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What’s Going On In The Playoffs: Devils were the first team eliminated from the post-season
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Apr 30, 2025, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 30, 2025, 15:32 EDT
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One team has been eliminated from post-season contention.
This is What’s Going On In The Playoffs, where we look at how each series is going so far this post-season. On Tuesday, the first team booked their ticket to the second round, and it has implications for the Flames.
Let’s take a look at what’s happened in the post-season since last Wednesday!

Kings won Game 2, but have lost three straight since

Last Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Edmonton Oilers for Game 2. Thanks to goals from Brandt Clarke, Quinton Byfield, and former Calgary Flame Andrei Kuzmenko, the Kings had a 3-0 lead. Leon Draisaitl scored to get the game to within two, and Viktor Arvidsson scored four minutes into the third period to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Kings scored three goals to win Game 2 by a score of 6-2.
For the first, and so far only time in this series, the Oilers opened the scoring in Game 3, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got them on the board. Evan Bouchard scored his first of the post-season midway through the period, but Adrian Kempe cut the Oilers’ lead in half before the end of the opening frame. In the second, the outscored the Oilers 3-1 to take a 4-3 lead into the third period. 
The final frame saw Evander Kane tie the game, L.A. head coach take an ill-advised coach’s challenge, and 10 seconds after Kane’s goal, the Kings were down 5-4. The Oilers added two empty nets in the 7-4 win.
Game 4 was also played in Edmonton. The Kings opened the scoring thanks to Trevor Moore’s second of the post-season, and former Oiler Warren Foegele scored early in the second to make it 2-0. The Oilers got one back just under three minutes later, but the Kings took a 3-1 lead into the third period.
Once again, it was another third period collapse for the Kings. Bouchard scored 7:51 into the third period to get within one, and with just 29 seconds left, beat Darcy Kuemper to send the game to overtime. On a power play late in the overtime period, Draisaitl scored to even the series.
Tuesday’s game was the pivotal Game 5, returning to L.A. For the fourth time in the series, the Kings opened the scoring thanks to Kuzmenko’s third of the season. However, the Oilers tied it less than three minutes later and scored the game-winning goal with just under 13 minutes left in the third. The Oilers completely dominated this game, outshooting the Kings 46-22, and if not for Kuemper, this game could’ve been a lot worse.
Game 6 is on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. MT. Hopefully, the Kings can get back to what made them successful in the first two games and force a Game 7. If need be, Game 7 is on Saturday.

Jets and Blues hold serve at home

Moving to the other Canadian team in the Western Conference, the Winnipeg Jets took a series lead after a pair of games in Winnipeg – we covered that in last week’s article. Since then, it’s been the St. Louis Blues’ time to shine.
Game 3 in St. Louis was a blowout victory for the 2019 Stanley Cup champs, as they took a 3-0 lead and never looked back. They eventually chased Connor Hellebuyck out of the net, something that happened in the Jets’ series against the Colorado Avalanche last season. At the end of 60 minutes, the Blues outscored the Jets 7-2.
It didn’t go much better for the Jets in Game 4, as they fell 5-1 to the Blues. Kyle Connor opened the scoring for the Jets, but Jake Neighbours, Tyler Tucker, Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, and Robert Thomas all scored for the rest of the game to even the series up at two apiece. 
Of the eight series, this is the only one where the next game isn’t a potential elimination game. Game 5 starts on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MT in Winnipeg, and by next Sunday at the very latest, the series will be over.

Wild on the brink against Golden Knights

Coming into last Thursday’s game, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild had a tied series. That changed in Game 3, as Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi opened the scoring for the Wild on home ice. Before the end of the first period, Alex Pietrangelo scored to cut the Wild’s lead in half. The Wild added two in the second period, and even though Reilly Smith scored to make it 4-2, it wasn’t enough as the Wild iced the game with an empty net to take a 2-1 series lead with a 5-2 win.
It’s not the first time the Golden Knights have been in this spot, and they got a key win in Game 4. Shea Theodore opened the scoring in Game 4, with the Wild eventually taking the lead heading into the third period. Nicolas Roy and Tomáš Hertl both scored for the Knights, but under a minute later, Jared Spurgeon scored for the Wild to tie the game up. In the final three minutes of overtime, Ivan Barbashev found the game-winning goal to even the series.
The two teams returned to Sin City for the pivotal Game 5. Just over eight minutes into the first, William Karlsson opened the scoring for the Golden Knights, but the Wild fired back with Kaprizov’s fifth of the post-season just 13 seconds later. Mark Stone scored his first of the post-season with just over six and a half minutes left in the game, but Matt Boldy found the game-tying goal early in the third. 
In the final 90 seconds, it looked as if the Wild had the game-winner. However, the Golden Knights challenged for offside, and it turned out to be successful. It took just over four minutes into the overtime period for the Golden Knights to win it thanks to Brett Howden.
The Wild are on the brink of elimination, and they haven’t made the second round in a decade despite missing the post-season only a handful of times. They’ll try to stave off elimination on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. MT. If needed, Game 7 is on Saturday.

Stars against Avalanche shaping up to be a great matchup

The Mikko Rantanen Bowl between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche is one of the better matchups in the first round. Game 3 went in favour of the Stars as they won 2-1 in overtime. Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring for the Avalanche midway through the first, and the score stuck that way until midway through the third before captain Jamie Benn equalized for the Stars. About five and a half minutes into overtime, Tyler Seguin found the game-winner.
Game 4 wasn’t even close. Logan O’Connor opened the scoring 12:39 into the game for the game, and Nathan MacKinnon extended the Avalanche’s lead to 2-0 late in the first. With just under seven minutes left in the second, Gabriel Landeskog scored his first goal in almost three years to make it 3-0, and Samuel Girard added one for good measure midway through the third period.
That set up a pivotal Game 5 in Texas, with the winner getting a massive advantage. Just nine seconds into the game, Wyatt Johnston scored to make it 1-0 Dallas, and Thomas Harley scored in the final minute of the first for the 2-0 lead. Early in the second, Mikko Rantanen extended the lead to 3-0, but the Avalanche showed some fight, scoring the next two goals. Unfortunately for them, the Stars scored the next three goals to win 6-2.
Up next for the two teams is the must-win Game 6. They’ll have a large gap between Game 5 and Game 6, as the fifth game was held on Monday and Game 6 is on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. MT. If needed, Game 7 is on Saturday.

Maple Leafs in danger of a reverse sweep

It would be very Toronto Maple Leafs if they happened to go up 3-0 in a series, but lose the next four games. Game 3 was a Maple Leaf victory, as Simon Benoit found the overtime winner less than 90 seconds into the first overtime period to put the Leafs up 3-0 in the series.
But the Ottawa Senators fought back in a do-or-die game. In Game 4, they jumped out to a 2-0 lead, the Leafs equalized to make it a 2-2 game heading into the third. David Perron scored to give the Senators a 3-2 lead, but with a little over five minutes left, Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored to tie the game. Late in the first overtime period, defenceman Jake Sanderson scored to keep the Senators’ hopes alive.
The series shifted back to Toronto for Game 5. Thomas Chabot scored early in the game for the 1-0 lead, the eventual game-winner. In the third period, Dylan Cozens scored his first career playoff goal to give the Senators some insurance. Tim Stützle and Brady Tkachuk added empty net goals to win Game 5 by a score of 4-0.
Suddenly, the Senators return home with a chance to force Game 7 with a win. The last time a team down 3-0 forced a Game 7 was the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. However, the last time a team won in reverse sweep fashion was in 2014, and it’s only been done four times in NHL history. Game 6 is on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. MT, and if needed, Game 7 will be played on Saturday.

Canadiens down 3-1 to the Capitals… again

The Montréal Canadiens have been in a 3-1 hole before. Ironically, they lost Game 2 by a 3-1 score to go down 2-0 in the series. Christian Dvorak opened the scoring for the Canadiens, but the Washington Capitals answered back with three consecutive goals, two by Connor McMichael, for the 3-1 win.
In a pivotal Game 3, the Canadiens were the ones to come out on top with an emphatic 6-3 victory. McMichale opened the scoring, but Alexandre Carrier and Nick Suzuki scored for the Canadiens to make it 2-1. Jakob Chychrun scored midway through the second for the 2-2 tie, but Cole Caufield scored with nine seconds left in the second to put the Canadiens ahead. Alexander Ovechkin scored early in the third for the 3-3 tie, but it was all the Canadiens from there as Dvorak, Juraj Slafkovský, and Alex Newhook scored three goals for the 6-3 victory.
With a chance to win Game 4 to make it a best of three, the Canadiens lost 5-2 to the Capitals to push them to the brink Dylan Strome opened the scoring for the Capitals early in the second, but Caufield scored twice in eight minutes for the Canadiens to take a lead into the third. It was all the Capitals from there, though, as they scored four unanswered in the third thanks to two empty net goals. Former Flame Andrew Mangiapane also potted his first of the post-season in this game.
It’s not looking good for the Canadiens as they are now in a 3-1 deficit. With that being said, they’ve been here before, as they were down 3-1 during the 2010 post-season to the Capitals, only for them to win in Game 7. But first, they have to win Game 5, which is on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Panthers up 3-1 over Lightning in a chippy series

After last week’s article, the Florida Panthers were up 1-0 in the series. They extended that to a 2-0 series lead with a 2-0 win in Game 2. Nate Schmidt scored the only goal with a goalie in the net 4:15 into the first, and former Flame Sam Bennett iced it with an empty-netter.
Game 3 went in favour of the Tampa Bay Lightning, though. Former Flame Matthew Tkachuk opened the scoring early in the first, but the Lightning answered with five unanswered goals from Brayden Point, Nick Paul, Jake Guentzel, Luke Glendening, and Anthony Cirelli to win this one 5-1.
With a chance to make it a best-of-three, the Lightning were minutes away from going back to Tampa with home ice advantage. Anton Lundell opened the scoring for the Panthers midway through the second, but the Lightning fired back with two goals in an 11-second span. 
With under four minutes left in the game, the Lightning had a 2-1 lead, but Aaron Ekblad potted the game-tying goal with 3:47 on the clock. Just like the Lightning, the Panthers scored 11 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead, icing the game with an empty-netter.
The pivotal Game 5 will be played on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. MT. If the Lightning win, Game 6 will be played Friday in Sunrise, Florida. Again, if the Lightning win that one to force Game 7, it will be played on Sunday in Tampa.

Hurricanes are the first team to clinch a second-round berth

One team has been eliminated from the post-season, and it’s the New Jersey Devils. After two games, the Carolina Hurricanes had a 2-0 series lead over the Devils. However, the Devils cut the series lead in half with an overtime goal from Šimon Nemec. They couldn’t keep up the momentum in Game 4, as Andrei Svechnikov scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 Hurricanes win to put the Devils on the brink of elimination.
That led to a do-or-die Game 5 for the Devils, and they responded well, scoring three goals in the first period. That lead didn’t hold for them, though, as the Hurricanes fired back with three consecutive goals of their own in the first 5:40 of the second period. The Devils restored the lead, but the Hurricanes had an answer. 
No goals were scored in the third period, meaning overtime for the two teams. Once again, the goalies kept it scoreless in the first overtime period, but Sebastian Aho scored 4:17 in the second overtime period to move the Hurricanes to the second round.
This series has ramifications for the Flames, as they own the Devils’ first-round pick in June’s draft. It seems incredibly likely that the Flames will select 18th overall with that pick, barring the Montréal Canadiens coming back and winning the series. For what it’s worth, the Flames’ first-rounder heading to the Canadiens is the 16th overall unless the Flames have some incredible lottery luck.
The Hurricanes will face either the Washington Capitals or the Canadiens.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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