How Game 5 of Leafs-Lightning will be won: Pathways to victory for each team
It started as a series of blowouts. It became a matchup defined by comebacks.
What’s remained the same throughout is that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning haven’t lacked for drama in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
And the Leafs have got their foes on the ropes.
Let’s recap: The Atlantic Division rivals traded multigoal victories in Toronto to tie the series at 1-1 before it shifted down to Tampa. There, the Lightning blew late leads in regulation of Games 3 and 4, lost both tilts in overtime and are on the brink of elimination in a 3-1 series hole.
Tampa Bay heads back to Toronto for Game 5 on Thursday night, with nothing left to do but win its next three hockey games. Meanwhile, the Leafs have three cracks at closing out the recent back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and finally, for the first time in nearly 20 years, advance past the opening round of a playoff series.
Can the Lightning rally — and rattle — Toronto enough to still come out on top? Or will the Leafs quiet their critics — and quit being a punchline — by actually finishing off an opponent?
“It feels different,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said of his team after Game 4. “But we’ve got a tough task ahead.”
Here are five keys to victory for the Leafs and Lightning before Thursday’s battle of the blue-and-whites in Game 5:
Engage with urgency from the opening draw
Toronto overcame a one-goal deficit in Game 3 to win 4-3. It roared back from a three-goal disadvantage to take Game 4. That’s all well and good. But waiting until the last minute to come alive is unsustainable for the Leafs, especially with the Lightning playing with more desperation.
Urgency — or a lack thereof — has been Toronto’s downfall before. And the Leafs know full well Tampa Bay is capable of clawing back into a series. In last season’s first-round meeting, the Lightning were down 2-1 and 3-2 before closing the Leafs out in Game 7.
It’s no wonder Auston Matthews noted after the Leafs’ Game 4 victory: “The fourth [win] is the hardest to get.”
That has long held true for Toronto, and not just against Tampa Bay. There’s a reason the Leafs haven’t won a postseason series since 2004 and have been tossed from the opening round of their past six playoff (or play-in) opportunities. The Leafs don’t have to look far back to the last time they blew a 3-1 series lead; it was just two seasons ago against the Montreal Canadiens.
It’s time to finish this off.
Instead of letting Tampa Bay dictate the tone — as Toronto did for too much of Games 3 and 4 — it should be the Leafs taking it to the Lightning in Game 5. It should be Toronto playing like its season is on the line. Momentum is a powerful thing. The Leafs have it, and for once they can wield it properly — toward earning a series-deciding win — instead of handing the power back to the opposition.
Beware of vintage, Vezina-worthy Vasilevskiy
It’s been a particularly difficult playoff series for Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. He might also be the most well-suited goaltender in the league to produce a Herculean response.
So far, Vasilevskiy is 1-3-0 with a 4.33 goals-against average and .856 save percentage. He’s allowed more goals in this four-game span (19) than any other such stretch in his playoff career. That total is also tied for the second-most goals given up by a netminder through the first four games of a playoff series since 1984.
Bottom line? Like much of Tampa Bay’s lineup, its goaltender hasn’t been good enough. There’s no victory in sight for the Lightning if that doesn’t change.
“We scored enough goals to win,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said following Tampa’s 5-4 loss in Game 4. “You’ve got to keep them out of your net.”
Fortunately for the Lightning, there’s a long history of Vasilevskiy doing just that. He entered this postseason with enviable stats, a 63-38-0 playoff record, including seven shutouts — six of which have come in elimination games.
Basically, Vasilevskiy has been the Lightning’s backbone with their season(s) on the line. Cooper pointed out that several of the goals Vasilevskiy allowed late in Game 4 were tips and deflections, strikes that any goaltender — even ones who have won the Vezina Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup — would struggle to stop.
Vasilevskiy can’t undo what’s happened. But he can still be that clutch performer Tampa Bay has relied on for the past decade. And few things would get into Toronto’s heads quite like seeing Vasilevskiy go full-on shutdown mode with so much at stake.
Don’t deviate; elevate
The Leafs’ supposedly improved depth was a constant talking point heading into this series.
Lo and behold, the rumors were true. Toronto has graduated beyond just relying on its core of star players — namely Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander — and has attacked the Lightning from all angles (and every line) throughout the past four games.
To date, the Leafs have had 10 different goal scorers, seen six players pass the six-point mark, and gotten key contributions from one rookie (Matthew Knies) and two trade-deadline acquisitions: Ryan O’Reilly, with seven points, and Noel Acciari with two goals.
The Leafs’ chemistry is palpable. The trick is not to overthink it.
Toronto already made one key decision in deciding not to insert Michael Bunting back into the lineup for Game 5. The feisty top-line forward was suspended three games for elbowing and interference against Tampa defenseman Erik Cernak in Game 1. He was eligible to return for Game 5, but Keefe said Wednesday that Bunting will remain on the bench.
Ultimately Keefe decided that, despite what Bunting brought to the team with a 49-point regular season effort, it wasn’t worth disrupting the group that has won three straight playoff games. Not that he’s afraid to move players around — at Wednesday’s practice, Knies had been elevated to the Leafs’ second line with Tavares and Marner.
That’s just a further example of how the Leafs can continue using all the players they have to keep Tampa Bay on its toes — and avoid their previous fate as a one-dimensional foe.
“[I like] the top-to-bottom six and that’s part of the decision to not insert Bunting in, [so we’re] maintaining that,” Keefe said. “We’re trying to establish something where we are comfortable playing all four lines. That was our intention going into the series. We thought we were in a good spot that way and had to adjust along the way, which is what we had to do the other night [in Game 4]. The players responded well, we can always make other adjustments if needed, but we like to group [this] way.”
Lightning need full team effort on defense
“In the end, you’ve got to defend,” Cooper noted after Game 4. “And you’ve got to keep the puck out of your net.”
That’s been easier said than done for Tampa Bay lately, but it has established the right blueprint of what not to do.
The primary problem is that Tampa Bay’s blueline isn’t the same without Cernak. He’s been absent since the Game 1 hit by Bunting, and he won’t be dressing for Game 5, either.
Victor Hedman missed time early in the series because of an injury and is likely not at 100%. Mikhail Sergachev has been banged up and briefly left Game 4 after blocking a shot from O’Reilly. The Lightning are leaning on rookies Darren Raddysh and Nick Perbix to play critical minutes, and they’ve delivered admirably. What Tampa Bay truly requires, though, is more defensive buy-in across the board.
“In the totality of things, would we like to have Cernak in our lineup, a top-four defenseman for us? Yes,” Cooper said. “[But] we’ve gotten in our own way, obviously, at some of these points.”
Toronto learned the hard way in Game 1’s disastrous 7-3 loss that if it didn’t start wrapping up the Lightning’s top-flight forwards in front of the net and stopping them from setting up a strong cycle, it was about to be a short series. Tampa Bay must make the same investment in its end.
Instead of leaving Vasilevskiy out to dry, it’s on Tampa Bay’s entire five-man units to be pressuring Leafs’ skaters to the outside and not allowing them to set up in front. Pushing shots through traffic is how Toronto worked its way back in Game 4, and a tighter effort from the Lightning — particularly through the neutral zone — won’t allow the Leafs those opportunities to get in Vasilevskiy’s line of vision.
Cooper admitted his team might have sat back in the third period of that Game 4 loss. There’s nothing like the threat of impending elimination to light a fire under any player — regardless of superstar status — to do the dirty work necessary that keeps a team’s hopes alive for a Game 6.
Wanted: Perked-up PKs
Special teams play an important role in every postseason series.
The charitable thing to say is that Tampa Bay and Toronto have been equally good in this one on the power play. Another reality is that, at times, both teams’ penalty kills have been something of an eyesore.
