Three More NHL First Round Series Finished

The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is down to two series, after three others were decided Thursday night.

Toronto finished off host Ottawa, 4-2, to claim that series in six games. Max Pacioretty (Michigan) tallied the game-winning goal and also had an assist for the Maple Leafs, who had lost the last two games. Team captain Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) had one goal for the Senators, who were playing in the NHL postseason for the first time since 2017. Toronto will now take on defending Stanley Cup champion Florida in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Zach Hyman (Michigan) registered a goal and an assist for Edmonton as the Oilers topped Los Angeles, 6-4, to close out that series in six games. It marks the fourth year in a row that Edmonton has eliminated LA, which had won the first two games of this series, in the playoffs. 

Vegas finished off host Minnesota, 3-2, in the sixth and final game of that series. Jack Eichel (Boston University) notched a goal and an assist for the victorious Golden Knights, who will now face Edmonton in the Western Conference semifinals.

Colorado stayed alive with a 7-4 triumph over visiting Dallas. Cale Makar (Massachusetts) tallied three points and Brock Faber (North Dakota) had two assists for the Avalanche, who forced a winner-take-all Game Seven on Saturday night in Texas. Jake Oettinger (Boston University) finished with 41 saves for the Stars in defeat.

Wisconsin's Pavelski Retires from NHL

Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) officially called it a career earlier this week. Pavelski, 40, has retired following a successful 18-year NHL playing career.

In 1,332 NHL regular-season appearances with San Jose and Dallas, Pavelski tallied 476 goals and 592 assists for 1,068 points. He also added 74-69—143 points in 201 Stanley Cup Playoff outings, establishing a postseason record for the most career goals scored by an American, and skated in both the 2016 and 2020 Stanley Cup finals.

A 6-foot-1, 196-pound center from Plover, Wis., Pavelski was drafted in the 7th round (205th overall) by San Jose in 2004 following a 36-goal season with Waterloo (USHL). After one more year in juniors, he played two seasons with Wisconsin, recording 39-62—101 points overall in 84 contests while leading the Badgers to the 2006 NCAA title. In international play, he played in two Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal with the United States in 2010 one year after skating in the World Championship, and he also captained Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Former Hockey East Players Highlighted

Two former Hockey East players recently re-signed with their respective NHL teams, while another will have his jersey number retired next season.

Former NCAA forward Devin Shore (Maine) and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) have resigned with the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets, respectively, while Paul Kariya (Maine) will have his number retired by the Anaheim Ducks next season.

Shore played at Maine from 2012 to 2015, where he tallied 34 goals and 70 assists for 104 points for the Black Bears. A native of Ajax, Ont., he was a second-round draft choice of Dallas in 2012, and has compiled 24-41—65 points in all while playing the last two full NHL seasons for the Stars.

Hellebuyck, from Commerce, Mich., played at UML for two years (2013, 2014), and fashioned a 38-12-2 record with a 1.60 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and 12 shutouts in 53 outings. He also backstopped the River Hawks to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Frozen Four berth in 2013, and two Hockey East tournament titles. A finalist for the Vezina Trophy this past season as the NHL's best goaltender after fashioning a 44-11-9 record, he has gone 83-41-14 (2.55, .917) in 149 career appearances over the past three NHL campaigns.

Kariya, from Vancouver, became the first freshman to win the Hobey Baker Memorial award as the NCAA's best player in 1992-93 when he tallied 25-75--100 points and also helped Maine to its first-ever national title that year. After skating for the Canadian National Team in the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, he turned pro and went on to record 402-587—989 points in 989 NHL regular-season contests with Anaheim, Colorado, Nashville and St. Louis over 15 seasons before retiring in 2010.

A five-time 30-goal scorer with the Ducks, including a pair of 100-point seasons, Kariya added 16-23—39 points in 46 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, and helped the Ducks to within one win of the Stanley Cup in 2003. A two-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year.

Hutsko Headlines 2018 Boston College Draftees

Logan Hutsko (Boston College) was the lone current member of the BC men's hockey team to be drafted on Saturday at the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas. The Florida native was chosen in the third round, 89th overall, by the Florida Panthers.

A former member of the U.S. National Team Development Program, Hutsko overcame both a neck fracture and a cracked kneecap prior to college to tally 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points as a freshman for the Eagles in 2017-18. He also helped BC to last season's Hockey East regular season title.

Incoming BC freshman Jack McBain, son of retired NHL player Andrew McBain, was the first choice of the third round, and went 63rd overall to the Minnesota Wild. The 6-foot-3 center recorded 21-37—58 points in 48 regular-season appearances last year with his hometown Toronto Junior Canadiens in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. On the first day of the draft on Friday, incoming BC forward Oliver Wahlstrom was selected 11th overall by the New York Islanders.

Two former Eagle defensemen were involved in trades over the weekend. On Saturday, Noah Hanifin was traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Calgary Flames, in a deal that also involved former Calgary draft choice Adam Fox (Harvard) going to Carolina. Hanifin played just one year at BC, and helped the Eagles to the 2015 NCAA Tournament by notching five goals and 23 points in 37 outings. He has collected 18-65—83 points in three complete NHL seasons, all with the Hurricanes.

On Friday, two-time Stanley Cup champion Brooks Orpik was dealt from the Washington Capitals, whom he helped to their first-ever Cup earlier this month, to the Colorado Avalanche. A member of BC's 2001 NCAA championship team, Orpik notched 41 points and 324 penalty minutes in three seasons at the Heights, and has registered 185 points and 940 PIM in 14 full NHL campaigns.

Two Clubs Back in Contention, One Set to Sweep

Jonathan Quick (Massachusetts) made 28 saves on Monday night as the Los Angeles Kings climbed back into their Western Conference quarterfinal series of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 2-1 overtime win at San Jose. The Sharks, who had won the first two games in Los Angeles, now lead the best-of-seven series, two games to one. Game 4 is Wednesday in San Jose.

In Minnesota, the host Wild stormed back from a 2-0 first-period deficit to register a 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars yesterday. Erik Haula (Minnesota) had a goal and assist to lead the Wild, while Charlie Coyle (Boston University) picked up an assist. Patrick Sharp (Vermont) scored twice for Dallas, which leads the series, two games to one, and will again try to extend its lead in Game 4 on Wednesday in St. Paul.

Lastly, the Washington Capitals, the NHL's top team during the regular season, tallied five power-play goals to move to the brink of a first-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers with a 6-1 triumph in Pennsylvania. Jay Beagle (Alaska Anchorage) scored the final goal for the Caps, who now lead the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, three games to none, and will look to close it out on Wednesday.