The primary spherical of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continued on Tuesday night time with 4 video games. Listed below are some key takeaways from Tuesday’s motion.
Panthers performed like champions in 2025 playoff debut
The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning lastly opened their first-round sequence on Tuesday night time. The Panthers used it to ship an emphatic message that they’re nonetheless the cream of the crop within the NHL, and a drive to be reckoned with within the playoffs.
They jumped throughout Tampa Bay in a 6-2 win that was highlighted by a pair of targets from each ahead Matthew Tkachuk and defenseman Nate Schmidt.
Tkachuk’s efficiency was particularly necessary as a result of he was a game-time determination all day and there was some doubt as as to if or not he could be on the ice.
He was, and he was top-of-the-line gamers on the market on each shift.
Florida has been the perfect and most profitable group in hockey for the reason that begin of the 2021-22 season, profitable a Presidents’ Trophy, two Japanese Convention titles and a Stanley Cup over that stretch. It’s going for its third consecutive Stanley Cup Closing look this season, and if Tuesday’s recreation is any indication of what’s forward it simply may get again there.
Max Domi’s redemption
Maple Leafs ahead Max Domi didn’t have a fantastic begin to Tuesday’s Recreation 2 towards the Ottawa Senators, and was wanting like a participant that might have been taking part in his method right into a wholesome scratch in some unspecified time in the future within the sequence. However issues can change quickly within the NHL, and particularly within the playoffs, and so they did for each Domi and the Maple Leafs.
He went from early recreation legal responsibility to late recreation hero when he scored the game-winning purpose in additional time of their 3-2 win over the Senators.