ESPN staffMay 1, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs have reached the point where every night could end in season-ending heartbreak for a team. On Wednesday, it happened for two teams, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. On Thursday, that could happen for four teams.
Thursday night begins with the Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings facing a 3-2 deficit. On the flip side, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers could all punch their tickets to the second round by earning one more victory.
How will it all shake out?
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down in Wednesday's games, and the Three Stars of Wednesday Night from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators
Game 6 (TOR leads 3-2) | 7 p.m. ET | TBS
With their loss in Game 5, the Maple Leafs are now 1-14 in potential series-clinching games over the past 20 years -- the lone win was Game 6 of the 2023 first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Senators' stars have shown up this postseason. Brady Tkachuk has points in each of the past four games, including a goal and two assists in Game 5. Tim Stutzle also had a goal and two assists, and he has points in six of eight games against Toronto this season (regular season and playoffs combined).
Linus Ullmark made 29 saves for his first career playoff shutout, and this was Ottawa's second-largest shutout win in franchise playoff history (the Senators won 5-0 against the Maple Leafs in 2002).
The Maple Leafs need to get their power play revved up again. They have gone 0-for-7 in the past two games, compared to 5-for-9 in the first three.
While the Leafs' offense dried up in past postseasons, the Core Four (Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares) is helping make sure that's not the case in 2025. The quartet leads the team in scoring, and all four are at or above a point-per-game pace.
Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild
Game 6 (VGK leads 3-2) | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
The winners of Game 5 in best-of-seven series tied 2-2 have gone on to win the series 79% of the time, a trend to which the Golden Knights would like to add.
Mark Stone continues to climb the Golden Knights' career leaderboard. His goal in Game 5 gives him 33 in his playoff career with Vegas, three shy of Jonathan Marchessault's franchise record.
On the other hand, Jack Eichel needs to recapture his regular-season aura. Through five games, he has just three assists after leading the Golden Knights in scoring in the regular season with 94 points.
Prior to his regular-season injury, Kirill Kaprizov was among the leaders for the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He has been on a heater this postseason, with nine points (five goals, four assists) through five games. That's the most points through five games to start a postseason in Wild franchise history.
Marc-Andre Fleury -- who entered Game 5 when Filip Gustavsson left due to illness -- has now appeared in the playoffs in 18 different seasons, breaking a tie with Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy for the most such seasons in NHL history.
Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche
Game 6 (DAL leads 3-2) | 9:30 p.m. ET | TBS
The Stars have a 21-3 series record when leading 3-2 in a best-of-seven series, while the Avalanche have a 2-15 series record when trailing 3-2 in a best-of-seven series.
Wyatt Johnston's goal nine seconds into Game 5 is tied for the fifth-fastest goal to start a game in Stanley Cup playoff history. Johnston leads the Stars in scoring this postseason, with five points (two goals, three assists) through five games.
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists in Game 5, and he became the seventh player in NHL history to score a playoff goal against a team with which he scored 100 or more postseason points.
With a goal and an assist in Game 5, Nathan MacKinnon registered the 35th multipoint game of his postseason career, third most in Avalanche/Nordiques history.
Cale Makar has been very quiet by his standards, with just two assists through five games. Prior to this postseason, he had scored 80 points in 72 career postseason games, including 29 in 20 games en route to the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in 2022.
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers
Game 6 (EDM leads 3-2) | 10 p.m. ET | ESPN
The Oilers have a 14-1 series record when leading a best-of-seven 3-2, while the Kings have a 5-9 series record when behind by the same margin.
Edmonton is the third team in Stanley Cup playoff history with three straight comeback wins after facing a 2-0 series deficit, joining the Golden Knights in 2021 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
The three players tied for the playoff scoring lead are in this series: Edmonton's Connor McDavid (two goals, eight assists) and Leon Draisaitl (three goals, seven assists) and L.A.'s Adrian Kempe (four goals, six assists).
The switch to Calvin Pickard was a smart one for the Oilers; he has the ninth-best save percentage (.904) this postseason, compared to Stuart Skinner (last, at .810).
Anze Kopitar has 26 playoff goals, tied with Jeff Carter and Dave Taylor for the third most in franchise playoff history, behind Wayne Gretzky (29) and Luc Robitaille (41).
Arda's three stars from Wednesday night
1. Logan Thompson
G, Washington Capitals
Thompson made 28 saves and allowed only one goal to backstop the Caps to a 4-1 win and a 4-1 series win, Washington's first series victory since winning the Cup in 2018.
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Caps fans love Logan Thompson's save late in the 3rd
Logan Thompson makes a crucial save for the Capitals to secure their 3-1 lead over the Canadiens.
2. Eetu Luostarinen
C, Florida Panthers
He had a four-point night, including the insurance goal in the third period, to propel the Cats to capture the Battle of Florida, with a 6-3 final in Game 5 and a 4-1 series win, eliminating Tampa Bay.
3. Kyle Connor
LW, Winnipeg Jets
Connor scored the game's first goal and added two second-period assists to drive the Jets to a 5-3 game in a critical Game 5 at home.
Wednesday's scores
Washington Capitals 4, Montreal Canadiens 1
WSH wins series 4-1, plays CAR in next round
Although a Canadiens win in Game 3 meant there would not be a sweep in the series, the Capitals made sure to get the job done before a trip back to Montreal. Alex Ovechkin started the scoring in the first period, joined by Jakob Chychrun in that frame and Tom Wilson in the second. Emil Heineman scored in the third to bring the score to 3-1, but Montreal got no closer before Brandon Duhaime's empty-net goal to seal the deal. Full recap.
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Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals: Game Highlights
Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals: Game Highlights
Florida Panthers 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 3
FLA wins series 4-1, plays winner of TOR/OTT
The two teams both came out strong in the first period, with Lightning goals by Gage Goncalves and Nick Paul, and Panthers goals from Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell. The tied turned in the second, with the Panthers taking a 4-3 lead on goals by Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett, while the Bolts scored one off the stick of Jake Guentzel. In the third, it was all about the Panthers' defensive system refusing any efforts from Tampa Bay, while Eetu Luostarinen scored off a patient feed from Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter. Full recap.
1:59
Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Game Highlights
Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Game Highlights
Winnipeg Jets 5, St. Louis Blues 3
WPG leads 3-2 | Game 6 Friday
The scoring began quickly, as Kyle Connor netted a goal for Winnipeg 1:23 in, and Nathan Walker answered for the Blues at 3:42. Winnipeg carried a 2-1 edge into the second thanks to Nino Niederreiter's first of the postseason. After Jimmy Snuggerud tied it with his second career playoff goal, Dylan DeMelo and Vladislav Namestnikov netted goals to put Winnipeg up 4-2. The score would remain the same until Adam Lowry's empty-netter made it 5-2; Walker would add a goal with less than a minute left to pull the game within two, but that was it. Full recap.
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St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets: Game Highlights
St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets: Game Highlights
