The second Sunday of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs is here. There will not be any teams eliminated following the four matchups, but each game is nonetheless pivotal as we move closer to the second round.
In each of the four series that play Sunday, the home team has won every game thus far. Will that trend continue? Or will the favored teams in each head back home with a chance to close things out?
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down in Saturday's games, and the Three Stars of Saturday Night from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues
Game 4 (WPG leads 2-1) | 1 p.m. ET | TBS
The two teams had an extra day off, playing Game 3 on Thursday, a 7-2 win for the Blues. Entering this game, history is not on the Blues' side; teams that have led 2-1 in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win the series 68.6% of the time, and the Blues specifically are 8-20 when trailing 1-2 in a series.
The good news for St. Louis is that Game 3 was the club's 13th straight victory at home, going back to the regular season. The Blues have scored at least five goals in seven of those 13 games.
Pavel Buchnevich's hat trick was the first of his career, and quadrupled his career playoff goal total -- he previously had one goal in 22 games.
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck appears off his game -- compared to the regular season, but not past playoffs. He has allowed four goals or more in nine of his past 12 playoff games.
Winnipeg will need their top players to get back in the scoring swing. Mark Scheifele had two goals and three assists through the first two games, but was held scoreless in Game 3. Kyle Connor began with two goals and two assists and was also held pointless in Game 3.
Carolina Hurricanes at New Jersey Devils
Game 4 (CAR leads 2-1) | 3:30 p.m. ET | TBS
A healthy scratch earlier in the series, Simon Nemec was the Game 3 hero, scoring the game-winning goal in double-overtime. He is the youngest Devil with an OT goal in a playoff game (21 years, 69 days), and the second-youngest defenseman with such a goal in Stanley Cup playoff history; only Andrei Zyuzin (20 years, 97 days in 1998) pulled off the feat at a younger age.
The multiovertime result was not a shock based on the history of these two clubs: the Devils have now won five straight multi-OT playoff games, while the Hurricanes are now 1-11 in multi-OT playoff games, the worst percentage in Stanley Cup playoff history.
Jacob Markstrom has shown up for the Devils this postseason, with a .929 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against average through three games, facing an average of 33 shots per game.
The Hurricanes have had seven different goal-scorers through three games, including expected output from their stars like Seth Jarvis as well as from some surprising contributors such as Jordan Martinook (15 goals in the regular season) and Jalen Chatfield (seven).
As impressive as Markstrom has been for New Jersey, Frederik Andersen has been a bit better for Carolina: through three games, the Dane has 82 saves on 87 shots, generating a .943 SP and 1.48 GAA.
Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens
Game 4 (WSH leads 2-1) | 6:30 p.m. ET | TBS
The six goals that the Canadiens scored in Game 3 were the most they've scored in a playoff game since May 7, 2015.
With his assist on Cole Caufield's second-period goal, Lane Hutson now has 63 in the regular season and playoffs combined, tying Chris Chelios' record for the most by a rookie defenseman.
Alex Ovechkin scored playoff goal No. 75, which passed Joe Pavelski for 13th all time. He's now one behind Mario Lemieux for 12th.
All eyes will be on the status of the goaltenders heading into this game. Sam Montembeault left the Canadiens' crease during the second period, while Logan Thompson was knocked out of action in the third period.
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers
Game 4 (LA leads 2-1) | 9:30 p.m. ET | TBS
As part of the Oilers' offensive onslaught in Game 3, Leon Draisaitl extended his playoff point streak against the Kings to 17 games, which is the third-longest streak against an opponent in Stanley Cup playoffs history, two behind Wayne Gretzky (19, against the Flames) and Mark Messier (19, against the Kings). Decent company!
Connor McDavid now has 12 career playoff games with a goal and two assists, tied with Messier for second most in Oilers history. They both trail Gretzky, who had 24. McDavid also drew even with Jaromir Jagr in sixth place for most games with three-plus points in a game in Stanley Cup playoff history. McDavid has done it 20 times, trailing Gretzky (59), Messier (30), Jari Kurri (28), Nikita Kucherov (22) and Denis Savard (21).
Kings forward Adrian Kempe has nine points this postseason, tied for the second most by a player through three games in the past 40 years of the Stanley Cup playoffs (one behind Gretzky, who had 10 in 1987).
Anze Kopitar's six assists are the most through three games in Kings playoff history.
Heading into the postseason, Darcy Kuemper was seen as a strength for L.A. But through three games, he has an .859 save percentage and 4.04 goals-against average, well behind the .902 and 2.57 he registered for the Colorado Avalanche during their Cup run in 2022.
In the other crease, the Oilers switched to Calvin Pickard to start Game 3. Stuart Skinner had rung up an .810 SP and 6.11 GAA in two games, while Pickard generated an .857 SP and allowed four goals in the victory. Who starts Game 4?
Arda's three stars from Saturday night
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy
G, Tampa Bay Lightning
The Big Cat returned to form in Game 3, making 33 saves in Tampa Bay's 5-1 win over Florida to make the series 2-1.
2. Ivan Barbashev
C, Vegas Golden Knights
Barbashev had two points, including the overtime winner, as the Golden Knights tied up the series with a 4-3 win over the Wild.
3. Jake Sanderson
D, Ottawa Senators
The Battle of Ontario will continue! Sanderson scored the overtime winner for the Senators, keeping them alive with a 4-3 win in Game 4.
Honorable mention: Gabriel Landeskog
LW, Colorado Avalanche
Landeskog scored his first goal since his return to the NHL -- an absence of nearly three years. His teammates swarmed him, jumping for joy. What a moment!
Gabriel Landeskog's slap shot gives the Avalanche a 3-0 lead in the second period.
Saturday's scores
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Florida Panthers 1
FLA leads 2-1 | Game 4 Monday
As dominant as the Panthers were win winning Games 1 and 2 of this series in Tampa Bay, so were the Lightning in Game 3 in Sunrise. Florida's Matthew Tkachuk started the scoring at 2:43 of the first period, but it was all Lightning thereafter, as Brayden Point, Nick Paul, Jake Guentzel and Luke Glendening put pucks past Sergei Bobrovsky, and Anthony Cirelli scored an empty-net goal to put a cap on the festivities. Recap.
Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel connect again on a Lightning goal to increase their lead on the Panthers.
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Minnesota Wild 3 (OT)
Series tied 2-2 | Game 5 Tuesday
The Golden Knights were determined to avoid going down 3-1 in this series to the heavy underdog Wild, and they scored the first goal of the game, a Shea Theodore blast on the power play at 6:47 of the first period. The Wild would charge ahead on goals by Marco Rossi and Marcus Foligno before a Nicolas Roy goal early in the third tied the game at 2. After the two teams traded goals less than a minute apart midway through the third, the game headed to overtime, where Ivan Barbashev was in the right place at the right time to knock in a rebound for the game-winning goal. Recap.
Ivan Barbashev manages to tip the puck into the net amidst the chaos and tie the series at 2-2 for the Golden Knights vs. the Wild.
Ottawa Senators 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 3 (OT)
TOR leads 3-1 | Game 5 Tuesday
For the third straight game in the series, the Battle of Ontario went to overtime -- this time, it was won by the Senators on a goal from Jake Sanderson with 2:18 remaining in the extra frame. Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto and David Perron had the other goals for Ottawa, while John Tavares, Matthew Knies and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for Toronto. Recap.
Jake Sanderson celebrates with his teammates after netting the game-winning goal in overtime for the Senators vs. the Maple Leafs.
Colorado Avalanche 4, Dallas Stars 0
Series tied 2-2 | Game 5 Monday
A strange coincidence thus far in this series: Each Stars win has been by one goal, while each Avs win has been by four goals. Logan O'Connor and Nathan MacKinnon kicked things off for Colorado with first-period goals. In the second, Gabriel Landeskog scored his first goal in nearly three years, and Samuel Girard capped off the festivities with his first goal of the playoffs. Recap.
Samuel Girard lights the lamp to give the Avalanche a 4-0 lead.