Off-Day Open Thread: April 25
Did you know there are other games going on?
Sources say there are seven other series going on. I'm still waiting for confirmation, but if so, I'll still be very sad. Anyway, it's an off-day for the Sens, so here's what else is going on.
Last Night's Games
Panthers 2 at Lightning 0
Panthers lead 2-0
Florida now has a stranglehold on this series, going home with a pair of wins. Nate Schmidt has emerged as the early Conn Smythe favourite with 3 goals through the first 2 games. The big story last night was Brandon Hagel going full Super Mario and launching himself into Sasha Barkov's chest away from the puck. It was interference, it was intended to injure, it was a deserved 5 min major. Hagel's an excellent player, but even guys like him deserve consequences.
Knights 2 at Wild 5
Wild lead 2-1
Well, well, well, nobody saw this coming. It looks like we all underestimated the impact of Eriksson Ek, Rossi, and especially Kaprizov coming back from injury. Also, Zeev Buium, who went 12th-overall in 2024 (Yakemchuk went 7th) got his first NHL point.
Jets 2 at Blues 7
Jets lead 2-1
Now this was the homecoming we wish Ottawa had. The Blues were dominant start to finish, Pavel Buchnevich had a hat-trick, and St. Louis showed they're not going to roll over and die. Winnipeg is still the favourite here, but this definitely sows seeds of doubt in their minds.
Tonight's Games
Capitals at Canadiens, 7 pm, CBC/SN
Capitals lead 2-0
Washington hasn't looked dominant, but they've been as good as necessary and Logan Thompson has been great back from injury. We'll see if the Bell Centre is as rocking as Habs fans have been telling us it will be for the first playoff game with fans since 2017. Here's hoping Ovi scores early and silences them.
Hurricanes at Devils, 8 pm, SN360
Hurricanes lead 2-0
This was probably the most popular pick for a first-round sweep. After failing to show up for Game 1 at all, the Devils showed up for the first period of Game 2, but still let Carolina take over and win. I have no idea if the Devils can mount a comeback while missing Jack Hughes. Jesper Bratt is still really good though – any chance we could get him in Ottawa for Game 4?
Kings at Oilers, 10 pm, CBC/SN
Kings lead 2-0
You know that old Harry Neale saying, "Goaltending is 75% of your hockey team, unless you don't have it; then it's 100%"? That's the story of this series. The Oilers haven't been terrible: McDavid has 4 points, while Draisaitl and Bouchard each have 3. But Stuart Skinner has laid a pair of eggs. Even if you're the best players in the world, it's hard to win when your goalies will give up 6 per game. Maybe it's time for the Oilers to revisit this starting goalie from the season:
