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William Nylander - Toronto Maple Leafs - In Play! magazine
The Panthers rallied to cut their deficit to one goal on two occasions but a three-point first period from #88 William Nylander and an eventual game winner from Matthew Knies helped the Maple Leafs take a 1-0 lead in a second-round series for the first time since 2001. File photo: Joe Mastromatteo - In Play! magazine
06
May

Stanley Cup Playoffs – May 5, 2025 – NYLANDER NOTCHES THREE POINTS, MAPLE LEAFS WITHSTAND PANTHERS RALLY

William Nylander (2-1—3) opened the scoring just 33 seconds into Game 1 en route to a three-point first period before the Panthers cut the Maple Leafs’ lead to one goal on two separate occasions in the final frame, but Matthew Knies (1-1—2) scored the eventual game winner to help Toronto take a 1-0 lead against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Toronto claimed its first 1-0 lead in a second-round series since the 2001 Conference Semifinals (2-0 W vs. NJD).

  • Nylander (0:33) recorded the seventh-fastest game-opening goal in Maple Leafs postseason history and the fastest since Game 3 of the 1987 Division Semifinals (Dan Daoust: 0:31). His six game-opening goals in the postseason trail only Ted Kennedy (9) and Dave Keon (7) for the most in franchise history.
  • Nylander became the second player in Maple Leafs history to record three points in the first period of a playoff game, following Morgan Rielly (0-3—3 in Game 2 of 2023 R1). He also became the 10th Maple Leafs skater to record consecutive multi-goal games in the postseason and first since Wendel Clark (Game 6-7 of 1994 CSF).
  • Rielly (1-0—1) netted the third of three Toronto tallies in the opening frame and passed Ian Turnbull (13) for the most playoff goals by a Maple Leafs defenseman. Of note, Red Kelly played forward during his tenure with Toronto and was a defenseman during his time with the Detroit.
  • Joseph Woll entered the game midway through the second period for his first postseason appearance of 2025. He became the second Maple Leafs netminder to earn a playoff win in relief, joining Terry Sawchuk (Game 5 of 1967 SF).

ISLANDERS WIN 2025 NHL DRAFT LOTTERY

The Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and will have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft. New York, which moved from 10th to first in the lottery and began the night with a 3.5 percent chance of ending up with the No. 1 pick, will select first overall at the NHL Draft for the fifth time in franchise history following 2009 (John Tavares), 2000 (Rick DiPietro), 1973 (Denis Potvin) and 1972 (Billy Harris).

HURRICANES-CAPITALS, OILERS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS CONTEST GAME 1 TUESDAY
The Second Round continues Tuesday with a pair of Game 1s, starting with a showdown between the Metropolitan Division’s top two teams as Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals host Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes in the second all-time postseason meeting between the clubs. To the West, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel – the top two picks from the 2015 NHL Draft – meet in the postseason again when the Oilers and Golden Knights begin their rematch of the 2023 Second Round.

  • The Capitals will clash with the Hurricanes in their second all-time Stanley Cup Playoffs series, following the 2019 First Round where Carolina rallied from series deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before staging a multi-goal comeback capped by the double-overtime clincher in Game 7. The Capitals and Hurricanes split their four-game season series in 2024-25 (WSH: 2-2-0; CAR: 2-1-1).
  • Exactly one month after capturing the NHL goals record, Ovechkin looks to climb another all-time list Tuesday: the Washington captain can surpass Mario Lemieux (76) for the 12th-most playoff goals in NHL history. If he finds the back of the net on the man-advantage, Ovechkin (30) would also surpass Joe Pavelski and Nicklas Lidstrom for the fifth-most playoff power-play goals in League history.
  • Aho enters Tuesday one goal shy of passing Rod Brind’Amour for the most playoff game-winning goals in Hurricanes/Whalers history after scoring the series clincher in double overtime during the First Round. Aho can also become the second player in franchise history to record a four-game multi-point streak in the postseason, following Jordan Martinook (4 GP in 2023).
  • The Oilers and Golden Knights will contest their second Stanley Cup Playoffs series following the 2023 Second Round, which saw Vegas skate to a six-game triumph en route to the franchise’s first championship. Edmonton and Vegas split their four-game season series in 2024-25 (EDM: 2-2-0; VGK: 2-2-0).
  • McDavid, who had 10 points against Vegas in the 2023 postseason (5-5—10), enters Tuesday with 39-89—128 in 80 career playoff games. The Edmonton captain can become the second-fastest player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to reach 90 career assists behind Wayne Gretzky (63 GP). Lemieux (97 GP) currently holds that distinction.
  • Eichel, who had 3-6—9 against Edmonton in their previous playoff meeting, has 10-28—38 in 35 career playoff games. Should he hit 40 tonight, Eichel would become the fourth-fastest U.S.-born player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to reach the mark, following Brian Leetch (32 GP), Kevin Stevens (33 GP) and Jake Guentzel (34 GP).
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