Your Guide To The 2025 NHL Playoffs

The Hockey News Big Show is here to preview the first round of the NHL’s 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Here’s what Michael Traikos, Ryan Kennedy and Steve Warne discussed in this episode: 0:57: Will the Battle of Ontario have over or under three fights in this series? 3:01: Do the Ottawa Senators hope they can suck the Toronto Maple Leafs into playing a physical style of game?  3:55:  What will playoff Brady Tkachuk look like? 5:45: Who will be the Maple Leafs’ X-factor for them?  7:40: How much of a load will Jake Sanderson face against Toronto's top line?  8:55: Predictions for the Leafs and Sens series 10:34: Do the youngsters in Montreal have enough in them to run the table against the Washington Capitals? 13:59: Prediction for the Canadiens and Capitals series 15:18: In the Battle of Florida, Vasilevskiy and Bobrosky have both been known to turn it on in the playoffs. Will this series turn into a goalie duel? 17:21: Will the physical aspect of Florida match up to the skill of Tampa?  18:45 Predictions for the Panthers and Lightning series 21:04: Predictions for the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils series 21:49: Are there any similarities you see between this year's St. Louis Blues team and the 2019 team that won the Cup?  24:21: Does Jordan Binnington have the edge over Connor Hellebuyck?  25:34: Prediction for the Jets and Blues series 26:43: How do injuries affect the Dallas Stars?  28:52: Will Mikko Rantanen be the X-factor for Dallas while facing his old team?  30:39: How do you see this series between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild shaking out?  32:13: Are there any similarities you see between this year's Vegas team and the team that won the Cup?  33:38: Predictions for the Knights and Wild 34:02: Are injuries still a big issue for the Edmonton Oilers?  35:03: How will the goaltending matchup look between the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings?  37:08: Predictions for the Kings and Oilers series  37:20: Who do you see in the Stanley Cup final?  40:06: Which player will lead the playoffs in scoring? 41:14: Since the 2014-15 season, only three of the Stanley Cup winners have been from the Western Conference. Will this year's winner be coming from the East or West?  42:16: Which team will go on a Cinderella run? 43:44: Who is an unlikely playoff hero? 44:36: Which Cup "favorite" will go out earliest? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices