Updated 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from April 21
Monday marked the start of the 2025 NHL playoffs for four teams and the continuation of two other series with multiple Game 2 matchups.
Here is a look at Monday's scores and the upcoming schedule for each series as the teams compete for early momentum in the road to the Stanley Cup Final.
Monday's Scores/Schedule
Game 1: Washington Capitals def. Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 OT (WAS leads 1-0)
Game 2: Winnipeg Jets def. St. Louis Blues, 2-1 (WPG leads 2-0)
Game 2: Dallas Stars def. Colorado Avalanche, 4-3 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 1: Los Angeles Kings def. Edmonton Oilers, 6-5 (LAS leads 1-0)
Eastern Conference
Toronto Maple Leafs 1, Ottawa Senators 0 (Game 2 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET)
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers (Game 1 on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET)
Washington Capitals 1, Montreal Canadiens 0 (Game 2 on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET)
Carolina Hurricanes 1, New Jersey Devils 0 (Game 2 on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET)
Western Conference
Vegas Golden Knights 1, Minnesota Wild 0 (Game 2 on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET)
Los Angeles Kings 1, Edmonton Oilers 0 (Game 2 on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET)
Winnipeg Jets 2, St. Louis Blues 0 (Game 3 on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET)
Colorado Avalanche 1, Dallas Stars 1 (Game 3 on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET)
Washington Capitals def. Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 OT
The Washington Capitals' playoff journey could only start one way.
Alex Ovechkin became the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer this season and fittingly played the role of hero with the overtime goal in Monday's 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
His first goal came when he fired a wrist shot from distance from the left in the first period and quickly sent the crowd into celebration mode:
That wasn't the only celebration he facilitated Monday, as he also assisted on Anthony Beauvillier's second-period goal. That gave Washington's defense some breathing room heading into the final period, which proved important.
Montreal came storming back with goals from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki in the final 10 minutes of regulation to force the extra period. After controlling much of the game, Washington suddenly found itself at risk of losing home-ice advantage right away.
Until Ovechkin made sure it didn't.
As if there was ever a doubt who would win it, the league's all-time leading goal scorer buried the game-winner early in the overtime period.
Winnipeg Jets def. St. Louis Blues, 2-1
The Winnipeg Jets finished with the most points in the Western Conference during the regular season and have looked the part of a Stanley Cup contender while seizing control of their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues.
They are now up 2-0 in the series thanks in large part to heroics from Kyle Connor and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
Connor broke a 1-1 tie in the first two minutes of the third period with a timely wrist shot, which put St. Louis in comeback mode for the remainder. And that was not the mode it wanted to be in with Hellebuyck between the pipes.
He turned away 21 of the 22 shots he faced to preserve the narrowest of leads.
The only goal he allowed came in the first period when Jimmy Snuggerud found the back of the net on a power play. It answered the opening goal from Mark Scheifele and gave the Blues a chance to compete throughout, but they didn't have another answer to Connor's winner.
Los Angeles Kings def. Edmonton Oilers, 6-5
The Los Angeles Kings grabbed a Game 1 victory and a 1-0 series lead with a well-rounded performance, as five different players found the back of the net in a commanding win over the Oilers on home ice.
Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring for Los Angeles with a brilliant tip-in, set up by Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe, giving the Kings a 1-0 edge.
Quinton Byfield then extended their lead to 2-0 with a powerful wrist shot, assisted by Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson, as the Kings dominated the first period.
Just over five minutes into the second, Adrian Kempe added to the lead with a slick backhand goal, courtesy of Andrei Kuzmenko and Anze Kopitar, making it 3-0.
The Kings weren’t done yet—Phillip Danault fired home a wrist shot, assisted by Byfield, pushing the advantage to 4-0.
But Edmonton responded late in the period, with Leon Draisaitl blasting a slap shot past the goalie, with helpers from Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard, cutting the lead to 4-1 as the period came to a close.
Kevin Fiala unleashed a powerful slap shot, assisted by Adrian Kempe and Andrei Kuzmenko, to extend Los Angeles' lead to 5-2, further solidifying their dominance in the game.
Shortly after, Edmonton’s Corey Perry delivered a clutch wrist shot past the goalie, cutting the deficit to 5-3 and giving the Oilers a glimmer of hope with just under eight minutes remaining.
