Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Conference final matchups, schedule are set

Published

2 years ago

May 16, 2023

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The 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs are here, as 16 teams compete for the most magnificent trophy in sports.

The record-setting Boston Bruins were the No. 1 overall seed, but they were ousted in Round 1 by the Florida Panthers. Out West, the defending Cup champion Colorado Avalanche hoped to continue their reign atop the league, but they were upset by the Seattle Kraken in the latter club’s first trip to the postseason.

And now, we’re down to the final four: the Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers in the East, while the Dallas Stars take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the West.

What will happen next? Read on for the full playoff coverage from every first-round series all the way through the Stanley Cup Final.

More: Playoff schedule
Top 50 players in the playoffs
Wyshynski’s bracket
Lapsed fan’s guide
Megapreview
Experts’ picks

Conference final round

Jump to:
East: CAR-FLA
West: VGK-DAL

Eastern Conference

Earlier results:

Hurricanes: Defeated Islanders in six, Devils in five
Panthers: Defeated Bruins in seven, Maple Leafs in five

Leading scorers:

Schedule:

Game 1 (at CAR): Thu., May 18: 8 ET (TNT)
Game 2 (at CAR): Sat., May 20: 8 ET (TNT)
Game 3 (at FLA): Mon., May 22: 8 ET (TNT)
Game 4 (at FLA): Wed., May 24: 8 ET (TNT)
Game 5 (at CAR): Fri., May 26: 8 ET (TNT)
Game 6 (at FLA): Sun., May 28: 8 ET (TNT)
Game 7 (at CAR): Tue., May 30: 8 ET (TNT)

Western Conference

Earlier results:

Golden Knights: Defeated Jets in five, Oilers in six
Stars: Defeated Wild in six, Kraken in seven

Leading scorers:

Schedule:

Game 1 (at VGK): Fri., May 19: 8:30 ET (ESPN/ESPN+)
Game 2 (at VGK): Sun., May 21: 3 ET (ABC/ESPN+)
Game 3 (at DAL): Tue., May 23: 8 ET (ESPN/ESPN+)
Game 4 (at DAL): Thu., May 25: 8 ET (ESPN/ESPN+)
Game 5 (at VGK): Sat., May 27: 8 ET (ABC/ESPN+)
Game 6 (at DAL): Mon., May 29: 8 ET (ESPN/ESPN+)
Game 7 (at VGK): Wed., May 31: 9 ET (ESPN/ESPN+)

Second round

Jump to:
Atlantic: TOR-FLA
Metro: CAR-NJ
Central: DAL-SEA
Pacific: VGK-EDM

Atlantic Division

Nick Cousins’ OT winner advances Panthers to East finals

Nick Cousins scores in overtime to eliminate the Maple Leafs as the Panthers advance to the East finals.

First-round results:

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Maple Leafs

Consensus pick: Maple Leafs

Metro Division

Canes advance to East finals with OT winner

The Hurricanes eliminate the Devils with an OT winner by Jesper Fast in Game 5.

First-round results:

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Devils

Consensus pick: Devils

Central Division

Wyatt Johnston’s impressive goal pads Stars’ lead in the 3rd

Wyatt Johnston fakes out the goalie and scores to give the Stars a 2-0 lead in the third period.

First-round results:

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Kraken

Consensus pick: Stars

Pacific Division

Marchessault’s natural hat trick sends Vegas to Western Conference final

Jonathan Marchessault scores three consecutive goals for the natural hat trick as the Golden Knights advance to the Western Conference finals.

First-round results:

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Oilers

Consensus pick: Oilers

First round

Jump to:
Atlantic: BOS-FLA | TOR-TB
Metro: CAR-NYI | NJ-NYR
Central: COL-SEA | DAL-MIN
Pacific: VGK-WPG | EDM-LA

Atlantic Division

Carter Verhaeghe ends Bruins’ season in OT

The Florida Panthers end the Boston Bruins’ season with a stunning OT goal from Carter Verhaeghe.

