The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs are underway.
This is What’s Going On In The Playoffs, where we look at how each series is going so far this post-season. It’s shaping up to be a great playoff so far as most of the series have been competitive.
Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the post-season so far!

Kings outlast Oilers’ comeback

It took a while for the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers to get going, but oh man was it worth the wait.
Game 1 was on Monday, and the Oilers didn’t show up for the first two periods. Former Calgary Flame Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring, before Quinton Byfield doubled their lead in the final minute of the first. The Kings scored twice more about three minutes apart in the latter half of the second period, but Leon Draisaitl got the Oilers on the board.
Finally, the Oilers woke up in the third period. Just over two minutes in, Mattias Janmark scored on a shot with a goalie in the net for the first time since his goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Oilers ran into penalty trouble and allowed Kevin Fiala to score on a five-on-three to make it a 5-2 game.
The Oilers scored their third goal of the game, as Corey Perry tapped in a backdoor play to make it 5-3. After killing off a second five-on-three, the Oilers pulled their goalie and got a goal from Zach Hyman to make it 5-4. With 88 seconds left in the game, Connor McDavid scored his first of the post-season for the improbable comeback.
And then, Stuart Skinner allowed a knucklepuck by him with just 42 seconds left in the game to make it a 6-5 game. Thankfully, the Oilers were unable to come back from this late goal, losing Game 1 as they so often do.
Game 2 starts at 8:00 p.m. MT on Wednesday.

Jets win both home games to lead the series 2-0

Sticking with Western Conference Canadian teams, the Winnipeg Jets look like the Presidents’ Trophy team they were in the regular season, as they have a 2-0 series lead over the St. Louis Blues.
In Game 1, Blues forward Robert Thomas opened the series scoring with a power play goal, the first goal scored in the 2025 post-season for any team. However, Mark Scheifele had an answer on the power play, tying the game at one. Less than two minutes later, Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored to make it a 2-1 game, but Oskar Sundqvist found the equalizer with a minute and 50 seconds left in the first.
The Blues jumped out to a 3-2 lead early in the second period, as Jordan Kyrou scored a power play just a minute and 13 seconds in. It held that way until midway through the third period, as Alex Iafallo tied the game. Kyle Connor scored a late goal to give the Jets a 4-3 lead, before captain Adam Lowry scored in the empty net for the 5-3 win and 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 saw far less scoring. Scheifele scored his second of the post-season with just under four minutes left in the first period. However, Jimmy Snuggerud found the game-tying goal with just two seconds left in the opening frame. Early in the third period, Connor scored his second of the post-season, and that’s all the Jets needed to take a 2-0 series lead.
The series now shifts to St. Louis for Game 3, which starts on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. MT.

Wild head to Minnesota tied with the Golden Knights

The Pacific Division-winning Vegas Golden Knights play the Minnesota Wild in the first round, with the Wild coming away with the series split in the first two games.
Game 1 went in favour of the Golden Knights, though. Tomáš Hertl opened the scoring with just under five minutes left in the opening frame, but Matt Boldy had an answer before the end of the period. Pavel Dorofeyev gave the Knights a 2-1 lead toward the end of the middle frame. 
Early in the third period, Brett Howden gave the Knights a 3-2 lead, but the Wild got to within one with Boldy’s second of the game. Howden iced the game with an empty net with almost no time remaining in the game.
Game 2 went in favour of the Wild. Boldly scored his third of the post-season midway through the first, followed by Marcus Foligno’s first just under two minutes later. Before the first period ended, Mats Zuccarello scored to make it 3-0 for the Wild.
Early in the second period, Kirill Kaprizov scored to make it a 4-0 Wild lead, but the 2023 Stanley Cup Champions showed some fight. With just under eight minutes left in the period, Noah Hanifin scored to make it a 4-1 game. Hertl scored his second of the post-season just two and a half minutes in, but that’s all the Golden Knights got as Kaprizov iced the game with an empty net goal.
The series now shifts to Saint Paul, Minnesota, for Game 3. That game starts on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. MT.

Stars’ OT winner over Avalanche evened the series

A Jason Robertson-less Dallas Stars finished with home-ice advantage in the first round against the Colorado Avalanche, but this series was always going to be a dogfight.
Game 1 went in favour of the Avalanche. Artturi Lehkonen opened the scoring midway through the second period, and Nathan MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead with three and a half minutes left in the middle frame. Roope Hintz scored a goal to cut the lead in half with just over 13 minutes left in the game.
The Stars looked for the equalizer with all the pressure on their side, but it was defenceman Devon Toews who found the next goal, making it a 3-1 game for the Avalanche. MacKinnon scored an empty-netter, and just 11 seconds later, Charlie Coyle scored to make it 5-1.
Game 2 went better for the Stars. MacKinnon scored his third of the post-season midway through the first period, but Tyler Seguin scored with under a minute left to tie the game at one. Early in the second period, Thomas Harley scored to give the Stars their first lead of the post-season, but Jack Drury scored just over a minute later to tie the game at two.
In the final minute of the second period, Logan O’Connor scored his first of the post-season to put the Avalanche up one heading into the third. Midway through the final frame, Evgenii Dadonov tied the game to send it to overtime. Late in the first overtime period, Colin Blackwell scored to give the Stars the win.
The Rantanen Bowl continues on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MT as the series shifts to Denver.

