<p>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.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Martinook’s shorty gives Canes 2-0 series lead</h2>



<p>The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Jersey Devils</a> had a very forgettable Game 1 against the<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Carolina Hurricanes</a> due to a few injuries and being overwhelmed by the Canes’ forecheck. While Cody Glass was good to go for Game 2,<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/new-jersey-devils-luke-hughes-brenden-dillon-out-undisclosed-injuries-game-2-carolina-hurricanes-stanley-cup-playoffs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon were unable to play</a> due to the injuries they sustained in Game 1. Instead, in were Simon Nemec and Dennis Cholowski, and it had to be encouraging for the Devils that despite all that, they played a much closer game in Game 2, even taking a 1-0 lead in the first with a goal from Jesper Bratt.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="160"></div>



<p>But unfortunately, it still wasn’t good enough. A sick play from Jackson Blake and Shayne Gostisbehere got the game tied early in the third, and a few minutes later, Jordan Martinook took the lead with a shorthanded goal. Seth Jarvis put the game away with an empty net goal, and the Hurricanes now have a 2-0 series lead thanks to a 3-1 win in Game 2.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jordan Martinook snipes it home to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead in the second period.<br><br>📹: Sportsnet <a href="https://t.co/VXVMeu5DIK">pic.twitter.com/VXVMeu5DIK</a></p>— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff/status/1914820581587050683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Leafs take 2-0 series lead with Domi’s OT winner</h2>



<p>The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Toronto Maple Leafs </a>had an excellent showing in Game 1, coming out with a level of maturity and confidence unlike what we’ve seen from this core in the past nine years. That carried over into the start of Game 2 as well, as Morgan Rielly and John Tavares scored in the first eight minutes of the game to give the Leafs another two goal lead. But Brady Tkachuk got one back for the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/ottawa-senators/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ottawa Senators</a> in the second, and Adam Gaudette tied the game with five minutes to go to send it to overtime, a much better on-ice showing for the Sens.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="187"></div>



<p>But much like the Devils earlier in the day, the effort just wasn’t enough for Ottawa to get the win. It took only three minutes for Max Domi to beat Linus Ullmark in overtime, and the Leafs would get the 3-2 win. With that, they have a 2-0 series lead, their first 2-0 lead in a series since their 2002 first round matchup against the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-york-islanders/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Islanders</a>.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MAX DOMI IS A TORONTO MAPLE LEAF!!!!!!!<br><br>🎥: Sportsnet <a href="https://t.co/nQWHTEX0FT">pic.twitter.com/nQWHTEX0FT</a></p>— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) <a href="https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/1914872213221556369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2025</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tkachuk scores twice in return</h2>



<p>Despite the fact that the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/florida-panthers/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida Panthers</a> are the defending Stanley Cup champions, injuries and a poor stretch of hockey in the final weeks of the regular season has led the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/tampa-bay-lightning/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tampa Bay Lightning</a> to be the slight favourites in this series. But with <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/florida-panthers-matthew-tkachuk-game-time-decision-ahead-of-game-1-against-tampa-bay-lightning" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matthew Tkachuk back in the lineup</a>, the Panthers reminded the hockey world that they will be far from an easy out, because Game 1 was not close.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="148"></div>



<p>The game was just short of the halfway mark when the Panthers had a 5-1 lead in the game, and they rode out the rest of the game to a 6-2 victory. Both Tkachuk and Nate Schmidt scored twice in the victory, with Tkachuk getting an assist on top of that, reminding all of us why he’s such an important player for the Panthers in the playoffs.</p>



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https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1914861922056376682
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kaprizov, Wild bounce-back big to tie series</h2>



<p>Like a few of the underdogs so far in these playoffs, the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/minnesota-wild/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Minnesota Wild</a> kept themselves in Game 1, and certainly showcased that they could hang in this series against the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vegas-golden-knights/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vegas Golden Knights</a>. And if you didn’t believe that, they showed it with conviction in Game 2. The Wild exploded in the first period, firing off three goals in the first period, and then four minutes into the second, they made it 4-0.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="141"></div>



<p>But, Monday night’s <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/los-angeles-kings/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Los Angeles Kings</a>/<a href="https://oilersnation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Edmonton Oilers</a> game showed us that a 4-0 lead isn’t always safe. Noah Hanifin scored midway through the second period to get the Golden Knights on the board, and then Tomas Hertl made it 4-2 early in the third to make it an interesting game. However, it didn’t quite reach the chaos of the other Pacific Division matchup, as Kirill Kaprizov got his second goal and third point of the night to secure the 5-2 win for the Wild, and now the series is tied going back to Minnesota.</p>


Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi (11) celebrates with defenseman Chris Tanev (8) and forward Auston Matthews (34) after scoring the winning goal in overtime against the Ottawa Senators in game two of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena