Top storylines heading into 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs

There are enough intriguing storylines going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs to keep you reading from now until the puck drops in Winnipeg on Saturday night.

Five of Canada's teams are in. Will one break through and be the first Canada-based Stanley Cup champion since 1993?

In that vein, a hearty welcome back to the postseason to the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. Montreal hasn't been in the playoffs since 2021. It's been since 2017 for the Senators.

The St. Louis Blues are back after missing the past two seasons.

There are battles in Ontario and Florida. It'll be the fourth straight year the same two Pacific Division teams are facing off in the first round. A star player who has been in the news a lot this season will play his former team in the first round.

And so much more.

Here is a bit of a what to watch guide going into the best time of the year:

Let the Battles begin

Boy, it'll be a real battle to get out of the first round in the Atlantic Division bracket.

The Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators gets underway at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVAS). It's the first time the Maple Leafs and Senators will meet in the playoffs since 2004.

Ottawa won all three regular season games against Toronto, outscoring the Maple Leafs 9-3.

The Battle of Florida between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers begins Tuesday at Amalie Arena (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, SCRIPPS, FDSNSUN). It's the second year in a row they've met in the first round and third time they've played in the past four postseasons.

The Panthers and Lightning split the season series, each winning two games. Tampa Bay defeated Florida 5-1 on Tuesday.

Tkachuk's return and Florida's repeat bid

Matthew Tkachuk is expected to return to the Panthers lineup for Game 1 against the Lightning. The forward missed the last 25 games of the regular season after sustaining a lower-body injury in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

The Panthers are going to try to become the third team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since 2017 and getting Tkachuk back is obviously of the utmost importance to their chances of doing what the Pittsburgh Penguins did in 2017 and the Lightning in 2021.

But all eyes will be on Tkachuk as he gets back into the lineup against the Lightning. Is he compromised? Can he be the same impact player as he has been for the Panthers in their last two runs to the Stanley Cup Final?

The Panthers won't have defenseman Aaron Ekblad for Games 1 and 2 as he serves the remainder of his 20-game suspension.

Maple Leafs out to prove this year is different

The Maple Leafs have played with more of an edge this season than in previous ones. They've been more consistent. They've been better defensively. They've controlled games.

Getting the team to play that way was the reason coach Craig Berube was hired last offseason. His no-nonsense, direct approach has helped pave the way for the Maple Leafs to get to the playoffs as the top seed in the Atlantic Division.

It only matters if they deliver in the playoffs. This is the Maple Leafs' ninth consecutive trip to the playoffs; they have lost in the first round eight times and have not gotten out of the second round.

Will this year be different?

Brady's playoff debut

Senators forward Brady Tkachuk will make his playoff debut against the Maple Leafs. ESPN broadcaster Ray Ferraro said on a conference call Tuesday that watching Tkachuk in Game 1 will be like watching a player get "unleashed" into the postseason.

It's unlikely that the moment will be too big for Tkachuk, who dominated for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, proving he's more than just a player with a recognizable last name and a brother who is a Stanley Cup champion.

The question is will the moment be too big for the Senators, who haven't played in the playoffs since 2017.

But the Senators since March 1 have been the best team in the Eastern Conference, going 16-5-3 for a .729 points percentage. Second best in the East in that same time was Toronto (15-6-2, .696 points percentage).

Hurricanes flying under the radar

The Hurricanes have been a trendy pick to come out of the Eastern Conference the past few seasons, but they haven't delivered.

They don't seem to be a trendy pick this year.

None of the 16 NHL.com staff writers and editors who did predictions picked the Hurricanes to go to the Stanley Cup Final. Last season, seven of the 15 that made predictions before the playoffs began had Carolina in the Stanley Cup Final; two had them winning it.

The Hurricanes, though, are second in the Metropolitan Division, locking into a first-round series with the New Jersey Devils that begins at Lenovo Center on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS, MSGSN, FDSNSO).

Does this mean the opposite will happen for the Hurricanes and they will go on the deep playoff run it seems no one is predicting for them? Or will it be more of the same from a team that hasn't changed much in the past few years?

Washington's turnaround will lead to what?

A year ago, the Washington Capitals backed into the playoffs with 91 points and a minus-37 goal differential. They lasted a week, getting swept by the New York Rangers.

This year, the Capitals are going into the playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 111 points and a plus-60 goal differential. They'll play Game 1 against the Canadiens at Capital One Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, MNMT).

But the Capitals struggled down the stretch. Goalie Logan Thompson has been out with an upper-body injury. Forward Aliaksei Protas is out with a lower-body injury.

You could argue they're limping into the playoffs, but every time the Capitals have been challenged this season they seem to rise to the occasion.

They went 22-7-1 in games following a loss of any kind. They'll have to carry that resiliency into the playoffs to go on a long run.

Montreal abuzz with playoff fever

The 2017 playoffs were a long time ago. Fans in Montreal know it and feel it. It's been that long since they were able to fill Bell Centre for a playoff game. That changes Friday, when the Canadiens host Game 3 against Washington (7 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS, MNMT).

The Canadiens played in the 2020 postseason, but that series was centrally located in Toronto because of COVID-19 restrictions. They reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, but COVID-19 restrictions prevented them from having more than 3,500 fans in the building.

Bell Centre will be booming Friday, as it has been all season, particularly down the stretch as the Canadiens went 15-5-6, including 10-0-2 at home, after the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off to earn their way into the playoffs as the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

Hellebuyck's time

If ever there was a year for the Winnipeg Jets and goalie Connor Hellebuyck to buck a losing trend in the playoffs this is it.

