Sergei Bobrovsky posted a shutout while the Panthers offense potted five goals on the road for the fourth straight game – a feat only six teams have accomplished in Stanley Cup Playoffs history – to take a 2-0 series lead back to Sunrise.
* Paul Bissonnette and Will Arnett hosted NHL on TNT’s Alt Cast during Game 2 and were joined by several special guests throughout the night.
* Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and the Oilers look to even their Western Conference Final matchup tonight, while Tyler Seguin and the Stars seek a 2-0 series lead. The contest is available on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S. as well as on Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC in Canada.
PANTHERS PUT UP FIVE GOALS AGAIN, CONTINUE ROAD PROWESS IN GAME 2
Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside all 17 shots he faced and Gustav Forsling’s first goal of the postseason stood as the winner as the reigning Stanley Cup-champion Panthers picked up another road victory to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final. In the process, Florida became the second team in NHL history with a four-game road winning streak in three straight postseasons (also 8 GP in 2023 & 4 GP in 2024), following the Islanders (7 GP in 1980, 5 GP in 1981 & 7 GP in 1982).
* Bobrovsky earned his third shutout of the 2025 postseason and set a franchise record for most in a single playoff year. The last goaltender with as many shutouts in a postseason was Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had five in 2021 en route to a Stanley Cup.
* Forsling became the seventh different Panthers defenseman with a goal this postseason, which matched the NHL mark for most by a team in a playoff year shared by the 2021 Golden Knights, 2019 Bruins, 1994 Capitals, 1991 Penguins, 1988 Flames and 1987 Oilers.
* Sam Bennett (2-1—3) and Carter Verhaeghe (0-3—3) connected on two tallies to help the Panthers reach 43 road goals this postseason – tied for the seventh most by a team in a playoff year. They now only need six to match the League mark set by the Wayne Gretzky-led 1993 Kings (49).
* WATCH HERE for full highlights from Panthers–Hurricanes Game 2.
Paul Bissonnette, Will Arnett host NHL on TNT Alt Cast during Game 2
NHL on TNT’s coverage of the Eastern Conference Final included an Alt Cast hosted by studio analyst Paul Bissonnette and actor Will Arnett on Thursday. Bissonnette and Arnett exchanged playful chirps, told stories, talked big plays and were joined by special guests Colby Armstrong, Al Michaels and Charles Barkley, the latter of whom arrived just after the Panthers opened the scoring.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates from Thursday
* Brendan Shanahan out as president of Maple Leafs
* Jeff Blashill hired as Blackhawks coach, replaces Anders Sorensen
* Corey Perry not taking latest Cup run with Oilers for granted
* Macklin Celebrini enjoying apprenticeship under Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby at Worlds
SEGUIN, DRAISAITL AND McDAVID PLAYERS TO WATCH IN GAME 2
Dallas forward Tyler Seguin (2-1—3), as well as Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl (1-2—3) and Connor McDavid (0-2—2) all left their mark on the score sheet with a multi-point outing in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final and look to be key contributors as the series continues tonight at American Airlines Center. No lead is safe in this series, as the Stars (6) and Oilers (6) enter tied for the most comeback victories in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* A 15-season veteran, Seguin is one of two Stanley Cup winners on the Stars active roster (along with Mikko Rantanen) and used that experience to his advantage posting 2-1—3 in Dallas’ come-from-behind victory in Game 1. In May of 2010, Seguin was at the forefront of the “Taylor vs. Tyler” debate leading into the NHL Draft. The Oilers had the No. 1 pick in that draft and selected Taylor Hall instead of Seguin, who went second overall to the Bruins and won a Stanley Cup with Boston in his rookie year (2011).
* After his Game 1 performance, Seguin now has 4-4—8 in seven career playoff games against the Oilers and, in a twist of fate, could go head to head with Hall in the Stanley Cup Final should Dallas and Carolina each advance. Hall was acquired by the Hurricanes as part of one of the trades involving Rantanen earlier this season and is appearing in the Conference Finals for the first time.
* Draisaitl (6-13—19 in 12 GP) and McDavid (3-16—19 in 12 GP) are both closing in on yet another 20-point postseason as well as major career playoff milestones. Draisaitl (47) is three shy of becoming the 11th active skater to reach 50 playoff goals and would be the sixth in Oilers history to reach the benchmark. Draisaitl’s 0.55 goals per game rate ranks tied for seventh in Stanley Cup Playoffs history (min. 50 GP).
* McDavid (96) sits four helpers away from becoming the fourth active skater to 100 assists, in which he would join Sidney Crosby (130), Nikita Kucherov (118) and Evgeni Malkin (113) and become the fifth in Oilers history to reach the mark. McDavid’s 1.12 assists per game rate ranks second in Stanley Cup Playoffs history (min. 50 GP) behind only Wayne Gretzky (1.25) – Draisaitl (0.93) sits third on that list.
* Should they each reach the 20-point mark in 2025, it would be the second consecutive postseason hitting the benchmark for Draisaitl and fourth straight for McDavid. A fourth consecutive 20-point postseason for McDavid would tie the longest stretch in NHL history, currently held by Sergei Fedorov (1995 – 1998), Bryan Trottier (1980 – 1983) and Mike Bossy (1980 – 1983).
