The Rush to the Cup: the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Dany Carbonell
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
It’s official: the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are here. For first time watchers or those needing a quick refresher, all the information on how the postseason works can be found here.
The last time a Canadian team won the cup was back in 1993, 32 years ago. However, with five out of seven Canadian teams in the mix, the odds may be in the True North’s favor. But let’s take a look at the brackets and see who could reign victorious.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Toronto Maple Leafs
Tampa Bay Lightning
Florida Panthers
Metropolitan Division
Washington Capitals
Carolina Hurricanes
New Jersey Devils
Wild Cards
Ottawa Senators
Montreal Canadiens
First Round Matchups
The Battle of Ontario: The Maple Leafs will face off against the Senators for the first time since 2004. This will be Brady Tkachuck’s playoff debut against the beloved core of Toronto: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Willy Nylander. Both teams are proud to represent the province, but who will emerge victorious?
The Battle of Florida: The defending champions, the Florida Panthers, will fight against the other state team, the Tampa Bay Lighting, in the battle of Florida. Will the Florida Panthers prove they can win back-to-back cups just like the Lighting did back in 2020-2021? Or will they fall to the Lightening in the first round?
Capitals vs. Canadiens: Captain Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens is set to face-off against the highest goal scorer in the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin. With 897 goals, Ovi set a new record this season, passing legend Wayne Gretzky. Will the Capital’s captain continue pushing his team forward to the next round, or will the power of friendship be on the Canadiens’ side to help them take down such a strong team?
Hurricanes vs Devils: The Devils have the opportunity to avenge their second round exit from the 2023 playoffs, where the Hurricanes beat them and moved onto the Conference Finals. This matchup must sting for the Devils. Will Hischier and crew be able to fuel the need for redemption and clutch a win this time around?
Western Conference
Central Division
Winnipeg Jets
Dallas Stars
Colorado Avalanche
Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights
Los Angeles Kings
Edmonton Oilers
Wild Cards
St. Louis Blues
Minnesota Wild
First Round Matchups
Jets vs Blues: Connor Hellebuyck is chasing after the cup after a historic season, with 47 wins for the Winnipeg Jets in the regular season. Yet, the St. Louis Blues surprised the league by setting a new franchise record of 12 consecutive wins. There’s a lot on the line for both teams, but who will make it past the first round?
Stars vs Avalanche: Dallas got close to making the finals last year, losing to the Oilers in game 6 of the Conference Finals. Mikko Rantanen will be playing against his former team this round. The Avalanche hope to play captain Gabriel Landeskog after his injury. Whatever happens, this Stars-Avalanche matchup will definitely be one to watch, a blockbuster guarantee.
Golden Knights vs Wild: With Marc-André Fleury retiring this year, this series is the last time he will be in the crease for playoffs. The Wild have a lot at stake during this first round. Will Jack Eichel and the Vegas crew set aside their hopes of winning to see Flower lift the cup one last time? Unlikely, but one can dream.
Kings vs Oilers: For the fourth straight year, McDavid and Kopitar will face off in a Pacific matchup. After a devastating loss in last year’s playoffs, the Oilers have enough motivation to push through the rounds and get a second chance at winning. However, the Kings are not known to go down without a fight.
This is the first round matchups broken down. How many games will it take each team to secure a spot in the second round? Predictions are being made and upsets will occur as the fight for the Stanley Cup commence.
Stay tuned for more NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs news.
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