Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Wednesday Game Previews

The intensity is building in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, with several series nearing their conclusion. Wednesday night features potential elimination games as teams vie to advance.

Wednesday`s Game Previews

Here are the matchups scheduled for tonight with insights and statistics from ESPN Research:

Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals

Game 5 | Washington leads series 3-1

Historically, teams holding a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup playoffs win the series 90.8% of the time. The Capitals` historical record when leading 3-1 is 8-5 (62%).

Canadiens forward Cole Caufield is actively shooting, ranking second in playoff shots on goal with 21, only behind Nathan MacKinnon (31). He also has 11 shot attempts blocked, tied for second most.

Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson has made an impact, becoming the sixth first-year blueliner in playoff history to register at least five assists in his debut postseason series. Other players on this list include Ray Bourque (1980), Janne Niinimaa (1997), Erik Karlsson (2010), Marc-Andre Gragnani (2011), and Quinn Hughes (2020).

For the Capitals, Alex Ovechkin, the NHL`s all-time regular-season goal scorer, is 13th on the playoff goals list with 75. His next goal would tie him with Mario Lemieux for 12th.

Anthony Beauvillier set a Capitals franchise record by recording an assist in each of his first four playoff games with the team. He is one of four players to register at least one point in their first four or more playoff games with the club.

Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning

Game 5 | Florida leads series 3-1

While home teams generally have a strong record in the 2025 playoffs (23-10), this trend has been reversed in the “Battle of Florida” series, with the road team winning three of the four games played so far.

The Panthers boast a perfect 5-0 historical record when leading a playoff series 3-1, having closed out three of those previous series in Game 5. Conversely, the Lightning have a 1-5 all-time record 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). They trail only Nathan MacKinnon (51), Leon Draisaitl (44), and Brayden Point (44).

Tampa Bay`s Andrei Vasilevskiy has shown improvement after a tough Game 1 (.647 save percentage), allowing a combined five goals in Games 2-4 (.936 save percentage).

Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in goals this series (tied with Nate Schmidt at three). Tkachuk now has 20 goals in 48 career playoff games with Florida, ranking third in franchise history behind Sam Reinhart (22 goals in 59 games) and Carter Verhaeghe (27 goals in 65 games).

Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky continues to lead in playoff games played (47) and wins (31) since the start of the 2023 postseason.

St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets

Game 5 | Series tied 2-2

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is facing challenges in the postseason again, allowing 11 goals combined in the last two games. He has now allowed four or more goals in 10 out of 14 starts (71%) over the past three postseasons, significantly higher than his 17% rate during the regular season over the same period.

Jets forward Mark Scheifele was productive early, with five points in the first two games (both wins), but has been held pointless in the subsequent two losses (Games 3 and 4). Kyle Connor also saw a drop in production, recording four points in the first two games but only one goal in the following two.

Despite being outshot 31-23 in Game 4, Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington performed well, stopping all but one shot. This postseason, Binnington has a .907 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average, comparable to his .914 save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average during the Blues` 2019 Stanley Cup run.

Cam Fowler, acquired mid-season by the Blues, is playing in his first postseason since 2017 and is currently leading the team with eight points (one goal, seven assists) through four games. His career high for postseason points is 10 in 16 games (2015).

Arda`s Three Stars from Tuesday Night

1. Linus Ullmark, G, Ottawa Senators

Ullmark earned his first career playoff shutout, becoming the second goaltender in Senators history (alongside Craig Anderson) to achieve a shutout in a potential elimination game.

2. Sebastian Aho, C, Carolina Hurricanes

Aho delivered a three-point performance, including two goals and the overtime winner, sending the Hurricanes to the second round with a 5-4 victory. The Hurricanes rallied from a 3-0 deficit, scoring three goals in four minutes during the second period. This marked Aho`s 10th career postseason power-play goal, tying Eric Staal for the franchise record.

3. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, F, Ottawa Senators

Tkachuk and Stutzle became the first Senators teammates in franchise history to record three points each while facing elimination. They will have another opportunity in Game 6 at home on Thursday.

Tuesday`s Game Recaps

Ottawa Senators 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 0

Toronto leads series 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday

Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark delivered a stellar performance, stopping all 29 shots from the Maple Leafs. The Senators secured goals from Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens, with empty-netters by Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk sealing the 4-0 victory. Ullmark`s playoff form had been questioned previously, but he answered emphatically tonight.

Carolina Hurricanes 5, New Jersey Devils 4 (2OT)

Carolina wins series 4-1 | Advances to play winner of Washington-Montreal series

Tuesday night in Raleigh was a wild affair, featuring eight goals in the first two periods. Goaltenders then took control, shutting down scoring through the third period and the first overtime. The deadlock was finally broken at 4:17 of the second overtime when Sebastian Aho scored the series-winning goal, sending the Hurricanes to the second round.

Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (OT)

Vegas leads series 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday

The teams exchanged early goals during a Minnesota power play, with William Karlsson scoring short-handed for Vegas and Kirill Kaprizov netting the power-play tally for Minnesota. Mark Stone added a goal later in the first period, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead that held until Matt Boldy tied the game at two at 3:31 of the third. The Golden Knights needed just 4:05 of the first overtime period to secure the win on Brett Howden`s goal.

Edmonton Oilers 3, Los Angeles Kings 1

Edmonton leads series 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday

After winning the first two games, the Kings now trail the Oilers, the team that has eliminated them in the past three postseasons. Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring for the Kings on a second-period power play, but Evander Kane tied it less than three minutes later. Mattias Janmark scored the eventual game-winner 7:12 into the third period, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-net goal to secure the 3-1 victory for Edmonton.