The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs have already included some twists and turns, including long-injured players returning to the ice and others playing through various ailments. That’s hockey!
Two teams carry 2-0 leads into Games 3 on Thursday, and history is on their side: according to ESPN Research, teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win 86% of the time.
Will that be the case for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets? Or can the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues notch victories at home?
Plus, will the Florida Panthers win another game in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s barn? And which team will win a pivotal Game 3 of the Vegas Golden Knights-Minnesota Wild series?
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
Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 2 (FLA leads 1-0) | 6:30 p.m. ET | TBS
With the Panthers up 1-0, ESPN BET has adjusted the series line install Florida as the series favorite at -210, whereas the line was -115 before Game 1.
Matthew Tkachuk made his return after more than two months on the shelf, and scored two goals to help the Panthers take Game 1 in the Battle of Florida. Matthew and brother Brady both scored goals Tuesday, which was the 83rd time in Stanley Cup playoffs history that a pair of brothers scored on the same day, the most recent being Marcus and Nick Foligno on April 21, 2023.
Sergei Bobrovsky has backstopped the Cats to many playoff wins recently, and the Game 1 win was his 45th, putting him fifth all-time in playoff wins for goalies born outside North America. The leader? His opponent Andrei Vasilevskiy, with 66.
Nikita Kucherov won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading point-scorer in the regular season, but was limited to just one assist in Game 1. Will that trend continue?
Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators
Game 3 (TOR leads 2-0) | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2
The Maple Leafs have won just one playoff series in the past 20 years, but they are halfway to doing so here in the Battle of Ontario. Oh, and speaking of decades-long droughts, this is the first time the Leafs have held a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series since the 2002 series against the New York Islanders (which they won in seven games).
Max Domi was the overtime hero for the Leafs in Game 2, which was his first playoff OT goal. His father Tie played 98 playoff games in his NHL career, and never had one — albeit in a career where he was known more as a pugilist than a scorer.
Toronto’s Core Four continue to drive the train. John Tavares (two goals, two assists), Mitch Marner (one goal, three assists), William Nylander (one goal, two assists) and Auston Matthews (three assists) are in the top four positions on their stats sheet heading into Game 3. They’ve also gotten strong play from goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who became the sixth netminder in Leafs history to win his first two playoff games with the franchise — Ken Wregget, Mike Palmateer, Bernie Parent, Frank McCool and Lorne Chabot are the others.
One pathway to a comeback for Ottawa is for goaltender Linus Ullmark to steal a game or two. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner has allowed nine goals on 45 shots through two games, a save percentage of .800. Ullmark allowed just two goals on 50 shots in two games against Toronto in the regular season, both of which were wins for Ottawa.
Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild
Game 3 (series tied 1-1) | 9 p.m. ET | TBS
Why is this game so important? The winner of Game 3 in a series tied 1-1 has gone on to win 66% of the time in Stanley Cup playoff history (240-123).
The Wild didn’t want to take any chances in Game 2, scoring three first-period goals and keeping the Knights at arm’s length for the remainder of the game. Kirill Kaprizov reminded everyone why he was a Hart Trophy favorite before getting injured this season, scoring two goals and adding a ridiculous assist on Matt Boldy’s goal. Kaprizov’s second goal tied him with Marian Gaborik for the second-most playoff goals in Wild history, with 12, four behind Zach Parise.
On the Vegas side, “Playoff” Tomas Hertl has shown up, scoring a goal in each of the first two games. The long-time San Jose Shark is the fourth different player to score a goal in his first two games with the Golden Knights, a list that includes Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault.
The Knights are also hoping this is just a bump in the road for goaltender Adin Hill. He has an .833 save percentage through two games; that figure was .931 in three games last postseason and .932 in 14 starts during their Stanley Cup run in 2023.
Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues
Game 3 (WPG leads 2-0) | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
One other bit of history working against the Blues: Presidents’ Trophy winners that have won Games 1 and 2 of a best-of-seven series have gone on to win that series 95% of the time (tracked since 1985-86).
The Blues will want to track Kyle Connor closely if the game hangs in the balance. He’s scored the game-winning goal in both games thus far, giving him five in his career passes Paul Stastny for the most in Jets 2.0/Atlanta Thrashers history.
St. Louis rookie Jimmy Snuggerud — who was playing for the University of Minnesota earlier this spring — became the second rookie to notch a goal this postseason, joining Carolina’s Logan Stankoven.
Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou — who led the Blues in regular-season scoring and both tallied goals in Game 1 — were held pointless in Game 2.
Arda’s three stars from Wednesday night
Sometimes the stat lines don’t matter. The Avs captain returning to the NHL for the first time since lifting the Cup in 2022 is a moment that transcends one team, and is celebrated throughout the hockey world. Welcome back, Gabe!
Kempe scored two goals and added two assists as the Kings dismantled the Oilers 6-2 to take both games at home as the series now shifts to Edmonton.
Thompson made 25 saves, including some key stops on dangerous chances in the third period, to help the Caps beat the Habs 3-1 and take a 2-0 series lead.
Wednesday’s scores
Washington Capitals 3, Montreal Canadiens 1
(WSH leads 2-0)
Another game that was perhaps a bit closer than the pundits (and the fans in D.C.) expected. Montreal’s Christian Dvorak opened the scoring in the second period, before the Caps answered with two goals in a one-minute span from Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome. That lead would hold despite the Habs’ best efforts, thanks to some heroic saves from Logan Thompson. McMichael added an empty-netter just before the final buzzer to ensure that the fans went home happy, and that his team takes a 2-0 lead to Montreal for Game 3.
Dallas Stars 2, Colorado Avalanche 1 (OT)
(DAL leads 2-1)
The big story here was the return of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog after three years. And a first-period goal from Valeri Nichushkin sent the crowd into a frenzy. But the Stars have veteran players of their own, and their captain Jamie Benn tied the game midway through the third period, before Tyler Seguin tallied the game-winning goal at 5:31 of overtime.
Los Angeles Kings 6, Edmonton Oilers 2
(LA leads 2-0)
For the past three postseasons, the Kings have been eliminated in the first round by the Oilers. Is this finally the year they get past their tormentors from Alberta? Continuing to score six goals per game would certainly help. Brandt Clarke got the party started with a power-play goal at 8:44 of the first period, and he was joined on the scoresheet by Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko, Adrian Kempe (with two) and Anze Kopitar. The Kings’ power play has been electric in this series, as L.A. has scored five goals on 10 opportunities with the man advantage.
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