Updated 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from April 29
Tuesday had the set up to be a day to remember in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
In the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes had an opportunity to close out the New Jersey Devils in five games, while the Toronto Maple Leafs had the chance to do the same to the Ottawa Senators.
As for the Western Conference, the two Game 5s represented swing contests with the series between the Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, as well as the one between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, tied at two games apiece.
Here is how it all unfolded.
Stanley Cup Playoff Results: Tuesday, April 29
Game 5: Ottawa Senators def. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0 (TOR leads 3-2)
Game 5: Carolina Hurricanes def. New Jersey Devils, 5-4 2OT (CAR wins 4-1)
Game 5: Vegas Golden Knights def. Minnesota Wild, 3-2 OT (VGK lead 3-2)
Game 5: Edmonton Oilers def. Los Angeles Kings, 3-1 (EDM leads 3-2)
Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule: Wednesday, April 30
Game 5: Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET (WAS leads 3-1)
Game 5: Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m. ET (FLA leads 3-1)
Game 5: St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets, 9:30 p.m. ET (series tied at 2)
Ottawa Senators Def. Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0
Ottawa isn't done just yet.
While Toronto had a golden opportunity to close the series out at home, Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark had other ideas. He stopped all 29 shots he faced, frustrating an offensive attack that features plenty of star power.
With Ullmark playing at that level, the Senators didn't need much goal support to escape with a road win.
They didn't get any until the second period when Thomas Chabot finally broke the scoreless tie. That alone would have been enough, but the visitors dominated play in the third period with Dylan Cozens burying a slap shot and Tim Stützle, who also had an assist, putting the exclamation point on the victory with another goal in the final minutes.
Brady Tkachuk scored an empty-netter in the last minute for good measure and also notched two assists in the winning effort.
Still, the story was Ullmark. If he continues to play at such a level, the Senators will have an opportunity to force a decisive Game 7.
Carolina Hurricanes Def. New Jersey Devils, 5-4 2OT
The day's second game had far more drama, although it didn't look like it would at first.
After all, New Jersey jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead in the first period with goals from Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier and Stefan Noesen. It seemed like the visitors were going to preserve their season on the road much in the same way as Ottawa did.
Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov all scored for Carolina in the first six minutes of the second period. That comeback theme continued even after Nico Hischier answered with a goal to put the Devils back ahead 4-3, as Sebastian Aho buried one in the back of the net to tie the game at four heading to the decisive third period.
Both goaltenders (Jacob Markstrom for New Jersey and Pyotr Kochetkov for Carolina) remained in the game despite the onslaught of goals, which seemed to be a good decision as the defenses finally stood strong throughout the third period.
The end result of that stalemate in the third period was overtime and an opportunity for everyone on the ice to play the role of hero, but Markstrom continued to impress in the extra period to force a second.
Aho ultimately broke through, though, scoring the game-winner during a four-minute power play to end the series.
Vegas Golden Knights Def. Minnesota Wild, 3-2 OT
Tuesday wasn't done with overtime.
The back-and-forth series between the Golden Knights and Wild fittingly featured a number of momentum swings in Game 5 until Brett Howden buried a goal in the extra period to move Vegas one win away from advancing.
Howden's moment came after it seemed like Ryan Hartman scored the game-winner for the Wild in the final two minutes of regulation. However, the goal was overturned because of an offside call following a Vegas challenge.
That gave the Golden Knights new life after they initially set the tone with first-period goals from William Karlsson and Mark Stone. Kirill Kaprizov scored for Minnesota during that opening period as well, which was important to keep the visitors within striking distance.
Marc-André Fleury also kept them within striking distance as the game unfolded. The veteran goaltender entered the game after Filip Gustavsson left because of an illness and then turned away every scoring opportunity he faced in regulation.
With Fleury and the Minnesota defense doing their collective job, Matt Boldy scored the equalizer in the third period that eventually sent the game to overtime after Hartman's goal was disallowed.
But it was Howden who came through in the biggest moment.
Edmonton Oilers Def. Los Angeles Kings, 3-1
Home-ice advantage belongs to Edmonton.
The Oilers became the first road team to win in this series thanks to impressive goaltending and defending to go with timely late goals. It seemed like Los Angeles would continue the pattern of home teams winning when Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring in the second period, but that was the only offense it generated.
Evander Kane quickly answered with a goal in the second period before Mattias Janmark found the back of the net for what proved to be the game-winner in the third.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored an empty-netter to clinch the victory, which felt fitting since Edmonton controlled much of play and created the majority of the chances. Los Angeles goaltender Darcy Kuemper did what he could with 43 saves on 45 shots, but it wasn't enough.
Unfortunately for the Kings, they were unable to figure out goaltender Calvin Pickard on the other side when it mattered most. He turned away 21 of the 22 shots he faced and prevented some late scoring chances.
That cleared the way for Nugent-Hopkins to ice it with the late goal.
