The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continued on Thursday evening with two extra second-round video games. Listed below are some key takeaways from the motion.
Goaltending issues for each Golden Knights and Oilers
Neither the Edmonton Oilers nor Vegas Golden Knights must be feeling overly assured about their goaltending conditions by means of the primary two video games of this sequence.
Not solely did the 2 goalies mix to surrender 9 objectives in Edmonton’s 5-4 win on Thursday, however not one of the goalies on these rosters have been good up to now within the playoffs as an entire.
Vegas’ Adin Hill entered play on Thursday with solely an .876 save proportion this postseason, which isn’t going to be adequate to win a Stanley Cup. It is unhealthy, and he was not nice on Thursday.
As for the Oilers, after Stuart Skinner posted an .810 save proportion in his first two video games this postseason, they went to Calvin Pickard. And whereas he entered Thursday’s sport having received all 5 of his begins, his sub-.900 save proportion is a big concern. He additionally was not nice on Thursday.
No place modifications the playoffs or a sequence greater than goaltending, and proper now each groups are struggling to get it. Considered one of them goes to advance, however there isn’t any assure it will get both of them a championship in the event that they preserve enjoying at this degree in internet.
A optimistic signal for Edmonton continues to be growing
You want a few superstars to win the Stanley Cup. You can’t win, nevertheless, with solely a few superstars being requested to hold all the weight offensively.
That has been an enormous drawback for the Oilers all through a lot of the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl period. It at all times creates a ceiling for what they’ll do and the way far they’ll go.
The excellent news is the Oilers’ scoring depth this postseason has been sensational unbiased of McDavid and Draisaitl. With objectives from Vasily Podkolzin and Jake Walman on Thursday, Edmonton now has objectives from 15 completely different gamers this postseason and has saved its heads collectively above water as a workforce when its two finest gamers will not be on the ice. That isn’t one thing that has ever actually occurred for the Oilers lately.
If that continues they aren’t solely going to have an excellent likelihood to win this sequence, but in addition the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl once more and, maybe, even the Stanley Cup this time round.
Hurricanes’ outdated playoff issues are nonetheless lurking
The excellent news for the Hurricanes is that by means of the primary two video games of the sequence they’re principally enjoying their sport.
They’re pushing the tempo of play, they’re out-shooting the Capitals and they’re dominating the sport from a territorial perspective. Their amount over high quality shot strategy is totally energetic.
However the objectives will not be fairly following, no less than not but. That must be a priority, as a result of that is how so lots of their postseasons have ended lately.
Carolina’s most constant Achilles heel yr in and yr out come playoff time is that regardless of doing the whole lot nicely and enjoying a successful type of hockey, it simply by no means fairly has the ending means and game-breakers to constantly flip all of it into offense. In two video games on this sequence the Hurricanes have simply three objectives on 61 complete photographs on purpose, sufficient to get them one win.
They need to discover a option to rating sufficient objectives to win three extra video games within the sequence, and 11 extra within the playoffs general.
