NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition

Two Wild Card teams came up with high-scoring wins on home ice Thursday as Cam Fowler and Pavel Buchnevich powered the St. Louis Blues to their first win of the postseason, and Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy gave the Minnesota Wild their second straight victory and a 2-1 series lead. Elsewhere on the sixth day of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Florida Panthers became the second straight reigning champions to start their title defense with a 2-0 record and the Atlantic Division champion Toronto Maple Leafs needed a second straight overtime win to take their first 3-0 series lead in 24 years.

On Friday, a trio of home teams will try to claim their first victory of the postseason as the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers all host Game 3s. The Canadiens will play playoff hockey in front of a sold-out Bell Centre for the first time since 2017, as their postseason appearances in 2020 and 2021 were both subject to attendance restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buchnevich hat trick, Fowler’s five points power Blues

Pavel Buchnevich (3-1—4) scored twice in the opening 3:11 of play – the fastest two goals by one player from the start of a playoff game in nearly 30 years – and later completed his first career playoff hat trick, while Cam Fowler (1-4—5) set a franchise record for points in a postseason game by a defenseman to help the Blues defeat the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets in Game 3.

Fowler (1-6—7 in 3 GP) shares the NHL lead with seven points this postseason and is one of nine defensemen in NHL history to post at least seven points through his first three games of a playoff year. The only other active defensemen to achieve that feat are Cale Makar (2-5—7 in 2022) of the Colorado Avalanche and John Carlson (1-6—7 in 2018) of the Washington Capitals – who both did so en route to winning the Stanley Cup. St. Louis scored seven goals in a playoff game for the first time since 1998.

Kaprizov and Boldy stay hot as Wild pull ahead

Kirill Kaprizov (2-0—2) and Matt Boldy (1-1—2) each posted a third straight multi-point performance, while 19-year-old Zeev Buium (0-1—1) recorded his first NHL point to help Minnesota take a 2-1 series against the division-winning Vegas Golden Knights. Kaprizov (4-3—7) and Boldy (4-2—6) have combined for eight goals and 13 points so far this postseason and are the first teammates to start a playoff year each with three straight multi-point games since Jaromir Jagr and Jan Hrdina with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2000.

Buium, the first player in Wild history to make his NHL debut in the playoffs, was drafted 12th overall last year out of the University of Denver and co-led NCAA defensemen with 48 points in 2024-25. Buium was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, a First Team All-American, and selected as the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Player of the Year and the NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year.

Matthews sets up Benoit for Toronto’s second straight OT win

Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the playoffs just 32 seconds into the third period to give his team a lead, but opposing captain Brady Tkachuk responded with a tying goal to send the “Battle of Ontario” to overtime for a second straight game – a first in the rivalry’s history. A face-off win by Matthews just 79 seconds into the extra frame set up Simon Benoit’s first career playoff goal and secured Toronto’s second straight overtime win. Each of Benoit’s two career playoff points have come in overtime, as his first was an assist on the Game 2 winner Tuesday.

Toronto’s victory locked in the first 3-0 series lead for Toronto since 2001 – just their second such advantage since their last Stanley Cup win 58 years ago.

Bobrovsky perfect as Panthers head home with 2-0 series lead

The reigning Stanley Cup champions are two wins closer in their bid for a repeat after Sergei Bobrovsky posted a 19-save shutout to power the Panthers past the Tampa Bay Lightning – the highest-scoring team from the regular season. The Panthers became the first team to shut out the Lightning in a playoff game at AMALIE Arena since the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of 2018 Eastern Conference Final.

Nate Schmidt scored his third goal in two games and became the eighth defenseman in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to score a game-winning goal in consecutive playoff contests. Schmidt, who had five goals in 80 games during the regular season, is the first blueliner to achieve that feat since Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom in Games 1 and 2 of the 2007 Conference Quarterfinals for the Detroit Red Wings.