Momentum shifted when McDavid and Zach Hyman netted back-to-back goals, tying the game at 5 with just over 90 seconds left in regulation.
Danault had the final say, burying the go-ahead goal with under a minute to play to seal a dramatic 6-5 win for the Kings.
Dallas Stars def. Colorado Avalanche, 4-3 in O.T.
The Dallas Stars knotted the series at 1-1 with an overtime thriller, as Colin Blackwell played hero by burying the game-winner in front of a roaring home crowd.
Nathan MacKinnon wasted no time getting the Avalanche on the board, ripping a wrist shot for his third goal of the postseason and giving Colorado an early 1-0 edge. Cale Makar and Jonathan Drouin picked up the assists on the opening tally.
Tyler Seguin answered back for Dallas later in the first, blasting home a slap shot to tie things up at 1-1. Mason Marchment and Jamie Benn helped set up Seguin’s first goal of the postseason.
The Stars took their first lead early in the second when Thomas Harley wired a wrist shot past the netminder for his first playoff goal, assisted by Sam Steel and Oskar Bäck to make it 2-1.
The Avalanche evened the score once again in the second period when Jack Drury fired a wrist shot to the back of the net for his first postseason goal. Logan O'Connor and Ryan Lindgren notched the helpers.
O'Connor came through with the go-ahead goal late in the second, cashing in on a slick backhand finish off feeds from Artturi Lehkonen and Samuel Girard to put Colorado back on top, 3-2.
Evgenii Dadonov came through in the clutch for the Stars, blasting a snap shot past the goalie to level the score at 3-3, with Wyatt Johnston providing the setup for the crucial goal halfway through the final period.
A late hooking penalty by Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen nearly handed the Avalanche a golden opportunity to claim the game-winning goal, but a key save by Stars goalie Jake Oettinger kept Colorado at bay, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime a slap shot by Martin Nečas looked like it was good, but Oettinger stood tall and made a jaw-dropping save to keep the game tied at 3-3.
After nearly 18 tense minutes of overtime, Blackwell buried the game-winner to seal a 4-3 victory and even the series at 1-1.
Dan Bylsma Fired by Kraken After 1 Season as HC, Missed 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket
After just one season under head coach Dan Bylsma, the Seattle Kraken are making a change.
The team announced that Bylsma was relieved of his duties on Monday after the Kraken finished the 2024-25 season with a 35-41-6 record and failed to make the playoffs.
Hockey insider Frank Seravalli reported that in addition to Bylsma's firing, "there is no shortage of speculation in league circles" that general manager Ron Francis "will move to another front office position and assistant GM Jason Botterill will be promoted to GM."
Ryan S. Clark of ESPN added:
Bylsma spent two seasons as head coach of Seattle's AHL affiliate before being promoted to head coach of the Kraken following the firing of Dave Hakstol at the end of the 2023-24 season. Hakstol was the franchise's first head coach after it was founded in 2021 and led the team to a 107-112-27 record in three seasons with one playoff appearance in 2023 when it lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round.
Prior to joining the Kraken, Bylsma served as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2008 to 2014 and the Buffalo Sabres from 2015 to 2017. He led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup title in his first year, but he never advanced past the conference finals after that. He missed the playoffs in both his seasons with the Sabres. He was also an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings from 2018 to 2021.
The Kraken will be hoping to find a new leader who can usher in an era of success as the franchise continues to establish itself in the NHL.
Updated 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from April 20
The second day of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Sunday, April 20) is complete.
Two dominant performances marked most of Easter Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, the Carolina Hurricanes easily took down the New Jersey Devils, 4-1. Then the Toronto Maple Leafs' offensive onslaught left the Ottawa Senators no chance in a 6-2 victory.
The best game was left for last, as the Vegas Golden Knights withstood a great effort from the Minnesota Wild for a 4-2 victory.
Here's a look at where everything stands now in the best-of-seven first-round series, alongside recaps and highlights from today's action.
Eastern Conference
A1. Toronto Maple Leafs 1, WC1. Ottawa Senators 0 (Game 1: TOR won 6-2)
A2. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3. Florida Panthers (Game 1 on Tuesday)
M1. Washington Capitals vs. WC2. Montreal Canadiens (Game 1 on Monday)
M2. Carolina Hurricanes 1, M3. New Jersey Devils 0 (Game 1: CAR won 4-1)
Western Conference
P1. Vegas Golden Knights 1, WC1. Minnesota Wild 0 (Game 1: VGK won 4-2)
P2. Los Angeles Kings vs. P3. Edmonton Oilers (Game 1 on Monday)
C1. Winnipeg Jets 1, WC2. St. Louis Blues 0 (Game 1: WPG won 5-3)
C3. Colorado Avalanche 1, C2. Dallas Stars 0 (Game 1: COL won 5-1)
Carolina Hurricanes 4, New Jersey Devils 1
Logan Stankoven scored two goals and Andrei Svechnikov and Jalen Chatfield added one apiece as the Carolina Hurricanes demolished the New Jersey Devils 4-1 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Devils skated uphill all afternoon against a thoroughly dominant Hurricanes team that thrived in front of the home crowd in Raleigh. Carolina out-shot the Devils 38-13 through two periods and 45-24 for the game.
Chatfield got the 'Canes on the board early after deflecting a shot within some traffic in front of the net for a 1-0 edge 2:24 into the game.
Stankoven, who posted 14 goals and 24 assists in his rookie year, added Carolina's second goal when Jordan Martinook took the puck away from the Devil defense behind the net. Martinook then smartly found Stankoven, who fired a quick shot into the net at 6:37 of the second period.
The Stankoven show continued after he took a Taylor Hall pass and sniped a shot from the faceoff circle and off the goalpost into the net for a 3-0 lead at 13:08 of the second.
The Devils did get one back with 1:09 left in the second courtesy of Nico Hischier's snipe in the upper-right hand corner.
However, that was as close as New Jersey would get. Svechnikov scored an empty-netter to seal the win.
Carolina will now host Game 2 on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.
Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Ottawa Senators 2
The Toronto Maple Leafs scored two goals apiece in the first, second and third period for a resounding victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Ottawa lost by four goals despite out-shooting Toronto 33-24. Toronto had just five shots on goal in the first and six in the third but managed to score twice in each frame. Meanwhile, Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz excelled with 31 saves.
Mitch Marner posted a goal and two assists. Auston Matthews added two helpers, and William Nylander and John Tavares had a goal and an assist apiece. Matthew Knies, Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson all scored goals. Three of the Maple Leafs' six goals were on the power play.
For Ottawa, Drake Batherson and Ridly Greig both scored.
Toronto jumped out to 2-0 first-period lead off goals from Ekman-Larsson and Marner (on a breakaway), but Batherson responded with one. The Maple Leafs led 2-1 after one.
The Maple Leafs took full control in the second period off power play goals from Tavares and Nylander for a 4-1 edge going into the second intermission.
The Sens weren't done yet, though, as Greig scored four minutes into the period to cut the Leafs' lead to 4-2.
However, the Maple Leafs scored just 45 seconds later when Rielly put one home.
And then Knies scored the Leafs' third power play goal. Toronto finished 3-of-6 with the extra man.
There was some extra activity in the closing seconds and after the horn, though, between Senators center Shane Pinto and Maple Leafs defenseman Christopher Tanev.
Toronto will now host Ottawa for Game 2 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Minnesota Wild 2
The Vegas Golden Knights opened the playoffs with a win thanks to two Brett Howden goals and a goal and an assist from forward Tomas Hertl. They were victorious despite the best efforts of Minnesota forward Matt Boldy, who scored both Wild goals (Kirill Kaprizov also had two assists).
Both teams scored one goal apiece in the first period. Hertl opened the scoring for Vegas at 15:22, but Matt Boldy responded 2:20 later to knot the game at one going into intermission thanks largely to a great Kaprizov pass.
Vegas got one in the second period, though, for a 2-1 lead. Pavel Dorofeyev scored a one-timer on the power play at 13:33 off assists from Hertl and Theodore.
In the third period, Brett Howden gave Vegas a 3-1 edge at 2:28, but Boldy responded at 11:46 thanks to a fantastic wraparound.
However, the equalizer never arrived. Minnesota pulled the goalie for an extra attacker, but Boldy later took a tripping call to stop an empty-netter. Howden later scored an empty-netter anyway just before time ran out to end the game.
Game 2 will go down in Vegas on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET.
USA Beats Canada to Win 2025 Women's Hockey World Championship Behind Janecke OT Goal
Team USA forward Tessa Janecke scored an overtime game-winner to lead her team to a 4-3 win over Canada in the International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship on Sunday in České Budějovice, Czechia.
Late in OT, Canada committed a turnover in its own end after Taylor Heise collected a loose puck. She immediately found Janecke, who plays collegiately for Penn State, on the back side of the net. Janecke did the rest, and the United States emerged victorious.
Neither team scored in the first 27 minutes and 15 seconds, but the USA and Canada then combined for four goals in a 2:16 span.
Caroline Harvey scored first for the USA, followed by Abbey Murphy 29 seconds later.
Danielle Serdachny then scored at 8:37 for Canada to cut the deficit in half before Jennifer Gardiner put one home 55 seconds later for a two-all tie.
Heise put the Americans back up top at 5:27 of the third while on the power play. However, Sarah Fillier responded with 5:48 remaining in regulation.
It was a tough loss for Canada, which out-shot the USA 46-30 and came into the game scorching-hot after winning its knockout round games by a combined 15-1 score (7-0 over Switzerland, 8-1 over Finland).
The United States and Canada are the only teams to ever win the world championship, a tournament that began in 1990 and has been held 24 times overall. Canada has won on 13 occasions, including three of the last four times leading into this season.
Team USA won all four of its games in regulation during group play (including a 2-1 victory over Canada) before entering the knockout round. The Americans then beat Germany 3-0 and Czechia 2-1 to move onto the final.
Earlier on Sunday, Finland beat Czechia 4-3 to earn third place.
Updated 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket, Schedule and Top Highlights from April 19
The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is officially underway.
The Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues were a minute and a half from overtime when Kyle Connor brought Canada Life Centre to its feet with a late game-winner on Saturday.
Later that night, a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal made the difference as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
Here's a look at tonight's results, the upcoming schedule and the top highlights from Saturday night's games.
Stanley Cup Playoffs results: Saturday, April 19
Winnipeg Jets 5, St. Louis Blues 3 (WPG leads 1-0)
Colorado Avalanche 5, Dallas Stars 1 (COL leads 1-0)
Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule: Sunday, April 20
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1: 3 p.m. ET
Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1: 7 p.m. ET
Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights, Game 1: 10 p.m. ET
Winnipeg Jets 5, St. Louis Blues 3
Fans in Winnipeg and St. Louis could be in for a high-scoring series.
Game 1 of the first-round series started with a four-goal first period after Robert Thomas opened scoring with an early power play goal.
The Jets responded with two goals in a span of two minutes.
Oskar Sundqvist evened the score again after collecting a loose puck at the Jets' netfront.
Early in the second period, Jordan Kyrou picked the corner on a second-period power play to put the Blues back ahead.
Connor Hellebuyck, who had struggled early in the game, stonewalled Kyrou on a breakaway less than one minute later to keep the Blues from pulling away by two goals.
In the third period, Mark Scheifele's work behind the net set up Alex Iafallo to tie the game.
The teams were less than two minutes away from overtime when Connor put the home team ahead with his late one-timer.
Emotions started running high after Jets captain Adam Lowry iced the win with a late empty-netter.
The Jets could look to take a 2-0 series lead on Monday when the puck drops for Game 2 in Winnipeg.
Colorado Avalanche 5, Dallas Stars 1
The Stars, missing top defenseman Miro Heiskanen and top scorer Jason Robertson to injury, struggled to solve Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood in his playoff debut.
Dallas started out the game strong by killing off more than one and a half minutes of a two-man disadvantage in the first period.
Early in the second frame, Blackwood turned aside a point-blank opportunity from Wyatt Johnston moments before the Avs opened scoring with a puck that ricocheted in off the skate of Artturi Lehkonen.
The tide turned definitively toward an Avs win when Roope Hintz took a double minor for high-sticking Nathan MacKinnon late in the second period.
MacKinnon responded by sending the Avalanche's second goal of the night bouncing off a Stars defender and into the net.
Dallas cut into the Avs' lead on a power play early in the third period, when Hintz redirected a Thomas Harley shot past Blackwood.
The Stars pushed for a tying goal, but Blackwood held them off until Devon Toews finished off an Avs rush by tipping a Josh Manson shot home.
MacKinnon put the game out of reach with an empty-netter, and Charlie Coyle further padded the lead with a late goal.
