by Kaitlyn Rey
16 teams, 4 divisions, 4 rounds, 1 trophy.
It’s that time of year again when the best teams and players in the NHL battle each other in a 4 round, best of 7 tournament for the chance to win the best trophy in sports: The Stanley Cup This is a recap of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
– the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators in 6. The Leafs leading scorer was William Nylander with 3 goals and 6 assists. This win makes it the second time since 2004 the Maple Leafs advanced to the second round. The previous time was in 2023 when they beat Tampa Bay in 6. Toronto took a 3-0 series lead with back to back overtime wins. Ottawa fought back with a shutout in game 5, but the Leafs ended their season with a win in game 6. This series was the first all Canadian playoff matchup since 2021 and their first postseason meeting since 2004 which reignites one of the NHL’s most heated rivalries.
– In the “Battle of Florida”, The Florida Panthers, defending champions, defeated their neighbor Tampa Bay in 5. Their top scorer was Sam Reinhart with 2 goals and 4 assists. The Panthers won all three of their road games in Tampa.
– The Washington Capitals took out the Montreal Canadiens in 5. Their top scorer was Dylan Strome with 2 goals and 7 assists. Goalie Logan Thompson had a 28 save performance in game 5. 39 year old Alex Ovechkin scored a playoff overtime goal which makes him one of the oldest players to ever do so.
– The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey devils in 5. The Hurricanes top scorer was Sebastian Aho with 3 goals and 5 assists. Andrei Svechnikov scored a hat trick in game 4. The Hurricanes played and won game 5 in double overtime with the winning goal scored by Sebastian Aho.
– The Winnipeg Jets defeated the St Louis Blues in 7. The Jets top scorer was Kyle Connor who had 4 goals and 7 assists. In game 7 Cole Perfetti tied the game 3-3 with 2.2 seconds left forcing the game into overtime. Adam Lowry then secured the win in double overtime. Perfetti’s goal set a new NHL record for the latest tying goal in a game 7. Every game in this series was won by the home team. Winnipeg’s goalie Connor Hellebyuck faced over 200 shots in 7 games while maintaining a save percentage above .930.
– The Dallas Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche in 7. Their top scorer was Mikko Rantanen who had 5 goals and 7 assists. Rantanen also scored a third period hat trick in game 7. Their coach, Peter DeBoer, improved his game 7 record to 9-0 making it the best in NHL history.
– The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild in 6 with Jack Eichel and Thomas Hertl being tied for the top scorer. Eichel has 1 goal and 4 assists while Hertl has 3 goals and 2 assists. The Knights overcame being down two games to one winning 3 straight games to advance.
– The Edmonton Oilers took down the Los Angeles Kings in 6. Connor McDavid was their leading scorer with 2 goals and 9 assists. After being down in the series 0-2, the Oilers won four straight games led by McDavid and Draisaitl.
– 3 Canadian teams, Toronto, Edmonton, and Winnipeg advanced past the first round for the first time since 2017. This reunites hopes of ending Canada’s 32 year Stanley cup drought.
Next round:
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers
Washington Capitals vs Carolina Hurricanes
Winnipeg Jets vs Dallas Stars
Vegas Golden Knights vs Edmonton Oilers