Whenever he’s asked about expanding the Stanley Cup playoff pool, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has come up with a response that’s tough to argue: the current format creates the most compelling first round in all of sports.
This year has been no different, with familiar matchups, old favorites from a generation ago and fresh rivalries igniting. After eight days, all 16 teams are still alive, and there’s at least a small element of doubt in every series.
Here are six players that have stood out in the early going — for better or for worse.
Winners
Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche
The smile said it all when Landeskog’s high wrister beat Jake Oettinger over his glove to put the Colorado Avalanche up 3-0 against the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.
1,041 days later 💙
— NHL (@NHL) April 27, 2025
What a night for Gabriel Landeskog who scores his first NHL goal since the 2022 #StanleyCup Final. pic.twitter.com/cr1ZBHUwfc
It was the first goal for the Colorado captain since June 20, 2022 — a triumphant story of perseverance that also served as an important insurance marker to level one of this year’s most high-level first-round series at 2-2.
Adrian Kempe - Los Angeles Kings
Does practice make perfect for the big Swede? Kempe had 11 goals and 19 points across 18 games in the Kings’ previous three playoff meetings with the Edmonton Oilers. This year, he has obliterated that pace with nine points in the first three games, including four goals.
The Kings let one slip away in Edmonton on Friday, but Kempe still finished the night with two points. At 28, he’s an underrated threat whose start could shine brighter than ever before if L.A. can finish the job and advance.
Jake Sanderson – Ottawa Senators
Who better than the Senators’ future Norris Trophy hopeful to foil the Toronto Maple Leafs’ dream of a first-round sweep? At just 22, Ottawa has Jake Sanderson locked up for seven more years. He could become one of the league’s great bargains if he continues his trajectory.
Sanderson picked a perfect moment to score the most important goal of his career on Saturday. Let’s see what’s next.
CATCH US WATCHING THIS ON REPEAT 🔁#GoSensGopic.twitter.com/Ltf5N8NPlV
— X - Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 27, 2025
Losers
Stuart Skinner - Edmonton Oilers
He’s been here before, but it can’t be easy for Stuart Skinner to cede his crease to Calvin Pickard for the second-straight year.
Last season, Kris Knoblauch replaced Skinner for two starts against Vancouver in Round 2. He was steadier when he got back into action, and earned his team two series wins.
This year, Skinner’s regular-season numbers dropped, and his playoff performance followed suit. He gave up 11 goals in five-and-a-half periods and gave up 4.7 goals above expected before he got the hook.
The silver lining? After three games, the Kings’ Darcy Kuemper has surrendered 5.2 goals above expected. If the Oilers can stay alive long enough for Skinner to get back on track, there’s still a path for them to advance.
Jack Eichel - Vegas Golden Knights
Eichel picked up his first playoff point of the year as the Golden Knights evened their series with the Wild on Saturday. But he was also a minus-2, taking him to minus-7 over four games.
Plus-minus may not be a perfect stat, but that’s not good.
Being a No. 1 center is no easy task, but Eichel crushed it in his maiden voyage two years ago, chipping in better than a point a game while playing sound two-way hockey on his way to winning a Cup.
He knows exactly what it takes, so is there something holding him back? Despite hitting a new career high with 94 points and attracting some Hart Trophy chatter during the regular season, he went cold late in the year, logging just one point in his last five games played, and missing four just before the playoffs with an upper-body issue.
Eichel led all Vegas forwards with 29:57 of ice time on Saturday, and his six shots were one more than the first three games of the series combined. Sin City fans will be hopeful that’s a sign that his full game is starting to round back into form.
Aaron Ekblad – Florida Panthers
It’s a small sample size, to be sure. But after his Florida Panthers carved out a 2-0 series lead on the road in Tampa, Ekblad’s return to the lineup from his 20-game performance-enhancing-substance suspension couldn’t have gone much worse.
While he was out, Nate Schmidt seized his moment and scored three goals in two games. But with Ekblad back in the lineup and Uvis Balinskis scratched, the Panthers suffered a 5-1 beatdown on home ice on Saturday.
Ekblad finished third in ice time among Florida defensemen, at 20:20. But he and partner Gustav Forsling were both an ugly minus-4 for the day.
Ekblad needs to sharpen up in a hurry to help the Panthers move on — and to help set the table for his next payday. The 29-year-old is heading for free agency on July 1, and there hasn’t been much talk yet about an extension with Florida.
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