The Stars will look to even the series when the Avs return to Dallas for Game 2 on Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Mike Sullivan Named Rangers HC, Contract Reportedly Among 'Richest' in NHL History
The New York Rangers named Mike Sullivan their new head coach on Friday.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes first reported the sides were in advanced talks on Thursday.
The Rangers were expected to offer Sullivan "one of the richest coaching contracts in NHL history," the pair relayed.
Kaplan and Weekes additionally reported that former Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella is "a strong possibility" to join Sullivan with the Rangers.
The news comes three days after Sullivan parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins after 10 seasons and two Stanley Cups.
Sullivan will replace Peter Laviolette, who was fired on April 19 when the Rangers missed the playoffs one year after a Presidents' Trophy win and Eastern Conference Final appearance. Laviolette had one year remaining on his contract at the time.
After arriving in New York in 2023, Laviolette led the Rangers to 55 regular-season wins during his first season as head coach.
The Rangers swept the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, then clinched a six-game victory over the Carolina Hurricanes before facing elimination at the hands of the eventual champion Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the conference final.
After re-signing star goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a record-breaking contract last fall, the Rangers hoped to build on that run by making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2025.
Struggles early in the season led to roster turnover including the departures of former No. 2 pick Kaapo Kakko and team captain Jacob Trouba, as well as the acquisition of J.T. Miller.
None of those moves were enough to push Laviolette and the Rangers back into playoff contention.
"We came into this season with high expectations for ourselves. Quite simply, we failed to meet those expectations. We must all do better–myself included," Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in his April 19 statement regarding Laviolette's dismissal.
With the hiring official, Sullivan will be tasked with directing several key aspects of the Rangers' recovery from a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
The new head coach will need to help Shesterkin, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck recover from down seasons. He will have to help find J.T. Miller's long-term fit on the roster and push Alexis Lafrenière to take the next step forward in his development. He will need to fix a power play that went from being one of the team's biggest strengths in 2024 to a liability this spring.
Those improvements will likely be expected on a relatively short timeline. Given that the Rangers were expecting to compete for a Stanley Cup in 2025, the franchise will be looking to make it back to the playoffs by the end of what could be Sullivan's first season in Manhattan.
Sullivan parted ways with the Penguins on April 28 after his team missed the playoffs for a third straight spring.
Promoted from the Penguins' AHL affiliate in late 2015, Sullivan led Pittsburgh to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 but hasn't been able to find similar playoff success with Sidney Crosby since.
Sullivan worked with Drury during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and he was previously connected to the head coaching opening in New York when the Blueshirts were seeking a replacement for David Quinn in 2021.
The Penguins' decision to move on from Sullivan shortly after the Rangers parted ways with Laviolette allowed New York to finally focus on their preferred candidate.
Peter Laviolette Fired as Rangers HC After Missing 2025 NHL Playoff Bracket
After a 16-win decrease from last season and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021-22, the New York Rangers are making a change at head coach.
Rangers general manager Chris Drury announced on Saturday that Peter Laviolette has been fired after two seasons.
"Today I informed Peter Laviolette and (associated head coach) Phil Housley that we’re making a coaching change. I want to thank them both and wish them and their families all the best going forward. Peter is first class all the way, both professionally and personally, and I am truly grateful for his passion and dedication to the Rangers in his time as head coach."
Laviolette was hired by the Rangers in June 2023 after Gerard Gallant was fired following a first-round playoff loss to the New Jersey Devils.
The Rangers responded well to the change in head coach. They won the Presidents' Trophy with a franchise-record 114 points in 2023-24. It was their first time finishing with the league's best record since the 2014-15 season.
After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, the Rangers' dream season came to an end in six games to the Florida Panthers.
This season was a huge step back for the organization due in part to significant declines from several key players. Artemi Panarin, who finished fourth in points during the 2023-24 season (120), had 89 in 80 games. Vincent Trochek's point total dropped from 77 to 59.
The Rangers finished 39-36-7 and 89 points. It was their fewest wins and points in an 82-game season since the 2018-19 season.
Even though Laviolette's dismissal is justifiable from a performance standpoint, it does add to the ongoing instability for the Rangers. The next coach will be their fourth different one since the 2020-21 season.
This move does suggest that Drury will remain in his post as GM that he's held since May 2021. The pressure figures to be on him in the wake of a disappointing 2024-25 and hiring his third different coach.