Going into Game 5, Toronto is at 70.6% on the PK (and 6-for-17 on the power play).
Tampa Bay is even worse at 64.7% on the PK (and 5-for-17 on the power play).
Will this all-important, potentially series-deciding Game 5 be determined by whose penalty kill is less awful?
The Lightning penalty kill gave up a game-winning power-play goal to Alexander Kerfoot in Game 4. Toronto’s kill has been discombobulated at times by Tampa Bay’s four-forward look on the man advantage (see: allowing four power-play markers in Game 1).
Staying out of the box would help, obviously. Tampa Bay has taken more penalties (27) than any team in the postseason. The Leafs aren’t far behind with 23 infractions.
There have been heroic short-handed moments from both sides, too. Key shot blocks. Dives into shooting lanes. Aggressive pressure and positive results.
It’s just takes one bad decision, though. One careless clear or sloppy turnover when you’re down a man and it won’t be even-strength play that rules the day. That can be a tough pill to swallow with results on the line.
Who will be the best running backs in college football in 2025?
We asked our college football reporters to vote for their top 10, distributing points based on their selections (10 points for a first-place vote, 9 points for second place and so on).
The results at the top include some familiar faces who made a mark in the College Football Playoff last season, but further down the list are some key transfers in new places and two freshmen who burst on to the scene, among others.
Here’s a look at our picks for the top 10 running backs in college football:
Points: 96 (8 of 10 first-place votes)
2024 stats: 163 carries, 1,125 yards, 17 TDs; 28 receptions, 237 yards, 2 TDs
Love emerged as Notre Dame’s top offensive playmaker during his sophomore season with 1,125 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry. The only two FBS running backs with 150-plus attempts to average more yards per carry last season were Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Louisville’s Isaac Brown.
Love, at 6 feet and 212 pounds, is as effective earning the tough yards, as evidenced by his tackle-breaking touchdown against Penn State in the College Football Playoff, as he is breaking big plays. He had eight touchdowns of 30 yards or longer last season. The Irish want to get him the ball even more in 2025, as Love has lined up some as a wide receiver during spring practice. He caught 28 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. — Chris Low
Points: 82 (2 of 10 first-place votes)
2024 stats: 172 carries, 1,099 yards, 12 TDs; 41 receptions, 375 yards, 5 TDs
Singleton faced five-star expectations when he enrolled at Penn State in 2022 and has lived up to them throughout his time in State College. Now he’s coming back for his senior season to chase a national championship after helping the Nittany Lions break through to the CFP semifinals last season.
Singleton has put up a combined 4,673 all-purpose yards over the past three seasons, second most among all FBS backs behind Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, and 41 career touchdowns. He has shared carries every season, averaging just 12.2 rushes per game over his career, but has consistently been highly productive and a true home run threat as a rusher, receiver and kick returner. — Max Olson
Points: 68
2024 stats: 220 carries, 1,108 yards, 8 TDs; 18 receptions, 153 yards, 2 TDs
ESPN’s Mel Kiper had Allen ranked as the No. 6 draft-eligible running back in the 2025 NFL draft class earlier this year. But rather than jumping to the pros, Allen will resume his position at Penn State as part of one of the nation’s most talented backfields alongside fourth-year quarterback Drew Allar and rushing partner Nicholas Singleton.
The Nittany Lions’ physical complement to Singleton and his elusive rushing style, Allen carried 220 times — fourth most among Big Ten running backs — and finished with 1,108 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as a junior in 2024. The 5-foot-11, 229-pound rusher averaged 6.7 yards per attempt across four postseason games, and ball security stands among his most valuable traits — Allen has lost one fumble across 559 career carries. — Eli Lederman
Points: 51
2024 stats (with Tulane): 265 carries, 1,401 yards, 15 TDs; 19 receptions, 176 yards, 2 TDs
The Tulane transfer ran for 1,401 yards last fall, ninth most nationally and more than any other returning running back. Hughes established himself as an exceptionally productive talent in two seasons with the Green Wave, and he lands at Oregon with two years of eligibility as an ideal replacement for 1,267-yard rusher Jordan James.
Hughes broke out for 1,378 yards on 258 carries as a freshman in 2023 before effectively replicating that rushing season. A key uptick in 2024: Hughes’ rushing touchdown count climbed from seven to 15. His 949 yards after first contact in 2024, per TruMedia, also leads all returning rushers in 2025. As the Ducks break in new quarterback Dante Moore, Hughes’ production and dependability could be especially important. — Lederman
Points: 45
2024 stats: 165 carries, 1,173 yards, 11 TDs; 30 receptions, 152 yards, 1 TD
There’s a good argument that last season, as a true freshman, Brown was the most explosive back in the country. Brown led all power-conference backs in yards per rush (7.11), had the fifth-most explosive runs (12 yards or more) with 33 and forced 41 missed tackles. His 8.2 yards-per-carry average between the tackles was a full yard better than any other power-conference running back. Brown also was a threat out of the backfield and in the return game. He eclipsed 99 yards of all-purpose yardage in eight of his past 10 games. — David Hale
Points: 38
2024 stats (with Louisiana-Monroe): 237 carries, 1,351 yards, 13 TDs; 8 receptions, 72 yards, 0 TDs
Hardy established himself as one of the top true freshmen in college football last season at Louisiana-Monroe. He rushed for 1,351 yards, including eight 100-yard games, and scored 13 touchdowns. He was overlooked by recruiters coming out of high school but was one of the top running back targets in the transfer portal and landed at Missouri.
Hardy, 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, is at his best making defenders miss and churning out yards after contact. He was one of seven players nationally to have 1,000 yards or more after contact (1,012) last season. Hardy forced 91 missed tackles — only Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo had more. With Kewan Lacy leaving for Ole Miss, Hardy will get all the carries he can handle in 2025. — Low
Points: 31
2024 stats: 184 carries, 966 yards, 5 TDs; 52 receptions, 579 yards, 4 TDs
Reid made the move up from FCS Western Carolina to follow his offensive coordinator, Kade Bell, to Pitt last year and quickly proved he’s one of the most dynamic offensive playmakers in college football. The 5-8, 175-pound playmaker put up 1,704 all-purpose yards — 966 rushing, 579 receiving and 159 on punt returns — and scored 10 total touchdowns in an All-America debut season.
Reid achieved all that despite missing two games because of injury, and he finished fifth among all FBS players in all-purpose yards per game (154.9). The do-it-all back had three 200-yard performances over his first four games with the Panthers and will return for his senior season to produce plenty more in 2025. — Olson
Points: 19
2024 stats: 226 carries, 1,064 yards, 5 TDs; 44 receptions, 311 yards, 1 TD
Wisner stepped up in a big way for the Longhorns in 2024. Despite a depleted running back room and injuries to the offensive line across different portions of the season, Wisner had 1,064 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, adding 311 yards and another touchdown through the air. CJ Baxter should be back for the Longhorns after missing 2024 with a knee injury, but given what we saw from Wisner, he should still be well in the mix in the Texas backfield. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Points: 17
2024 stats: 169 carries, 944 yards, 9 TDs; 28 receptions, 166 yards, 3 TDs
Haynes, a wide receiver turned running back, has been one of the most consistent players in Georgia Tech’s offense over the past two seasons. Since 2023, Haynes has 2,003 yards on the ground and 16 touchdowns.
His versatility is something every team looks for in a back — he’s good at getting yards before defenders can get a hand on him (856 rushing yards before contact over the past two seasons, the most of any power-conference back in that span, per Pro Football Focus) and he’s good after they get a hand on him (his 1,145 yards after contact rank fourth, per PFF). In Haynes’ third year, the Yellow Jackets will be expecting much of the same. — Lyles
Points: 16
2024 stats: 175 carries, 1,028 yards, 12 TDs; 22 receptions, 217 yards, 1 TD
By mid October 2024, Washington had just 186 rushing yards and a touchdown to his credit (nearly all of which came against Air Force) and Baylor was a miserable 2-4 on the season. Then coach Dave Aranda tabbed Washington to serve as the Bears’ lead back, and everything changed.
Over the next six games, Washington racked up 127 carries for 818 yards and 11 touchdowns as Baylor won six straight. Washington was banged up early in Baylor’s bowl game against LSU and got just five carries — it’s no coincidence the Bears lost — but his growth throughout 2024 paired with that of quarterback Sawyer Robertson has Baylor thinking playoff in 2025. — Hale
Also receiving votes: Jonah Coleman, Washington, 15 points; Jaydn Ott, California, 14; Jahiem White, West Virginia, 14; Darius Taylor, Minnesota, 13; Caden Durham, LSU, 11; Jadan Baugh, Florida, 8; Nate Frazier, Georgia, 6; Jadarian Price, Notre Dame, 2; Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M, 2; CJ Baxter, Texas, 1; Roman Hemby, Indiana 1
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Josh Weinfuss
AHMED HASSANEIN‘S JOURNEY to the doorstep of the NFL began on a balcony seven years ago in Cairo around a hookah.
With the roar of Cairo International Airport in the distance, Hassanein joined his two sisters, brother and nephew trading puffs in the sixth-floor penthouse they grew up in overlooking the Heliopolis suburb.
As they passed the hookah, Hassanein’s sisters, Gigi and Aziza Ibrahim, told Hassanein’s older brother, Cory Besch, about Hassanein’s life over the past decade after moving from California at age 6. Hassanein had forgotten how to speak English, had behavioral issues that caused him to be expelled from school, and was being raised by his mother, who he said had a substance abuse disorder.
“She was a very, very abusive person,” Hassanein told ESPN. “Like starting with addiction, with drugs and all that stuff, and she was really verbally abusive and physically abusive.”
Through it all, Hassanein took solace in sports including breakdancing, soccer, swimming, basketball, boxing, jujitsu, pingpong and CrossFit. He became the top-ranked CrossFit athlete in Egypt and one of the best in Africa. It also helped him cultivate a strong work ethic.
Besch, who was 30 at the time and making his first trip to Egypt in 20 years, hadn’t seen Hassanein in a decade. After hearing from his siblings that night — June 26, 2018 — Besch started formulating a plan to get Hassanein, then 15, back to the United States.
“I was like, ‘Well, what if he came and lived with me and played football for me?'” said Besch, who coached at Loara High School in Anaheim, California.
It was a major pivot for Hassanein, who was set to attend Riverside Preparatory, a military school in Gainesville, Georgia.
“I remember Aziza telling me, ‘It’s going to be really hard, and it’s going to be one of the most difficult things you’ve ever done because the culture shock is going to be there, you’re going to lose all your friends, you can’t speak English very well,'” Hassanein said.
“And I was like, ‘I can do it.'”
During a family vacation at a resort on the Red Sea later that week, Besch helped convince their father to let him move away 7,500 miles. A month later, Hassanein was on a plane to Los Angeles.
Fast-forward to today and — despite initial language barriers, lack of football knowledge and playing the sport for the first time as a sophomore in high school — Hassanein is on the verge of becoming the first Egyptian to be drafted into the NFL. ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller has the former Boise State defensive end, who is 6-foot-2, 267 pounds, going in the sixth round at pick No. 216 in his latest mock draft.
“It was surreal to think that we just dreamed this to save Ahmed and get him to the U.S., like ‘Project Mission: Get Ahmed to the U.S.,’ and then it was ‘Mission: Get Ahmed into College,’ and now it’s ‘Mission: Get Ahmed into the NFL,'” Gigi said from her apartment in Cairo.
“But it’s all surreal because who would’ve thought that Ahmed would be great at being a defensive lineman in American football when literally seven years ago, he was just sitting on the balcony praying that someone would … get him out of this misery.”
THE CULTURE SHOCK was real for Hassanein when he moved in with Besch in August 2018.
Everything from the food to the language to school was different. And then there was football.
All Hassanein knew about the sport was what Besch had posted on social media, most recently playing in a second-tier Austrian league from March to June 2018, just before he visited Egypt.
“People run and hit each other,” Hassanein recalled. “That’s all I know.”
When Hassanein arrived in California, Besch gave him a crash course, explaining everything from how to put on his pads, helmet and mouth guard to the sport’s rules.
“Everything from line of scrimmage to downs to your role and responsibility on the defense,” Besch said. “And I don’t think everything was explained explicitly because you don’t ever go back and explain the X’s and O’s in high school, right?”
Hassanein didn’t know how to get in a stance or how to catch a ball, said Mitch Olson, Hassanein’s head coach at Loara. His school’s football program was in one of the lower levels in California and didn’t have the resources other schools around them had. Each coach was in charge of multiple positions, and most of the kids didn’t play football before ninth grade because there wasn’t a youth program in the district.
“It’s like the kid got pulled off of Mars and started playing football,” Olson said.
Still, Olson saw the potential in the 16-year-old sophomore. He lined up Hassanein, then 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, at defensive tackle on the junior varsity team for the first game of the season before moving him up to varsity. It was, by all accounts, an experiment.
Hassanein had at least one penalty every game because of his unfamiliarity with the rules. There was a game in which he grabbed a quarterback’s face mask to bring him down and another in which he tripped the quarterback, who was about to scramble by him. He remembered throwing players, kicking people and flipping them like in jiujitsu.
“I was out there just doing whatever,” Hassanein said. “I was just out there being physical. See ball, get ball.”
In fall 2018, Hassanein was watching highlights of former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
“What high school does he go to?” Hassanein asked his brother.
“And he was like, ‘Bro, that’s the NFL, that’s the National Football League.’ I was like, ‘OK, I want to go there.’ And he was like, ‘Bro, you know you don’t have a D-line coach at your high school and you don’t have a sled?'”
It didn’t matter to Hassanein. After talking to his brother and Olson, and watching videos, he devised a plan: Hassanein began waking up at 5 a.m. every day to work out before school. After school, he’d go to practice — either football or basketball, depending on the season — and then go back to the gym for three to four hours a night.
Everything started to click for Hassanein midway through his sophomore season.
The key, Besch, Olson and defensive coordinator Jonathan Rangel decided, was to let Hassanein’s natural strength make up for whatever technique he lacked. It worked.
Eventually, Besch started taking Hassanein to camps, where he was facing — and outplaying — prospects from top high school programs around Southern California such as St. John Bosco and Mater Dei. The night before one camp, Hassanein studied pass-rush moves on YouTube and implemented them the next day.
Colleges noticed the three-star pass rusher. On Aug. 27, 2020, as his senior season was postponed until the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hassanein received a direct message from Spencer Danielson, now Boise State’s head coach, who was then coaching the defensive line. He loved Hassanein’s film.
Hassanein told his brother, who couldn’t believe it. Besch played football with Danielson at Azusa Pacific University. Hassanein relayed that information to Danielson, and they hopped on a Zoom call to explain the situation.
Hassanein had scholarship offers from Fresno State, Duke, Kansas and Colorado before eventually choosing Boise State.
Had Hassanein’s life followed his initial plan of going to military school, looking back, he thought he’d return to Egypt after four years. Instead, he was living out a dream he never knew he had.
“It meant the world to me that somebody believed, and my brother always believed in me, but it gave me confirmation that I can do this,” Hassanein said. “I took it as a challenge because I had a lot of family members say, ‘You’re going to come back in two weeks. You’re never going to succeed. You can’t even speak English. How the hell are you going to play football?’
“And I really made it. I took it as, ‘OK, watch this.'”
DANIELSON STOOD OUTSIDE Boise State’s football facility on a June morning in 2021 with a hope and a prayer.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, neither Danielson nor any of his coaches were able to recruit Hassanein in person, so the first time they met him was when he stepped out of the car that day. Sitting in the back of Danielson’s mind was the fact that Besch was 5-foot-8, 150 pounds in college.
“I’m waiting for him at the front of the facility like, ‘Please be 6-3. Please be 6-3,'” Danielson recalled to ESPN. “If he pops out and he’s 5-9 and Cory got me, I’m going to be really hot.
“And he pops out and he just looks like a Greek god. I’m like, ‘Yes.'”
His first year on campus, Hassanein looked like some of the Broncos’ juniors and was lifting more weight than a number of the upperclassmen, Boise State edge coach Jabril Frazier said.
From a football standpoint, Hassanein was very much a freshman.
“He didn’t know what was going on,” Frazier said. “But he played at a high level.”
Danielson’s way of rectifying that was with his “Football School,” a weeklong program leading into fall camp for all of Boise State’s incoming freshmen. It covered everything from the width of the field — 53.3 yards — to the verbiage Boise State’s coaches prefer to the fundamentals of tackling to A, B and C gaps.
For Hassanein, college football was an entirely new game. In high school, he relied on his natural ability to dominate. Not so much in college. He had to account for how the offensive lineman across from him lined up and blocked in every possible scenario and what kind of offense he was facing on a weekly basis.
It was essentially Football 101 for Hassanein.
“It was really eye-opening,” he said.
In 20 games over his first two seasons, he had two sacks. Then, going into his junior year in 2023, it all clicked. Hassanein finished with 12.5 sacks and was mentioned among the nation’s best pass rushers.
Heading into his senior season, he was coming off labrum surgery and spent the spring watching his own film and breaking down his games while he rehabbed. Hassanein had 9.5 sacks in 2024, giving him 24 for his career, the fourth most in school history.
“I currently have him projected as a late fifth- to early sixth-round pick as teams are always looking for pass-rush help,” ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid said. “Hassanein will likely be a part of special teams early on during his career while he searches to earn a role as a contributor on defense.”
Hassanein is on the verge of making international history. When he does, it will be an emotional moment for those who helped him on the journey.
“The journey that dude made and the guts that he had to do, the things that he did to get to where he is, it is storybook, man,” Olson said. “It really is. It’s a frigging movie.”
He knows he’s not the biggest or quickest, but he says he thinks his strength will help him become a disruptive pass rusher at the next level.
Danielson described Hassanein as “one of the most violent run defenders we’ve ever had here,” pointing to the Broncos’ first defensive play of the Fiesta Bowl against Penn State.
It was first-and-10 from the Nittany Lions’ 28-yard line when Penn State tight end Tyler Warren went in motion from left to right, overloading the side closest to Hassanein. It was a run and, with a running start, Hassanein bulldozed Warren back four yards, throwing him to the ground in the process.
To Danielson, that play is everything teams need to know about Hassanein.
“Once he gets there, he’s going to be all over the coaches about being better, getting better, getting help,” Frazier said. “Give him a year to two years in the NFL and you’ll be hearing his name a lot.”
As the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, the New York Rangers were envisioned as a playoff team again in 2024-25. As the team on top of the league standings in early December, similar words could be written about the Minnesota Wild.
And yet, heading into Wednesday night’s matchup between the clubs (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+), nothing is certain about either team’s playoff chances after the pair has gone 8-9-3 in the past 10 games apiece.
The Wild enter the game in a playoff position, and have a 91.0% chance to make the playoffs per Stathletes. A key part of that is the team’s remaining strength of schedule; their remaining opponents have a 46.0% winning percentage, which is the second-easiest path. (Only the New Jersey Devils face a weaker slate in the final stretch.)
