Mikko Rantanen achieved several League and franchise firsts when he became the NHL’s first player in nearly 40 years with consecutive playoff hat tricks.
* Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Joseph Woll withstood the reigning Stanley Cup champions once again as Toronto took a 2-0 lead in its Second Round series.
* Thursday’s two-game slate features the Capitals and Golden Knights looking to pull even in their Second Round series with the Hurricanes and Oilers, respectively. Each contest is available on ESPN in the U.S. as well as on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.
* Smith Entertainment Group revealed the new name and permanent identity of Utah’s NHL franchise as the Utah Mammoth following a 13-month process involving four rounds of fan voting and more than 850,000 votes.
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Rantanen records second straight hat trick to achieve several NHL firsts
Mikko Rantanen scored three straight second-period goals after tallying a trio of markers during the final frame in the Stars’ First Round finale as Dallas defeated Winnipeg and took a 1-0 series lead.
* Rantanen became the first player in League history with multiple three-goal periods during the same postseason and the fourth with two at any point in his career, following Wayne Gretzky (3x), Maurice Richard (3x) and Tim Kerr (2x). Gretzky had one of his against Winnipeg head coach Scott Arniel and the original Jets in Game 1 of the 1983 Division Semifinals.
* Rantanen became the first player in franchise playoff history with a natural hat trick and the third Stars/North Stars skater with multiple three-goal performances during the postseason at any point in his career. He joined Dino Ciccarelli and Joe Pavelski (both w/ 2).
* Rantanen has factored on each of his team’s last 12 goals dating to Game 5 of the First Round, which marks the longest streak in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. Rantanen entered play tied with Mario Lemieux, who had a point on nine straight playoff goals more than 33 years ago (Game 2-4 of 1992 DSF).
* WATCH HERE for full highlights from Stars–Jets Game 1.
MARNER, NYLANDER HELP MAPLE LEAFS LOG RARE FEAT WITH 2-0 SERIES LEAD
Mitch Marner and William Nylander both found the back of the net while Joseph Woll made 25 saves to help the Maple Leafs overcome 1-0 and 2-1 deficits en route to their second 2-0 series lead of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Toronto recorded multiple 2-0 series leads in a best-of-seven during the same postseason for the first time in 62 years and sixth time in franchise history (also 1963, 1962, 1949, 1948 & 1945).
* Marner, who netted his first goal since becoming a father, tied George Armstrong, Frank Mahovlich and Ted Kennedy for the sixth-most playoff points in franchise history (60). He trails only Doug Gilmour (77), Mats Sundin (70), Dave Keon (67), Darryl Sittler (65) and Wendel Clark (61).
* Nylander opened the Second Round with three goals in the first two games after tallying twice during Toronto’s series-clinching win against Ottawa last Thursday. Nylander’s six goals during the 2025 playoffs rank third behind Mikko Rantanen (8) and Nathan MacKinnon (7) and mark the most by a Maple Leafs player in a postseason since Joe Nieuwendyk (6 in 2004).
* WATCH HERE for full highlights from Panthers–Maple Leafs Game 2.
QUICK CLICKS
* Jonas Johansson signs 2-year, $2.5 million contract with Lightning
* Eric Staal joins Sabres as special assistant to general manager
* Capitals need to get back to ‘our identity’ in Game 2 of Eastern 2nd Round
* Hurricanes OK maintaining physical style in Game 2 against Capitals
* Utah’s franchise officially named Utah Mammoth
CAPITALS, GOLDEN KNIGHTS WITH OPPORTUNITY TO EVEN SERIES AT 1-1
The Capitals and Golden Knights will have the opportunity to even their Second Round series on home ice when they contest Game 2 against the Hurricanes and Oilers, respectively, with doubleheaders on ESPN across the U.S., as well as Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. Both the Hurricanes and Oilers took a 1-0 series lead after comeback wins in Game 1.
* Alex Ovechkin will aim to help his club erase a series deficit en route to clinching a series for the eighth time in his career – something he did with the Capitals four times during their run to the 2018 Stanley Cup championship. That 2018 postseason saw Washington erase a 2-0 deficit in the First Round, a 1-0 deficit in the 2018 Second Round, a 3-2 deficit in the Conference Finals – where Ovechkin scored the series clincher in Game 7 – and then completed their championship run by overcoming a 1-0 series deficit in the Stanley Cup Final.
* While the Oilers aim to record their first six-game winning streak in a playoff year since 2006 (7 GP) after becoming the first team in NHL history with five consecutive comeback victories in a postseason in Game 1, Mark Stone and the Golden Knights will aim to help Vegas even their series at 1-1. Stone accounted for both of his team’s tallies in Game 1 and can tie Jonathan Marchessault (4 GP in 2023 & 2019) and Alex Tuch (4 GP in 2020) for the longest goal streak in franchise playoff history. The Golden Knights dropped the opening game of a series for the first time since the 2023 First Round (vs. WPG) – they went on to even the series in Game 2 en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship.
