington was solid in net for the Blues, stopping all but one shot. So far this postseason, Binnington has a .907 save percentage and 2.29 goals-against average. For comparison, during the Blues` 2019 Stanley Cup run, he finished with a .914 save percentage and 2.46 GAA.
Cam Fowler, acquired via trade during the season, is participating in his first postseason since 2017. He`s making an impact, leading the Blues with eight points (one goal, seven assists) through four games. Fowler`s previous career high for playoff points was 10 in 16 games during the 2015 playoffs.
Arda`s Three Stars from Tuesday Night
1. Linus Ullmark
G, Ottawa Senators. Ullmark achieved his first career playoff shutout, becoming the second goalie in Senators franchise history (alongside Craig Anderson) to record a shutout in a potential elimination game.
2. Sebastian Aho
C, Carolina Hurricanes. Scored two goals, including the overtime winner, capping a three-point night to propel the Hurricanes to the second round with a 5-4 victory. The Hurricanes rallied from a 3-0 deficit early in the second period by scoring three goals in four minutes to tie the game. This marked Aho`s 10th career postseason power-play goal, tying Eric Staal for the franchise record.
3. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle
F, Ottawa Senators. Tkachuk and Stutzle are the first Senators teammates in franchise history to record three points each while facing elimination. They will have another opportunity on Thursday at home.
Tuesday`s Scores
Ottawa Senators 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 0
Series: TOR leads 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday. Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark delivered a stellar performance, stopping all 29 shots from the Maple Leafs for his first career playoff shutout. Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens scored, with Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk adding empty-net goals to seal the win.
Carolina Hurricanes 5, New Jersey Devils 4 (2OT)
Series: CAR wins 4-1, advances to play winner of Washington-Montreal. A thrilling game in Raleigh saw eight goals in the first two periods. The defenses tightened up afterwards, forcing overtime. Sebastian Aho scored the game- and series-winning goal at 4:17 of the second overtime period.
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (OT)
Series: VGK leads 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday. The teams exchanged goals early on a Minnesota power play (William Karlsson short-handed, Kirill Kaprizov power play). Mark Stone scored to give Vegas a 2-1 lead after the first. Matt Boldy tied it in the third, but Brett Howden scored just 4:05 into the first overtime to give the Golden Knights the win.
Edmonton Oilers 3, Los Angeles Kings 1
Series: EDM leads 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday. After winning the first two games, the Kings now trail the Oilers 3-2 in the series. Andrei Kuzmenko scored a power-play goal for the Kings, but Evander Kane quickly tied it. Mattias Janmark netted the eventual game-winner in the third period, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-netter.