Compare that to the Rangers, who have a 27.3% chance, and will begin this game on the outside looking in. New York’s remaining slate is considerably more difficult; a 54.1% opponents’ winning percentage ranks as the second toughest, behind only the Detroit Red Wings.
If the Wild qualify as the first wild card, their likely first-round opponent is the Vegas Golden Knights; if they land in the second wild-card position, their likely opponent is the Winnipeg Jets. Unfortunately, Minnesota went 0-3 against both teams this season.
The Rangers’ more likely outcome as a playoff entrant is as the second wild card, which earns them a matchup against the Washington Capitals; the Caps have won all three games against New York this season. The Rangers could wind up as the first wild card, earning a matchup against the Atlantic Division champ. They went 1-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 0-2 against the Florida Panthers (with one more game coming up on April 14), and 0-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning (with games coming up on April 7 and April 17).
So, the future isn’t blindingly bright in the playoffs for these teams. But all you need is a ticket in, and unexpected things can happen!
There are just over two weeks left until the season’s end on April 17, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Yesterday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Florida Panthers
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Montreal Canadiens
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 Minnesota Wild
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 St. Louis Blues
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers
Wednesday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers, 7 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Seattle Kraken at Vancouver Canucks, 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s scoreboard
Washington Capitals 4, Boston Bruins 3
Montreal Canadiens 3, Florida Panthers 2 (OT)
Buffalo Sabres 5, Ottawa Senators 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 8, Nashville Predators 4
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, New York Islanders 1
St. Louis Blues 2, Detroit Red Wings 1 (OT)
Utah Hockey Club 3, Calgary Flames 1
Edmonton Oilers 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2
Anaheim Ducks 4, San Jose Sharks 3 (SO)
Los Angeles Kings 4, Winnipeg Jets 1
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 104.1
Next game: vs. FLA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 93
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 103.1
Next game: @ OTT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 92
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 8
Points pace: 102.0
Next game: @ TOR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 93.1
Next game: vs. TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.8%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 87.5
Next game: vs. BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 44.7%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 83.1
Next game: vs. CAR (Friday)
Playoff chances: 2.9%
Tragic number: 13
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 77.6
Next game: vs. TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 8
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 75.4
Next game: @ MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 5
Metro Division
Points: 105
Regulation wins: 41
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 116.4
Next game: @ CAR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 9
Points pace: 105.6
Next game: vs. WSH (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 6
Points pace: 93.9
Next game: vs. NYR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 86.5
Next game: vs. COL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 16.7%
Tragic number: 17
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 85.3
Next game: vs. MIN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 27.3%
Tragic number: 15
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 82
Next game: vs. MIN (Friday)
Playoff chances: 8.7%
Tragic number: 12
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 77.6
Next game: @ STL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 7
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 6
Points pace: 76.6
Next game: @ MTL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 5
Central Division
Points: 106
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 7
Points pace: 115.9
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 102
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 113.0
Next game: vs. NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 7
Points pace: 102.8
Next game: @ CHI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 89
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 6
Points pace: 96.0
Next game: vs. PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 92.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 7
Points pace: 96.2
Next game: @ NYR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 91%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 87.5
Next game: vs. LA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.4%
Tragic number: 7
Points: 62
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 67.8
Next game: @ DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 51
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 56.5
Next game: vs. COL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 98
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 8
Points pace: 108.6
Next game: vs. WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 93
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 8
Points pace: 103.1
Next game: @ UTA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 8
Points pace: 100.8
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.1%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 90.9
Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 13.9%
Tragic number: 11
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 89.8
Next game: vs. SEA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 2.7%
Tragic number: 10
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: @ CGY (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: 3
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Points pace: 74.3
Next game: @ VAN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Points pace: 55.4
Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Note: An “x” means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An “e” means that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Points: 51
Regulation wins: 18
Points: 62
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 32
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 24
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 26
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