The Jets were the best team in the regular season from start to finish, winning the Presidents' Trophy with 116 points. Hellebuyck was the best goalie in the League from start to finish, leading all goalies who played at least 40 games with 47 wins, a 2.00 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and eight shutouts.

But all that matters now to Hellebuyck and the Jets is what happens in the playoffs. Game 1 against the St. Louis Blues is at Canada Life Centre on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS, FDSNMW).

Hellebuyck has to prove that he can be more than a regular-season goalie. The Jets have been knocked out in the first round in five games each of the past two seasons. They got into the second round in 2022, but were swept by the Edmonton Oilers.

He helped the Jets get to the Western Conference Final in 2018, but since then has gone 9-19 with a 3.13 GAA and .905 save percentage in 28 playoff games.

Home cooking in St. Louis

The Blues will enter Game 3 against the Jets at Enterprise Center on Thursday riding a 12-game home winning streak since Feb. 23.

Their success on home ice is largely the reason the Blues came back from seven points out of a playoff spot after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Jets at home on Feb. 22 to getting in as the second wild card from the Western Conference.

In fairness, the Blues also went 7-4-2 on the road in that stretch, but their strength at home is what got them into the playoffs. They outscored the opposition 57-22 in the 12-game winning streak, going 35.3 percent on the power play and 84.6 percent on the penalty kill.

If they can win at least one game in Winnipeg at the start of the series they'll be right where they want to be going home.

Rantanen's revenge

Mikko Rantanen has said he never wanted the Colorado Avalanche to trade him, that he thought they could work out a new contract to keep him with the only team he had played for before a blockbuster Friday night in January.

Well, clearly that didn't happen, because on Jan. 24 the forward was traded by Colorado to Carolina. Six weeks later, after that experiment didn't work and the Hurricanes found out Rantanen wasn't going to re-sign with them, they traded him to the Dallas Stars.

All of that gets Rantanen to where he is now, preparing to welcome his former team, the Avalanche, into his new home six weeks and one day after the Stars acquired him, 12 weeks and one day after Colorado traded him.

Game 1 between the Stars and Avalanche is at American Airlines Center on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, SN360, TVAS, ALT, Victory+).

Since the Quebec Nordiques became the Avalanche in 1995-96, Rantanen is fifth in franchise history with 681 points (287 goals, 394 assists) in the regular season. He's fourth with 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in the playoffs. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022.

And now he wants to beat them.

Landeskog's return

It feels like it's finally more a question of when than if when it comes to Gabriel Landeskog and the likelihood of him returning to the Avalanche lineup.

A knee injury and multiple surgeries have prevented Landeskog from playing in an NHL game since June 26, 2022, the night the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.

But he got into his first professional game since then last week, playing twice for the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday and Saturday. He had a goal and an assist and was named the first star of the game in his second game.

That has sparked the hope that Landeskog could be an option for coach Jared Bednar at some point in the first round against the Stars, potentially as soon as Game 1 on Saturday, and what a boost that would be for the Avalanche if they could get their captain back.

Missing Miro

Yes, the Stars have Rantanen, but they might not have defenseman Miro Heiskanen in the first round against the Avalanche, a massive blow to a team that has had Stanley Cup aspirations all season.

Heiskanen has been out since Jan. 31 because of a knee injury. He had surgery on Feb. 4. The Stars went 18-9-5 in 32 games without him, but they lost seven in a row (0-5-2) to end the season.

Without Heiskanen, the Stars have leaned heavily on defenseman Thomas Harley, who in 30 games since Heiskanen went out has averaged 24:53 of ice time per game and has 27 points. He was playing 22:27 when Heiskanen was in the lineup and playing 25:10 per game.

It's fair to wonder if not having Heiskanen catches up to the Stars in the first round, especially because they're going up against Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Kings vs. Oilers, Part IV

The Los Angeles Kings are hoping to buck a troubling playoff trend when they again face the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference First Round, a series that opens at Crypto.com Arena on Monday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVAS, FDSNW).

The Kings have lost to the Oilers in the first round each of the past three years, but it has gotten progressively worse for them. It was a seven-game series in 2022, a six-game series in 2023 and a five-game series in 2022.

Do not expect the Kings to get swept by the Oilers this year, especially since they start the series at home and they were the best home team in the League this season with 31 wins and a .825 points percentage.

But can they reverse the trend entirely and knock out the Oilers, who went to the Stanley Cup Final last season but enter the first round with some injury issues?

Meanwhile, the Kings enter healthy and having won their last four games of the regular season.

Kaprizov, Wild hoping to come up aces

The Minnesota Wild have not won a playoff series since 2015, losing in the first round in each of the seven seasons they've qualified for the playoffs over the past nine years.

But Kirill Kaprizov's return to the lineup on April 9 has sparked hope that the Wild, the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, have a chance to upset the Pacific Division-winning Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.

Game 1 is at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS, FDSNNO, SCRIPPS).

Kaprizov had four points (two goals, two assists) in the Wild's last four games to close the regular season with 56 points (25 goals, 31 assists) in 41 games. He missed 40 of 43 games from Dec. 27-April 6 with a lower-body injury, including 28 in a row before returning on April 9.

The Wild scored 3.02 goals per game in 41 games with Kaprizov in the lineup this season and 2.46 goals per game in 41 games without him.

In fact, he scored both of Minnesota's goals in a 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights on Dec. 15. The Wild scored a combined two goals in their two games against Vegas on Jan. 12 and March 25.