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 💙

What a night for Gabriel Landeskog who scores his first NHL goal since the 2022 #StanleyCup Final. pic.twitter.com/cr1ZBHUwfc

— NHL (@NHL) April 27, 2025

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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Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog grabbed the headlines with a storied goal against the Dallas Stars in Game 4 on Saturday.

For the first time in nearly three years, Landeskog has scored a goal in the NHL. It took him over 1,000 days to recover from his chronic knee injury that he suffered back in 2020 and lingered for another two years. Furthermore, he has undergone three surgeries since March 2023.

However, he made a dramatic return to the Colorado lineup on Wednesday for Game 3, playing his first game since June 2022. 

Now, in his second game since returning, he has scored his first goal since June 20, 2022. “There were days where I didn’t know if I would ever score again,” Landeskog told reporters after the Avalanche's 4-0 victory over the Stars to tie the series at two games apiece.

“There were days where I didn’t know if I would ever score again”

- Gabe Landeskog

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) April 27, 2025

His goal came in the second period to give the Avs a 3-0 lead. It came off an assist from trade-deadline acquisition Brock Nelson. Nelson recorded his first playoff point as a member of the Avalanche on the play, as he coasted into the offensive zone on the left wing, found Landeskog in the slot, and the Avs captain wired it home. 

🚨 GABRIEL LANDESKOG GOAL! GABRIEL LANDESKOG GOAL! 🚨

His first goal in the NHL since June 20, 2022 puts the @Avalanche up 3-0 in this one! #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT (TBS) & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️… pic.twitter.com/w7UBXIWFpM

— NHL (@NHL) April 27, 2025

Landeskog’s teammates were smiling ear-to-ear as they joined him along the boards in celebration. And their excitement for him didn’t wear off after the game.

“There's only one Gabe Landeskog in the world," said Nathan MacKinnon, a longtime teammate and friend of Landeskog’s. "It was more than just a playoff goal... It was a life goal."

Along with teammates, the hockey world acknowledged the incredible comeback story that has unfolded in front of their eyes.

NHL on TNT host Liam McHugh said on X (formerly Twitter), “The best story in sports just keeps getting better. Gabe Landeskog buries his first goal in 1,041 days — and the roof is about to rip off of Ball Arena.”

Landeskog’s goal wasn’t the last time he would make an impact in this contest. He added a secondary assist in the third period, connecting with Nelson again, with defenseman Samuel Girard scoring the fourth and final goal of the game – his first goal of the 2025 playoffs.

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Welcome to The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live, streaming nightly during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.

After the big game of the night, our experts go live to react to the match that was, break down the key moments and storylines, provide updates on the rest of the night's NHL slate and read your opinions.

On tonight's show, Michael Augello and Andrew McInnis react to the Ottawa Senators defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs4-3 in overtime to keep the series alive.

Playoff Live Frenzy - April 26, 2025 | The Hockey NewsWelcome to Playoff Frenzy Live by The Hockey News presented by STIX.com, where we give our live reactions and break down the latest news to all the biggest g...

They also look around the NHL as the first round continues.

Check out the show right now and share your opinions in the live chat and in our comment section.  

After their first two games of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the defending-champion Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning were on their heels and on the ropes, having dropped both games at home to the Panthers.

However, in Game 3 Saturday afternoon, the Lightning punched back, and did so convincingly, beating Florida by a 5-1 score. And the Bolts were able to win their first game of the series thanks to big-time contributions from a first-year Lightning member, as well as a proven Tampa Bay legend.

The first-year-Bolts member who thrived Saturday was left winger Jake Guentzel, who posted a goal – his second of the post-season – and two primary assists in the Game 3 win. And the proven Lightning legend was goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stopped 33 of 34 Panthers shots, frustrating Florida at just about every turn.

Guentzel now has a pair of goals and four points in the series, while Vasilevskiy has overcome a sub-par Game 1 performance – where he allowed six goals on 17 shots – to get increasingly better as the series has gone on, putting up a .955 save percentage in Game 2, and a .971 SP in Game 3.

As Saturday’s game unfolded, the Panthers grew especially ornery at their inability to solve Vasilevskiy, lashing out multiple times and giving the Lightning five power plays. Tampa Bay failed to score on any of their man advantages, but the Bolts killed off all four power plays the Panthers had. It was a measure of the Lightning’s determination that, slowly but surely, Tampa Bay grinded down on Florida at equal strength, overcoming the Panthers’ 1-0 lead in the game to battle back with five unanswered goals.

The Lightning also got a solid performance on offense from star right winger Nikita Kucherov, who put up three assists in the win. But it was Tampa’s defense that was the biggest factor in Saturday’s win.

The Bolts had only 21 shots on Panthers goalie Serge Bobrovsky, but they made them count, particularly in the third period, where Tampa Bay scored three times to put the contest well out of reach. And Florida’s shots on Vasilevskiy were mostly low-quality, allowing Vasilevskiy to methodically square up to most of them and prevent second and third-chance opportunities.

Panthers star left winger Matthew Tkachuk did make an impact right away by scoring the first goal of the game – and his third of the playoffs – at the 2:43 mark of the opening frame. But Tkachuk also was undisciplined, taking an unsportsmanlike minor penalty in the second period, then getting penalized for a five-minute interference major penalty on Guentzel at the 15-minute mark of the third period.

Tkachuk’s hit on Guentzel, which was extremely late, is almost certainly going to result in supplemental discipline. So, Tkachuk has hurt not only himself, but his team by taking liberties with Guentzel. We’re guessing Tkachuk will be suspended for Game 4 on Monday, and Tkachuk has no one but himself to blame for it.

Matthew Tkachuk has been given a 5-minute major for this hit on Jake Guentzel before Tampa's ENG pic.twitter.com/gDHny5h8z2

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2025

In any case, the Lightning have now cut the Panthers’ series lead in half, serving notice that they’re not going to roll over simply because Florida won the first two games.

From our vantage point, we believe Tampa Bay is likely to extend the series to at least six games. And you can bet the other teams still active in the Eastern Conference playoffs – we’re looking at you, Toronto Maple Leafs – are elated to see the Lightning and Panthers beating up on each other. Because the longer this series goes, the harder it will be for Florida or Tampa Bay when they eventually take on their second-round opponents.

That said, right now, the second round seems very far away for the Lightning and Panthers. Florida had the chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over Tampa Bay with a victory Saturday, but the Bolts battled back – and now, the heavyweight bout between two recent Stanley Cup champs looks like it’s going to be increasingly brutal with every game that takes place. 

The Lightning aren’t going to go into the off-season without a fight, and the Panthers now understand their challenge against the Bolts is not going to be a cakewalk. Tampa has pushed back against Florida, and all of us who foresaw a long first-round series for the two teams are feeling good about that prediction.

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The Battle of Ontario could end in a sweep, as the Ottawa Senators host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Canadian Tire Center on Saturday night.

The Leafs took a commanding 3-0 lead in the series with a 3-2 victory on Thursday, courtesy of an overtime goal from defenseman Simon Benoit. Toronto has had a distinct advantage on special teams and the edge in goal with Anthony Stolarz outdueling Linus Ullmark, but Ottawa has been the better of the two clubs at even-strength.

Toronto will not make any lineup changes for Game 4, while the Sens held an optional skate on Saturday and any changes will not be revealed until just before gametime.

This story will be updated throughout the game. Make sure you refresh the page so that you are receiving the up-to-date version of this story, and join the conversation in the comment section at the bottom of the article.

Also, be sure to check out our post-game Playoff Frenzy Live stream, where Michael Augello and Andrew McInnis break down Game 4.

Second Period

4:47 - Leafs had the advantage of chances during a 4-on-4, but Tavares takes a tripping minor to give the Sens the man advantage. 

6:06 - Sens PP abbreviated by Jake Sanderson interference call. 4-on-4 for 41 seconds followed by a Toronto PP.

10:12 - Sens 2 - Leafs 2 - Matthew Knies wins a race for the puck, and on a delayed penalty beats Linus Ullmark to tie the game. 

First Period

8:00 - Ottawa not showing as much energy as Game 3, both clubs being cautious in the opening eight minutes of the game, but Max Domi takes a careless penalty in the faceoff dot to give the Sens their first power play.

9:03 - Sens 1 - Leafs 0: Domi's penalty comes back to bite the Leafs, as Tim Stutzle scores on the PP to give Ottawa the opening goal. 

