The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has ended, and it did not disappoint. Round one had 11 games decided in overtime and two game sevens, including an improbable comeback from the Winnipeg Jets. Here is a recap of each series headed into the second round.
For the first time since 2017, the Ottawa Senators were back in the playoffs. They were up against none other than their biggest rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sens had a nightmare start to the series, as they went down three games to none and were on the brink of being swept. The Leafs won game one, dominating 6-2. Toronto then had to take it to overtime to win the next two games, including an overtime winner in Ottawa by Simon Benoit. The Sens then punched back and won games five and six. Goaltender Linus Ullmark had a 29-save shutout en route to a 4-0 win in game five to force game six. The Leafs struck twice before Ottawa responded with two of their own. But, Max Pacioretty scored with less than seven minutes on the clock to put the Leafs in front. Then, late in the third period, William Nylander put the icing on the cake and scored the empty-netter to close out the series.
The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning met in the first round back-to-back years, but Tampa Bay had the home ice advantage. The Panthers did not waste time in Tampa as they outscored the Lightning 8-2 between the first two games in Tampa. While the scores were not necessarily close, things got seriously chippy between the two teams. Lightning forward Brandon Hagel laid an illegal hit on Panthers captain Alexander Barkov in game two, which led to Hagel getting a one-game suspension. The Lightning then had a good game three in Sunrise, Florida, beating the Panthers 5-1. But Hagel came back for game four, and the Panthers did not let the Tampa forward get away with hitting their Captain, as Florida’s Defensemen and former first overall pick, Aaron Ekblad, also laid an illegal hit, and it was on Brandon Hagel. Ekblad, like Hagel, was handed a one-game suspension. The Florida Panthers then went on to win games four and five to beat the Lightning in a gentleman’s sweep.
The Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers met for the fourth consecutive year and the 11th time between them since they both met during the Gretzky era. The Oilers have won every series against the Kings and have a record of 40-20 in the playoffs. The LA Kings had a good start to the series as they took advantage of Home Ice, winning both games in LA. But things changed once they got to Edmonton. The Kings allowed the Oilers to score seven goals in game three. LA then had a chance to redeem themselves in game four as they had a 3-1 lead going into the third period. Then it started to come down, the Kings allowed Edmonton to tie the game, including a goal from defenseman Evan Bouchard with less than a minute to go. Late in overtime, Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov took a tripping penalty. Oilers are notorious for their lethal power-play as they have the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same unit. With 1:42 left in the first period of overtime, Leon Draisaitl got ot the front of the net to tuck home the overtime winner to go back to LA with the series tied. The Edmonton Oilers did not look back and took both games five and six to beat the LA Kings for the twelfth consecutive time in the playoffs. Edmonton’s star power was too much to handle for the Kings, as the Oilers remain undefeated against the Kings in the playoffs.
The Devils and Hurricanes have been rivals ever since the Canes played their first game in 1997. These two teams last faced each other in the playoffs in 2023.
The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Devils in five games when Jesper Fast deflected a shot from Jesperi Kotkaniemi in overtime. The Canes got off to a quick start in this series by taking a 2-0 series lead headed to Jersey. The Canes’ special teams and goaltending held the Devils to just two goals between the two games. Game three started well for the Devils as they went up 2-0 in the third period. But the Carolina Hurricanes did not falter as forward Sebastian Aho tied the game at two apiece. Each team had its chances in the first period of overtime. But each team needed a second overtime period. Young Devils defenseman Simon Nemec squeaked one past Canes’ goaltender Frederik Andersen to cut the series lead in half going into game four. The Canes then took a 3-0 lead in game four, and it was looking like the Hurricanes were going to head back home with ease. But in the middle of the second period, Freddie Andersen collided with Devils forward Timo Meier, causing Andersen to be sidelined for the rest of game four. But, Andrei Svechnikov made the Devils defense pay as he scored a hat-trick to put the game out of reach for New Jersey.
The Minnesota Wild and the Vegas Golden Knights faced off in the playoffs for the second time in their history. The Knights won the first game of the series, but the Knights ended up dropping the next two games 5-2. The Golden Knights were facing adversity as they were down 2-1 heading into game four in Minnesota. Game Four was back and forth as the Wild and Knights needed extra time to decide this game. Knights forward Ivan Barabashev ended the game late in the first overtime period with a backhand shot to head back to Vegas with the series tied. In Game Five, the Knights had a 2-1 lead until Wild forward Matthew Boldy scored late in the third period to send the game to overtime. With 4:05 left on the clock, Vegas forward Brett Howden scored from a bumper shot in overtime to put Vegas in a 3-2 series lead heading back to Minnesota. The Knights and Wild were tied 1-1 deep in the second period until Knights forward Jack Eichel put the Golden Knights in front, heading to the third period. Veteran forward Mark Stone then made it 3-1 Vegas in the third period to add a cushion to their lead. The Minnesota Wild then got a goal to cut the lead back to one, but the Wild ran out of time and got eliminated in game six.
The Montreal Canadians have been itching to get back into the Stanley Cup playoffs since their cup run in the 2021 playoffs, when they lost to the Lightning in the Cup Final. The Washington Capitals have not made it past the first round since their Stanley Cup-winning run in 2018. The Capitals and Habs were knotted at two a piece heading into overtime until Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin finished a pass from forward Anthony Beauvillier to give the Caps a 1-0 series lead over the Habs. The Caps went on to win game two and were headed to Montreal with a 2-0 lead. The Montreal fans were bouncing in game three, and it led to a dominating win over the Caps to give the Habs some life. While the Caps struck first in game four, the Montreal Canadians took a 2-1 lead heading to the final frame. But the Capitals then went on to score four unanswered goals to win the game 5-2, and this gave a chance for the Caps to end the series in the nation’s capital. The Capitals made quick work of the Canadians in game five, scoring three unanswered goals before the Habs scored. Caps forward Brandon Duhaime ended up icing the game by getting the empty-netter to close out the series.
There was a lot of talk about this series between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars due to the chaotic talk about the whole Mikko Rantanen situation that happened earlier this season. The Avs also welcomed back captain Gabriel Landeskog, who hadn’t played a game since their Stanley Cup victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 Cup Final. The Dallas Stars were dealing with injuries as their best defensemen, Miro Heiskanen and key forward Jason Robertson, were doubtful for this series. In game one, the Colorado Avalanche dominated the Stars with a score of 5-1. In game two, the Stars looked far better as veteran forward Evgenii Dadanov forced OT after he pounced on a rebound created by Wyatt Johnston. Then, in the last three minutes of overtime, Dallas forward Collin Blackwell sniped one short side past Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to tie the series at 1-1. Game three of this series was relatively quiet in terms of goalscoring, as this game finished 2-1 in favor of the Dallas Stars. Forward Tyler Seguin ripped one past Blackwood to give Dallas a 2-1 series lead. In game four, the Avalanche were all over the Dallas Stars in this one with a 4-0 shutout victory to take the series back to Dallas, all knotted up. The Stars then returned the favor by thrashing the Avs 6-2 to give them a 3-2 series lead and a potential chance to clinch the series. The Avs offense showed up in a big way, putting seven past Oettinger to take the series to a game seven. In game seven, the Avs took a 2-0 lead, including a shorthanded goal from Josh Manson. Then in the third period Mikko Rantanen scored two goals to bring the game to two a piece. With less than five minutes on the clock, Rantanen finds forward Wyatt Johnston backpost, and the Stars now have a lead late. With the game winding down, Rantanen completed his hat-trick and sent the Stars to round two.
The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets went up against the underdogs of the Western Conference in the St Louis Blues. Game one was a roller coaster as the Blues were putting up a fight against the Jets. The Blues had a 3-2 lead until Winnipeg forward Alex Iafallo tied the game up at three with the second half of the period left. Forwards Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry scored two goals late to put the game out of reach for the Blues. The Jets and Blues were tied going into the third period thanks to rookie Jimmy Snuggerud’s late goal. Kyle Connor then scored early in the third period to give the Jets a lead. Winnipeg then held on to this lead, and so far, the series was going as expected for most fans. But, the Blues shocked the hockey world in game three when they scored three unanswered goals in the first period and forced Vezina candidate Connor Hellebuyck out of the game. In game four, the Blues ended up forcing Hellebuyck out of the net again and defeated the Jets 5-1. All of a sudden, the series has flipped on its head as the series goes back to Winnipeg. The Jets then had a bounce-back game, defeating the Blues with a score of 5-3. St Louis now has its back on the wall heading back home. The Blues then pull the impossible and chase away Hellebuyck for a third time in this series. Winnipeg now has pressure in game seven to put away the series to avoid an upset. The Blues got off to a quick start in game seven as St Louis was up 2-0 at the end of the first frame. Cole Perfetti of the Winnipeg Jets got one back, but Blues forward Radek Faksa extended the lead back to two goals. Winnipeg then made it 3-2 with a lot of time left on the clock. It looked like the Blues were going to hold onto this slim lead until Kyle Connor threw the puck to the net and Cole Perfetti got his stick on it to tie the game with three seconds left on the clock to force overtime in game seven. Each team had their chances in the first overtime frame but it was gonna take until double overtime to decide this one. And St Louis native Adam Lowry deflected a shot from defenseman Neal Pionk to end the series against his hometown team, and with that, the first round concluded with a double overtime thriller. The second round has kicked off as the teams that did make it are continuing their journey for Lord Stanley.
