Round 1 is in the books! The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are moving along. Round 1 brought plenty of notable storylines across the 47 games played. Nine of those games went to overtime, and two went to 2OT.
Here’s a breakdown of each series in the first round.
Eastern Conference:
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators in six games, including a 5-4 win in game six. Max Domi’s game 2 overtime winner helped the Maple Leafs secure momentum early. William Nylander led the Leafs in points with four goals and three assists, totaling seven points.
The defending champions, the Florida Panthers, beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 in game five to take the series 4-1. Eetu Luostarinens’ 4-point performance would lead the Panthers to clinch the series in game 5. Sam Reinhart would stand out in the series with 8 goals and 4 assists to total a monstrous 12-point series.
The Washington Capitals would win their first playoff series since their Stanley Cup run in 2018. The Caps took the series 4-1 over the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Ovechkin, after his historic regular season, has continued to perform in the playoffs. Ovechkin netted a total of 4 goals and recorded his first career playoff overtime goal in game 1.
The Carolina Hurricanes dominated the New Jersey Devils, going 100% on the penalty kill and outscoring the Devils 19 to 11. The Canes would take the series 4-1 after a clutch double overtime goal by Sebastian Aho. Andrei Svecnikov found his groove again, recording a hat trick in game 4 and totaling 5 goals and 1 assist for 6 points.
Lucas Green, a sophomore at Green Level and a Carolina Hurricanes fan since he moved to NC in 2018. Lucas commented on Svechnikov’s performance during the first round, “I’m glad to have Svech back; he’s been in the shadows for a lot of games this season.” Lucas Green believes this could be the key to making a deep run in the playoffs. “If everyone can kind of build off of him (Svech), then I think we can go far.”
Western Conference:
The Western Conference was the most contested, with both 7-game series happening in the Western Conference.
The first series to go to a game 7 was the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. The games went back and forth until the Dallas Stars clinched the series with a 4-2 victory with a hat trick from Mikko Rantanen, the most notable player in this series. Rantanen was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes midseason, and after a week in Carolina, he was traded again and settled in Dallas. Rantanen was quiet up until games 5-7, where he recorded 5 goals and 7 assists.
The second series to go to a game 7 was the Winnipeg Jets and St Louis Blues. This series was the most surprising as the Jets were the best team during the regular season, and the Blues were sitting in the 2nd wild card spot. In Game 7, the Jets would score to force overtime with 1.7 seconds left on the clock. Adam Lowry would score the series winner in double overtime to mount the Jets’ comeback.
The LA Kings would take on the Edmonton Oilers for the 4th straight postseason. The Oilers would take the series 4-2 after a 6-4 victory in Edmonton. This is the 4th straight year the Kings have lost to the Oilers in round 1. Connor McDavid led the Oilers in scoring with 2 goals and nine assists in 6 games. His most notable performance was in Game 1 with a goal and 3 assists.
The final series would be the Vegas Golden Knights vs the Minnesota Wild. Vegas would take the first game and the final three games to beat the Wild 4-2 in the series. Back-to-back overtime wins in games 4 and 5 swung momentum for the Knights to win in 6. Barbashev and Howden would score in these overtime games to swing the series for the Knights.
Tension is heating up now in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it’s only been one round. This year’s playoffs are sure to be exciting and full of physicality and effort from every team. But who do you think will hoist this year’s Stanley Cup?
Place your predictions here 2025 Stanley Cup Predictions