13:26 - David Perron nearly scores, but Jake McCabe prevents it from going over the goal line, he then gives a Leaf player a facewash and takes a roughing minor. Leafs PP has been lethal in this series. 

14:11 - Sens 2 - Leafs 0: Shane Pinto with a short-handed breakaway, and his shot leaks through Stolarz's pads. 

19:06 - Sens 2 - Leafs 1: Nylander shoots from just inside the blueline and it is deflected by John Tavares to get Toronto on the board. That has to be deflating for the home club. 

SOG - Toronto - 9, Ottawa - 9

The Winnipeg Jets entered the playoffs with the best regular-season record (56-22-4), winning the Presidents’ Trophy and looking utterly dominant in front of Hart Trophy Candidate, Connor Hellebuyck. Despite that, many fans and analysts still do not believe the Jets can win the Stanley Cup.

Longtime NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau is not one of those people. Joining the Big Show with The Hockey News’ Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy, Boudreau spoke fondly about the Jets.

“Oh, they’re a legit contender, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said Boudreau about the Jets. 

The Jets are up 2-1 in the series over the St. Louis Blues with a pair of gutsy wins at home before suffering a beatdown on the road. Their road loss was played without veteran defenseman Dylan DeMelo, a stabilizer on the back end. They’ve also been without their third and fifth leading scorers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabriel Vilardi.

With those absentees, the Jets still hold the series lead and home-ice advantage in the first round. Their ability to level up their game in difficult circumstances is why Boudreau believes they can win it all.

“I think they’re a really good team, and I’ll tell you where I thought these guys aren’t kidding around this year,” said the 15-year veteran coach. “With about 10 games to go in the season, they went into Vegas and beat Vegas 4-0. Then they played Chicago, they won in overtime, they played a couple of lesser lights, and they either lost or just got by. Then all of the sudden they played Dallas when if Dallas would have won, they would have been within two points of them for the Central Division crown, and they beat them 5-1… they played St. Louis when St. Louis was on their 12-game winning streak and they beat them again very handily. That’s when I said, this team is a team that could win it now. They can step up their game whenever they want.” 

The 70-year-old Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award in the 2007-08 season after taking over the Washington Capitals head coaching job 21 games into the season. Boudreau had achieved a lot throughout his coaching career, including a Presidents’ Trophy with the Capitals, the fastest coach to reach 200 wins, and the quickest a coach was hired after being fired.

While Boudreau did have some playoff struggles in his coaching career, that shouldn’t diminish the great former coach's ability to recognize how impressive the Jets have looked since Game 1 of the regular season. 

They roll four lines, six defensemen and can both match the opponent's play style or inflict their own. Highlighted by the additions of Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, the Jets can impose themselves physically and wear down their opponent by the time the third period begins. 

“As a proud Canadian, I hope it’s Winnipeg against Florida and that Winnipeg brings it, but I think Florida is going to win, they’re the deepest team.”

The Jets’ route through the playoffs is vicious. Defeating the Blues has been proven to be a difficult task, and a potential second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t make things any easier, but the Jets have built themselves to succeed in the playoffs, both stylistically and roster-wise. 

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Home-ice advantage is a powerful force in the National Hockey League, and no home rink holds more magic than the Bell Centre. So, even though the Montreal Canadiens are locked into a tough 1-vs-8 matchup against the Washington Capitals, it should be no surprise that their first playoff game on home ice since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final was a well-earned 6-3 win.

The Habs will have the opportunity to tie their best-of-seven series 2-2 in Game 4 on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET).

But on Friday, the fans, as always, brought it. 

MONTREAL WENT WILD AFTER SUZUKI’S GOAL 🔊 pic.twitter.com/LfR7k1lrlR

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 26, 2025

On the ice, Montreal held a 40-21 edge in shots, won 53.7 percent of the face-offs, out-hit the Capitals 45-26, went 2-for-5 on the power play, perfect on the penalty kill and controlled 66.15 percent of expected goals at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. 

The Canadiens didn’t even get rattled when Sam Montembeault, who was arguably their MVP through the first two games of the series, departed abruptly just after the midpoint of the game, with the score tied 2-2.

Cole Caufield put Montreal back in the lead with nine seconds left in the middle frame, and after Alex Ovechkin drew the Capitals level early in the third, the Canadiens scored three more times to salt away the win. Christian Dvorak’s second of the series stood up as the game-winner, and Juraj Slafkovsky’s first-ever playoff goal came on the same play that forced Logan Thompson to leave the Washington crease after he was run into by his teammate, Dylan Strome.

The Capitals have had a storybook season of their own, and Ovechkin has his own unique superpowers. But the seed of doubt has now been planted in this series.

Early in Ovechkin’s career, the Capitals had a reputation for failing to rise to the occasion. While that narrative disappeared when they broke through with their Stanley Cup win in 2018, the Canadiens have a knack for winning, even when they have no business doing so. 

The Canadiens’ 23 Cups in the NHL era since 1917 dwarf every other franchise. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second with 13, and the Detroit Red Wings are the only other team in double digits (11). 

And while their dynasties from 1956-1960 and 1976-1979 loom the largest in their history, today’s Habs share more DNA with the group that won Canada’s last Stanley Cup, in 1993, and the one that went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. 

That team earned a strong 102 points in 84 games, in the era before overtime, but still finished third in the top-heavy Adams division behind the Boston Bruins and Quebec Nordiques. 

The Canadiens started the playoffs on the road in Quebec City and needed two overtime wins to take the Battle of Quebec in six games. Regaining home ice for the division final, they won three more games in sudden death to sweep the Buffalo Sabres.

Then, against the New York Islanders, they added two more overtime wins — including one in double OT — to claim the Prince of Wales Trophy. Finally, they took down Wayne Gretzky’s Los Angeles Kings in five games to claim the Cup on home ice at the Montreal Forum, winning three more overtime games along the way. 

It takes a certain swagger to win 10 of your 16 playoff victories in extra time, and that record still stands today. No other team has ever had more than seven.

But the 2020-21 Canadiens had six — and also manufactured a run to the Stanley Cup Final seemingly out of nowhere. 

It feels like way more than four years have passed since the shortened 56-game campaign, when the Canadiens replaced Claude Julien with Dominique Ducharme one-third of the way through, then rode a fourth-place finish in the Scotia North Division past the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Today’s Canadiens are a young group. But Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Joel Armia, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson were all part of that run in 2021. They would have learned plenty along the way.

The Canadiens also have a history of unproven netminders stepping up at playoff time — whether that was Ken Dryden in 1971, fresh out of college, or 21-year-old rookie Patrick Roy in 1986. 

Will that turn out to be Montembeault, a native son like Roy? Or will upstart Jakub Dobes seize the reins and stir up 50-year-old memories of Dryden’s early heroics?

The ghosts may have rattled their chains louder at the old Montreal Forum, but they’re still watching over the Habs at the Bell Centre. With their support and with the Canadiens’ true-blue fans in full voice, don’t be surprised if the team delivers another magical memory on Sunday. 

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings are two of the best power-play teams in the playoffs, so far. 

The Kings are sitting atop the league in power-play percentage (58.3 percent), and they are also first in the NHL in power-play goals with seven.

Toronto sits just behind the Kings in power-play percentage at 55.6 percent over three games. They are also third in total power-play goals with five, narrowly behind the St. Louis Blues, who scored three in their 7-2 win in Game 3, bringing their total to six.

Other than having similar success and statistics with the extra man, Toronto and L.A. have one more thing in common with their top power-play units – they are made up of five forwards and no defenseman.

The majority of teams in the NHL use four forwards, with their most offensive defenseman quarterbacking the power play. That’s not the case for the Leafs and Kings.

For the most part, Los Angeles uses Adrian Kempe at the point with Anze Kopitar occasionally coming short to receive the puck. The Kings do have the choice to put a D-man on the top unit with Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke on the roster, but coach Jim Hiller has decided to put them on the second unit.

Toronto has Mitch Marner at the blueline dictating the play with his elite playmaking and ability to walk the line. In seasons past, Morgan Rielly would be the quarterback, but coach Craig Berube has found success with the five-man unit.

Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau spoke about the Maple Leafs’ five-forward power-play unit in the latest episode of The Hockey News’ Big Show.

“The Leaf five, I find amazing. All five of them are so good,” Boudreau said. He further complimented Toronto’s top unit and highlighted how important Marner is to the formation.

“Marner, I think, is the best distributor this side of Connor McDavid of the puck, and he can defend when needed.”

While the five-man forward unit is a relatively new concept and not many teams use it, the NHL is a copycat league. Maybe next season, teams that don’t have an offensive defenseman will put this idea into consideration.

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Brock Boeser has been quoted saying "it's unlikely at this point" that he will be returning to the Vancouver Canucks next season, and the free-agent market for the 28-year-old will be large and competitive.

Boeser recorded 25 goals and 50 points this season in 75 games, following a 2023-24 season where he set a career-high of 40 goals and 73 points. The former 2015 first-round pick is one of the more efficient scorers in the NHL, owning a 17.2 shooting percentage this season – the 41st highest percentage in the league among players with 70 or more games played 

With his impending exit from Vancouver, here are five possible free-agency destinations for Boeser.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs could be entering an offseason where major change is needed if they fall short of their playoff goals. Mitch Marner and John Tavares are pending UFAs, and the team needs to re-sign pending RFA Matthew Knies. If they decide to let Marner walk in free agency or he elects to seek a new opportunity, rumours have already swirled about the possibility of the Maple Leafs using Boeser and the Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers as replacements. 

Boeser is quite different in terms of play style compared to Marner. Marner is a pure playmaker, looking to pass as his first option, while Boeser is known as a shooter. The styles might be different, but the skill the Maple Leafs currently have should allow everyone to gel quite quickly.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild are an obvious choice for the Burnsville, Minn. native. They’ll have over $20 million in cap space this off-season and will be looking to add another scoring winger to complement the likes of Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi.

With prospects such as Liam Ohgren, Danila Yurov, Zeev Buium, David Jiricek and Jesper Wallstedt all expected to be key contributors sometime soon, Boeser would fit nicely in the Wild's lineup. 

When Boeser is at his best, he’s one of the league's most efficient scorers. Pairing him with a playmaker who generates chances at an extremely high rate, as Kaprizov does, it’s not far-fetched to envision Boeser possibly recording multiple 40-goal seasons. 

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have been attempting to put the final touches on their rebuild for quite some time. In the Atlantic Division, they’ve been compared to the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres. Missing the playoffs this season and watching the Senators and Canadiens make it has upset some of the players.

"It was hard that we didn't do anything, and I felt the group kinda — we didn't gain any momentum from the trade deadline, and guys were kinda down about it," said captain Dylan Larkin during the team's exit interviews.  "So it'd be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well."

Although adding Boeser to the fold wouldn’t solve every problem they have or instantly make them into a playoff team, it would be a good start. They’ll also need to sure up their goaltending and continue to integrate more of their top-end prospects to compete with the other wild-card teams. 

Carolina Hurricanes

GM Eric Tulsky showed the NHL world that he’s not afraid to make a big move after he traded for and then traded away Mikko Rantanen. Moving Rantanen and Martin Necas has opened up a lot of cap space for the Hurricanes, and it’s expected that they’ll be pursuing many of the top free agents this summer. 

The Hurricanes will likely prioritize a second-line center before looking for additional help on the wing, but if they do, Boeser could be a great fit. 

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are in a different position than the other four teams mentioned. They are at the peak of their rebuild, beginning to incorporate many of the players they hope to be key contributors in the future.

Making the playoffs seems quite unlikely for Chicago, but they'll be hoping to be in the race by the time the post-season rolls around in 2026. Pairing Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar and possibly a top-two pick with a proven scorer such as Boeser would help them accomplish that, similar to what Tyler Toffoli did for Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund and the San Jose Sharks.

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Welcome to The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live, streaming nightly during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.

After the big game of the night, our experts go live to react to the match that was, break down the key moments and storylines, provide updates on the rest of the night's NHL slate and read your opinions.

On tonight's show, Emma Lingan and Ryan Kennedy react to everything that happened in the Montreal Canadiens' Game 3 win over the Washington Capitals.

Playoff Frenzy April 25, 2025 | The Hockey NewsWelcome to Playoff Frenzy Live by The Hockey News presented by STIX.com, where we give our live reactions and break down the latest news to all the biggest g...

They also take a quick look around the NHL, with the Tampa Bay Lightning's Brandon Hagel getting suspended and Calvin Pickard starting in net for the Edmonton Oilers.

Check out the show right now and share your opinions in the live chat and in our comment section.