Following just one game on the schedule on Tuesday night, Wednesday night is back to the standard of two games -- one of which could be the swan song for a recent Stanley Cup champion.
The first matchup pits the Florida Panthers against the Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET, ESPN); those teams are tied 2-2. In the nightcap, the Vegas Golden Knights host the Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), with the home team hoping to avoid a 4-1 series loss just two seasons after winning it all.
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, a recap of what went down in Tuesday's game and the Three Stars of Tuesday from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 5 | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN
With the series tied 2-2, ESPN BET has the Panthers as the favorites to win the series at -210 compared to +170 for the Leafs. Florida is now +400 to win the Cup, while Toronto is +900.
When a best-of-seven series is tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win the series 79% of the time in Stanley Cup playoffs history.
Each goal that Carter Verhaeghe scores extends his lead atop the franchise leaderboard for career playoff goals; he's currently at 30, ahead of Sam Reinhart (24), Aleksander Barkov (22) and Matthew Tkachuk (20).
Acquired at the trade deadline from Boston, Brad Marchand has a personal 4-0 record against Toronto in playoff series, and is tied for the third-most points against the Leafs in Stanley Cup playoff history; his 33 are tied with Henri Richard, trailing Alex Delvecchio (35) and Gordie Howe (53).
William Nylander leads Toronto in goals this postseason, with six, and he continues to climb the Leafs' career playoff goal-scoring leaderboard. With 26, he is tied with Steve Thomas and George Armstrong for fifth on the list; Ted Kennedy is fourth, with 29.
Fellow member of the Core Four Mitch Marner is on the precipice of a career milestone too; with his next assist, he'll join Doug Gilmour as the only Maple Leafs with 50 or more career playoff assists.
Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights
Game 5 | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
The Oilers take a 3-1 lead into Game 5, and ESPN BET has adjusted the series winner odds accordingly; Edmonton is now -1000 to win this series, with the Knights at +550. Edmonton also has the shortest Stanley Cup odds, at +260, while Vegas' are +3000; only the Capitals have longer odds, at +7500.
When leading a best-of-seven series 3-1, the Oilers have gone on to win 94% of the time in their history; the Knights have never rallied to win a series after trailing 3-1.
Adam Henrique had two goals in the first period of Game 4 after just one goal in the first nine games this postseason. It was his second career multigoal game -- the last came in 2012 during the Devils' run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Connor McDavid assisted on Evander Kane's goal in Game 4, extending his assist streak to eight games. That ties Wayne Gretzky (1983) for the third-longest such streak in Oilers postseason history, trailing Leon Draisaitl (2022) and Glenn Anderson (1985), both of whom had a nine-game assist streak in a single postseason.
Vegas' Mark Stone has 36 career playoff goals, tied with Jonathan Marchessault for the Knights' franchise playoff record.
Teammate Jack Eichel is getting pucks on net, but he has scored only once this postseason. His 27 shots on goal lead the Knights, but among the 43 players with 20 or more shots on goal this postseason, Eichel's 3.7% shooting percentage is the lowest.
Öcal's Three Stars from Tuesday
1. Mikael Granlund
C, Dallas Stars
Granlund scored his first career hat trick to lead the way for Dallas. He now has multiple points in consecutive playoff games within a single postseason for the first time in his career.
2. Jake Oettinger
G, Dallas Stars
The Minnesota native stopped 31 of 32 shots to earn the win. He's the sixth U.S.-born goalie to win 30 playoff games -- Tom Barrasso leads the list, with 60.
3. Miro Heiskanen
D, Dallas Stars
The star defenseman had an assist and skated just under 15 minutes in his first game since Jan. 28.
Tuesday's recap
Dallas Stars 3, Winnipeg Jets 1
DAL leads 3-1 | Game 5 Thursday
For much of the postseason, it has been the Mikko Rantanen show for the Stars. On this night, center stage belonged to another Finn the Stars added in trade during the season. Mikael Granlund scored his first career hat trick -- spacing them out nicely with one in each period -- which was more than enough to outscore the visiting Jets. Nikolaj Ehlers' tally at 1:02 of the second period was the only shot that got past Dallas' Jake Oettinger, as chants of "Otter's better!" rained down from the Dallas faithful in the seats to torment Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck. Dallas brings a 3-1 lead to Game 5 in Manitoba, pushing for a third conference finals trip in the past four years. Full recap.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger makes a beautiful save early in Game 4 vs. the Jets.