The Panthers rallied to cut their deficit to one goal on two occasions but a three-point first period from William Nylander and an eventual game winner from Matthew Knies helped the Maple Leafs take a 1-0 lead in a second-round series for the first time since 2001.
* The Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery – a jump from 10th spot entering the lottery – and will have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft.
* The second day of Game 1s will feature the Capitals welcoming the Hurricanes, before the Golden Knights and Oilers begin their series – one that will feature two players who’ve led the playoffs in scoring in each of the past three postseasons (Connor McDavid: 2022 & 2024; Jack Eichel: 2023). The most recent Game 1 between Vegas and Edmonton was the last playoff game to feature a player score four goals (Leon Draisaitl in Game 1 of 2023 R2).
NYLANDER NOTCHES THREE POINTS, MAPLE LEAFS WITHSTAND PANTHERS RALLY
William Nylander (2-1—3) opened the scoring just 33 seconds into Game 1 en route to a three-point first period before the Panthers cut the Maple Leafs’ lead to one goal on two separate occasions in the final frame, but Matthew Knies (1-1—2) scored the eventual game winner to help Toronto take a 1-0 lead against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Toronto claimed its first 1-0 lead in a second-round series since the 2001 Conference Semifinals (2-0 W vs. NJD).
* Nylander (0:33) recorded the seventh-fastest game-opening goal in Maple Leafs postseason history and the fastest since Game 3 of the 1987 Division Semifinals (Dan Daoust: 0:31). His six game-opening goals in the postseason trail only Ted Kennedy (9) and Dave Keon (7) for the most in franchise history.
* Nylander became the second player in Maple Leafs history to record three points in the first period of a playoff game, following Morgan Rielly (0-3—3 in Game 2 of 2023 R1). He also became the 10th Maple Leafs skater to record consecutive multi-goal games in the postseason and first since Wendel Clark (Game 6-7 of 1994 CSF).
* Rielly (1-0—1) netted the third of three Toronto tallies in the opening frame and passed Ian Turnbull (13) for the most playoff goals by a Maple Leafs defenseman. Of note, Red Kelly played forward during his tenure with Toronto and was a defenseman during his time with the Detroit.
* Joseph Woll entered the game midway through the second period for his first postseason appearance of 2025. He became the second Maple Leafs netminder to earn a playoff win in relief, joining Terry Sawchuk (Game 5 of 1967 SF).
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ISLANDERS WIN 2025 NHL DRAFT LOTTERY
The Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and will have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft. New York, which moved from 10th to first in the lottery and began the night with a 3.5 percent chance of ending up with the No. 1 pick, will select first overall at the NHL Draft for the fifth time in franchise history following 2009 (John Tavares), 2000 (Rick DiPietro), 1973 (Denis Potvin) and 1972 (Billy Harris).
* Click here for details on the top prospects, including top-ranked North American skater Matthew Schaefer, for the upcoming 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft set for June 27-28 in the city of Los Angeles at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater.
2025 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS SECOND CHANCE BRACKET
Bracket busted? With the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Chance Bracket, fans can now submit a new bracket with their playoffs predictions for the remaining rounds at NHL.com/Bracket. Brackets lock on Wednesday, May 7 at 7 p.m. ET. Through the end of the first round, 33,595 unique brackets had all of the first-round series correct (4.2%).
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates from Monday
* Rob Blake out as Kings general manager, no replacement named
* Wild share farewell video for Marc-Andre Fleury featuring kids
* Adin Hill of Golden Knights set for full-circle moment in Western 2nd Round
* Macklin Celebrini, Lane Hutson and Dustin Wolf Voted Calder Trophy Finalists
HURRICANES-CAPITALS, OILERS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS CONTEST GAME 1 TUESDAY
The Second Round continues Tuesday with a pair of Game 1s, starting with a showdown between the Metropolitan Division’s top two teams as Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals host Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes in the second all-time postseason meeting between the clubs. To the West, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel – the top two picks from the 2015 NHL Draft – meet in the postseason again when the Oilers and Golden Knights begin their rematch of the 2023 Second Round.
* The Capitals will clash with the Hurricanes in their second all-time Stanley Cup Playoffs series, following the 2019 First Round where Carolina rallied from series deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before staging a multi-goal comeback capped by the double-overtime clincher in Game 7. The Capitals and Hurricanes split their four-game season series in 2024-25 (WSH: 2-2-0; CAR: 2-1-1).
* Exactly one month after capturing the NHL goals record, Ovechkin looks to climb another all-time list Tuesday: the Washington captain can surpass Mario Lemieux (76) for the 12th-most playoff goals in NHL history. If he finds the back of the net on the man-advantage, Ovechkin (30) would also surpass Joe Pavelski and Nicklas Lidstrom for the fifth-most playoff power-play goals in League history.
* Aho enters Tuesday one goal shy of passing Rod Brind’Amour for the most playoff game-winning goals in Hurricanes/Whalers history after scoring the series clincher in double overtime during the First Round. Aho can also become the second player in franchise history to record a four-game multi-point streak in the postseason, following Jordan Martinook (4 GP in 2023).
* The Oilers and Golden Knights will contest their second Stanley Cup Playoffs series following the 2023 Second Round, which saw Vegas skate to a six-game triumph en route to the franchise’s first championship. Edmonton and Vegas split their four-game season series in 2024-25 (EDM: 2-2-0; VGK: 2-2-0).
* McDavid, who had 10 points against Vegas in the 2023 postseason (5-5—10), enters Tuesday with 39-89—128 in 80 career playoff games. The Edmonton captain can become the second-fastest player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to reach 90 career assists behind Wayne Gretzky (63 GP). Lemieux (97 GP) currently holds that distinction.
* Eichel, who had 3-6—9 against Edmonton in their previous playoff meeting, has 10-28—38 in 35 career playoff games. Should he hit 40 tonight, Eichel would become the fourth-fastest U.S.-born player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to reach the mark, following Brian Leetch (32 GP), Kevin Stevens (33 GP) and Jake Guentzel (34 GP).