Maple Leafs have a 2-0 series lead over Senators

Two games into the first Battle of Ontario since 2004, the Ottawa Senators cannot contain the Toronto Maple Leafs’ power play.
Seven minutes into Game 1, Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring as he was all alone in the slot. Mitch Marner scored to make it a 2-0 game five minutes later, but Drake Batherson cut the Leafs’ lead in half before the end of the first period.
Four minutes into the second period and early on the power play, John Tavares scored his first of the post-season. On the Leafs’ next power play, William Nylander scored to make it a 4-1 game, the Leafs’ biggest fear. Four minutes into the third period, Ridley Greig scored to cut the Leafs’ lead in half, but the Leafs got goals from Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies for the 6-2 win and 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 was far more competitive. Rielly scored his second of the post-season 3:43 into the first period, followed by Tavares’ second 8:20 into the opening frame. Once again, that goal came early in a power play.
The Senators showed more fight this time, though. With just over four minutes left in the second, Brady Tkachuk scored his first career playoff goal to cut the Leafs’ lead in half. Adam Gaudette tied the game with just over five minutes left in the third period to send the game to overtime. However, it was Max Domi who found the goal to put the Leafs up 2-0 in the series.
Game 3 shifts to Canada’s capital, starting at 5:00 PM p.m. on Thursday.

Canadiens fell in overtime to Alexander Ovechkin’s first playoff overtime goal

The other Canadian team that made the post-season is the Montréal Canadiens. The eighth-seeded team is facing off against the Washington Capitals, the team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference. Is it 2010 all over again?
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, they didn’t win Game 1 like they did a decade and a half ago (yes, 2010 was 15 years ago, I still struggle to process that). Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring late in the first period, and Anthony Beauvillier doubled the lead with just under eight minutes left in the second.
But the Canadiens showed some fight in the third period. Midway through, Cole Caufield scored to cut the lead in half and with just over four minutes to go, captain Nick Suzuki scored to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Ovechkin has done a lot in his career, which includes breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record for most regular season goals in a career. However, he hadn’t scored an overtime post-season goal in his career. That was until about two in a half minutes into the first overtime period.
The Canadiens have a chance to even the series on Wednesday, as they play Game 2 at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Hurricanes head to Newark up 2-0

The Carolina Hurricanes against the New Jersey Devils is arguably the least interesting series this post-season. With that being said, it does have ramifications for the Calgary Flames, as they hold the Devils’ first-round pick in the coming draft.
Even better news is that the Hurricanes head to Newark, New Jersey, up 2-0 in the series. Game 1 saw them win 4-1, with Jalen Chatfield opening the scoring early in the first. Logan Stankoven scored twice in the second period to put the Hurricanes up 3-0, but Nico Hischier scored late in the second to make it 3-1. Andrei Svechnikov iced the game with an empty-net goal.
The Devils opened the scoring in Game 2, as Jesper Bratt scored his first of the post-season early in the first period. However, defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere scored early in the second to tie it, before Jordan Martinook scored under three minutes later, which ended up being the game-winner. Seth Jarvis iced the game with an empty-net goal.
Game 3 is in Newark, New Jersey. It starts at 6:00 PM p.m. on Friday. If the Devils are eliminated in the first round, the Flames will get at worst the 18th-overall pick as they have the second-fewest points in the post-season (and fewer than the Flames). Only the Montréal Canadiens have fewer points than the Devils.

Panthers win first game in the Battle of Florida

Another series with ramifications for the Flames is the Battle of Florida contested between the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flames own the Panthers’ first-round pick.
Unfortunately, the Lightning lost Game 1 by a score of 6-2. Former Flame Sam Bennett opened the scoring early in the first, before Jake Guentzel found the game-tying goal with just under eight minutes to play in the opening frame. The Panthers went into the second period with the lead, though, as Sam Reinhart tipped it past the Lightning’s netminder.
Their momentum couldn’t be stopped in the second period. Nate Schmidt scored the game-winning goal about five minutes into the second, and just 14 seconds later, former Flame Matthew Tkachuk scored to make it a 4-1 game. He scored his second of the game just under five minutes later for the 5-1 lead.
Brayden Point scored with about seven minutes in the period, but that’s all the Lightning would get. Schmidt iced any chance of a comeback with a power play goal five minutes into the third period.
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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