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.

NCAA Players Step Up in 2025 NHL Playoffs

Three more Stanley Cup Playoff series were extended on Saturday, with contributions from several former NCAA players.

Vegas topped Minnesota, 4-3 in overtime on the road, knotting that best-of-seven series at two wins apiece, as Reilly Smith (Miami) assisted on the game-winning goal. Jack Eichel (Boston University) assisted on the game-opening goal for the victorious Golden Knights. 

In Colorado, the host Avalanche tied their series at two games each with a 4-0 blanking of Dallas as Brock Nelson (North Dakota) set up two goals for the home team. Devon Toews (Quinnipiac) also had an assist for the Avs, while Jake Oettinger (Boston University) stopped 31 of 34 shots for the visiting Stars before giving way to Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire), who stopped 13 of 14 shots. 

Host Ottawa staved off elimination with a 4-3 OT win over Toronto, which had won the first three games of the series. Jake Sanderson (North Dakota) scored the game-winner from long distance in the extra session, and also assisted on the Senators' first goal, as did team captain Brady Tkachuk (Boston University). Shane Pinto (North Dakota) scored a shorthanded goal for the Sens, while Adam Gaudette (Northeastern) assisted on Ottawa's third goal. Matthew Knies (Minnesota) scored Toronto's second goal, while Anthony Stolarz (Omaha) finished with 17 stops in goal for the Maple Leafs.

Tampa Bay topped defending NHL champion Florida, 5-1, on Saturday in Game Three of their series, thanks to a goal and two assists from Jake Guentzel (Omaha), while Luke Glendening (Michigan) also scored for the Lightning. The host Panthers, who got an assist from Evan Rodrigues (Boston University) still leads the series, two games to one.

Vegas Up Two Games in Stanley Cup Final

Jack Eichel (Boston University) set up two goals and Alec Martinez (Miami) scored another as the Vegas Golden Knights routed the visiting Florida Panthers, 7-2, last night to take a two games to none lead in the best-of-seven 2023 Stanley Cup Final.

Eichel assisted on Vegas' first and fifth goals, while Martinez notched the second goal of the game for the Golden Knights, who have outscored the Panthers, 12-4, though the first two games of the series. Eichel is also tied for second among NHL skaters this postseason with 22 points in 19 games, and has recorded four assists so far in the final.

Game Three is Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla. Both clubs are seeking the first-ever Stanley Cup in their respective franchise's history.

Capitals Win First-Ever Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup was awarded in Las Vegas on Thursday night—but not to the host Golden Knights.

That honor instead went to the Washington Capitals, who won the NHL title for the first time in their 44 seasons after a five-game triumph over expansion upstart Vegas, by virtue of a 4-3 victory in Game Five at T-Mobile Arena.

Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik (Boston College) assisted on the tying goal midway through the third period, after Vegas had taken a 3-2 lead after two periods of play. Lars Eller then tallied the game-winning goal with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, and the Capitals held on for their first Stanley Cup crown since entering the league in 1974, in their second-ever finals appearance. Washington was swept by Detroit in four games in 1998.

Reilly Smith (Miami) notched a goal and an assist in the series finale for Pacific Division and Western Conference champion Vegas, which went 12-3 over the first three rounds of the NHL postseason. The Golden Knights then won Game One of the final, before dropping four straight contests to the Eastern Conference champion Capitals. Alex Tuch (Boston College) assisted on Smith's goal.

Washington team captain Alex Ovechkin, who scored the Caps' second goal on the night and thus established a new franchise record with 15 goals this postseason, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in the playoffs. This season marked the first time Washington had advanced past the second round of the playoffs in his 13-year NHL career.

Former NCAA players besides Orpik who lifted the Cup as champions with the Caps this year , Jay Beagle (Alaska Anchorage), Travis Boyd (Minnesota), Alex Chiasson (Boston University), Pheonix Copley (Michigan Tech), Aaron Ness (Minnesota), Matt Niskanen (Minnesota-Duluth) and T.J. Oshie (North Dakota).

Orpik had been the only player on the Caps' roster to have previously won the Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh, 2009). His second career Cup triumph pushed BC's all-time total to 19 Cups, tops among NCAA schools along with Wisconsin.

2018 NHL Playoffs Underway

The 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs have commenced. The ultimate winner from the field of 16 will be crowned sometime in June.

On Friday, Shayne Gostisbehere (Union) opened the scoring for Philadelphia as the Flyers rebounded from a Game One debacle to even their quarterfinal series with a 5-1 victory at two-time defending champion Pittsburgh. Farther north, Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) made 16 saves as the Winnipeg Jets took a two games to none series lead with a 4-1 victory over Minnesota.

Lastly, Alex Tuch (Boston College) scored the game's first goal and Erik Haula (Minnesota) connected in the second overtime to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 2-1 victory over Los Angeles. Vegas now leads that series, two games to none.

In the other five series (all one game to none as of Friday night): Nashville leads Colorado, San Jose leads Anaheim, Tampa Bay leads New Jersey, Boston leads Toronto, and Columbus leads Washington.

Devils Roll in Vegas, 8-3

Ten days after a one-goal defeat to Vegas in Newark, the New Jersey Devils handed the expansion Golden Knights their biggest home defeat to date in the latter's inagural NHL season. The Devils roared out to a 4-0 lead on Wednesday, en route to an 8-3 win at T-Mobile Arena in Nevada.

Blake Coleman (Miami) led the visitors with two goals, including a game-opening shorthanded tally. Travis Zajac (North Dakota) and Kyle Palmieri (Notre Dame) also scored for New Jersey, while Brian Gibbons (Boston College) set up two goals. Brian Boyle (Boston College), Andy Greene (Miami) and Will Butcher (Denver) had one assist apiece, and Keith Kincaid (Union) finished with 39 saves for his 18th win of the campaign.

Erik Haula (Minnesota) scored twice for the Golden Knights, with Nate Schmidt (Minnesota) picking up an assist in the second and final regular-season meeting between the two teams this year.

Tuch Lifts Vegas Over Boston with First NHL Points

Alex Tuch (Boston College) made his NHL debut a memorable one on Sunday, in the Vegas Golden Knights’ 3-1 win over the visiting Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena.

Tuch, 21, stripped the puck from a defender and skated in to score his first NHL goal 14:38 into the second period to break a scoreless tie. Three minutes later, he set up the first-ever NHL goal by also-debuting teammate Vadim Shipachyov for his first NHL assist, and the game-winning tally. Malcolm Subban made 20 saves to earn his first-ever NHL victory, while Vegas has now won four of its first five outings in its inaugural NHL campaign.

A Syracuse native, the 6-foot-4 Tuch skated two seasons at BC (2014-2016), totaling 32 goals and 30 assists for 62 points in 77 appearances. Originally selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, he went scoreless in six games with the Wild last season before being traded to Vegas in June. He also put up 18-19—37 points in 57 pro games last year with Iowa (AHL).

A product of the U.S. National Development Team Program, Tuch scored the game-winning goal for BC in overtime of the 2016 Beanpot Tournament championship game. He also had a goal in a 3-2 loss to Quinnipiac in an NCAA Frozen Four semifinal that spring, in his final appearance with the Eagles.

Former NCAA Players Chosen in Expansion Draft

Several former NCAA players changed teams Wednesday in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, to help stock the new Vegas Golden Knights franchise:

Jon Merill           New Jersey  (Michigan)
Connor Brickley      Florida     (Vermont)
Jason Garrison       Tampa Bay   (Minnesota-Duluth)
Erik Haula           Minnesota   (Minnesota)
Trevor van Riemsdyk* Chicago     (New Hampshire)
Nate Schmidt         Washington  (Minnesota)

* van Riemsdyk was subsequently traded to Carolina on Thursday

The Golden Knights will also have 13 selections in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which gets underway tonight in Chicago (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and continues all day Saturday (10 a.m. ET, NHL Network). It marks the second time in four years that the NHL Entry Draft and the NCAA Frozen Four will be held in the same city in the same year, the last coming in 2014 in Philadelphia.