Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 5: Stars beat Avalanche in OT again; Capitals, Kings go up 2-0

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are back, which means that for the next two months, we’ll get non-stop exciting action in the NHL as we witness history in another team looking to win a championship. Here at Daily Faceoff, we’ll be keeping you in the loop of everything that happened in the playoffs, every day until the Stanley Cup is hoisted in June.

Thompson’s heroics give Capitals 2-0 series lead

If you think the Washington Capitals’ overtime win in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens was close, then you’ll be shocked to see how close the Eastern Conference’s best team came to playing in extra time once again on Wednesday.

Similar to the series opener on Monday night, the game was scoreless through 20 minutes, though the Habs didn’t look as out of place as they did in Game 1. It led to the visitors striking first early in period two, as Christian Dvorak scored his first of the playoffs.

However, the lead didn’t last long. Just a few minutes later, Capitals forward Connor McMichael leveled the score thanks to a lucky bounce, with Dylan Strome scoring exactly a minute later to give the Caps the lead.

Then, it was the Logan Thompson show. The Capitals netminder was peppered in the final 20 minutes, getting a little bit of help in the goal post as well.

Thompson ended up making 14 saves in the third period, including some really clutch stops late in the game, for a total of 25. An empty-net goal from McMichael sealed a 3-1 win for the home side, giving Washington two-game lead heading to Montreal on Friday.

Seguin plays OT hero, spoiling Landeskog’s return

The big story heading into Game 3 between the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars was the valiant return of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, playing in his first NHL game in almost three years.

However, despite bringing some energy and vigor in front of the home crowd, Landeskog’s big night was spoiled with the help of a former teammate.

The Avalanche rode some early momentum, with Valeri Nichushkin scoring a dandy for his first of the postseason minutes into the opening period.

However, the Stars were able to settle down, and started to push back against the Avs. After neither side scored in the second period, it would be Jamie Benn tipping in a Thomas Harley shot that tied the game in the third.

The Avalanche had a glorious chance to win the game. Late in regulation, Stars forward Mason Marchment took a four-minute high-sticking penalty. Colorado failed to score in the dying seconds of regulation and the first few minutes of overtime, coming close on a couple of instances.

With a renewed sense of life, Dallas got the job done. Thanks to a nice play by former Avs forward Mikko Rantanen, Marchment set up Tyler Seguin for the winner, giving the Stars a 2-1 win, and more importantly a 2-1 lead in the series.

In a season riddled with injuries, it was just Seguin’s 10th goal of the 2024-25 season.

Landeskog played 13:16 across 18 shifts with a blocked shot and six hits.

Kopitar, Kemp lead Kings to dominant win over Oilers

The first game of the series between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings was memorable. Edmonton rallying back from a 4-0 deficit, almost forcing overtime before Phillip Danault scored the winner late in regulation.

Game 2 started with a similar script. The Kings jumped out in front, leading 3-0 at the halfway mark of the contest. While the Oilers closed the gap with goals from Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson, they wouldn’t be able to tie the game as Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar took over, combining for three unanswered goals less than five minutes apart to send L.A. to a convincing 6-2 win, grabbing a 2-0 series lead.

Kempe scored twice in the final frame on Wednesday, finishing the game with three points. Kopitar also had a three-point night with a goal and two assists. Quinton Byfield and Andrei Kuzmenko each scored their second goals of the series for the Kings. Darcy Kuemper had a much better performance in net, making 23 saves.

Stuart Skinner was given the hook in the third period after giving up five goals on 28 shots. Calvin Pickard allowed a goal on three shots in relief.