Regular-season records:

Bruins: 65-12-5, 135 points
Panthers: 42-32-8, 92 points

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Bruins

Consensus pick: Bruins (28 of 29 picks)

Maple Leafs advance for 1st time in 19 years off Tavares’ OT winner

John Tavares scores in overtime as the Maple Leafs advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Regular-season records:

Maple Leafs: 50-21-11, 111 points
Lightning: 46-30-6, 98 points

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Lightning

Consensus pick: Maple Leafs (22 of 29 picks)

Metro Division

Canes eliminate Islanders with OT winner

Paul Stastny nets the game-winner in overtime to move the Hurricanes on to Round 2.

Regular-season records:

Hurricanes: 52-21-9, 113 points
Islanders: 42-31-9, 93 points

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Islanders

Consensus pick: Tied (14 of 28 picks for each team)

Erik Haula slaps home one-timer to pad the Devils’ lead

Erik Haula puts the Devils up 3-0 in the third period of Game 7.

Regular-season records:

Devils: 52-22-8, 112 points
Rangers: 47-22-13, 107 points

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Rangers

Consensus pick: Rangers (18 of 29 picks)

Central Division

Kraken knock off defending champion Avs to advance

The Kraken become the first expansion franchise to win their first playoff series against a defending champion with a 2-1 win vs. the Avalanche in Game 7.

Regular-season records:

Avalanche: 51-24-7, 109 points
Kraken: 46-28-8, 100 points

Leading scorers:

Avalanche: C Nathan MacKinnon, 111 points (42 G, 69 A)
Kraken: LW Jared McCann, 70 points (40 G, 30 A)

Schedule:

Keys to the offseason for the Avalanche

Consensus pick: Avalanche (27 of 29 picks)

Mason Marchment beats the buzzer to extend Stars lead

Mason Marchment scores a goal on the breakaway with 0.5 seconds remaining in the second period as the Stars lead 3-0.

Regular-season records:

Stars: 47-21-14, 108 points
Wild: 46-25-11, 103 points

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Wild

Consensus pick: Stars (22 of 29 picks)

Pacific Division

Golden Knights defeat Jets with ease to advance in Stanley Cup playoffs

The Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Vegas wins series, 4-1

Regular-season records:

Leading scorers:

Results:

Consensus pick: Golden Knights (25 of 29 picks)

Keys to the offseason for the Jets

Kostin’s 2nd goal puts the Oilers ahead

Klim Kostin nets his second goal of the game as the Oilers take a 4-3 lead vs. the Kings.

Regular-season records:

Oilers: 50-23-9, 109 points
Kings: 47-25-10, 104 points

Leading scorers:

Results:

Keys to the offseason for the Kings

Consensus pick: Oilers (27 of 29 picks)

Sports

Cubs blow lead in 10-run 8th, storm back in thriller

Published

9 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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Cubs blow lead in 10-run 8th, storm back in thriller

ESPN News Services

Apr 18, 2025, 07:33 PM ET

CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker had the fans on their feet, roaring and pumping their fists as he rounded the bases after hitting the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning. His screaming line drive cleared the right-field wall with plenty of room to spare.

The Chicago Cubs went from giving up 10 runs in the eighth to scoring six in the bottom half and beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 on Friday in one of the wildest games on record.

The two teams combined for 21 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with the Cubs scoring 11 runs and the D-backs plating 10. It was the first nine-inning game in MLB history in which both teams scored 10 or more runs from the seventh inning on, and the third game overall, according to ESPN Research.

“That’s kind of baseball,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game, especially with how many games we play.”

There haven’t been many games like this, though.

The Cubs are just the seventh team in at least the past 125 seasons to allow 10 or more runs in an inning and win. They are also the fifth team to give up 10 or more runs and score six or more in the same inning.

The 16 combined runs in the eighth were the most in an inning at Wrigley Field, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“If you’ve seen that one, you’ve been around for a while,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said with a laugh. “It was crazy. You know, we gave up 10 runs in an inning and we won. So it was a wild game, but we kept going, and, you know, there’s 27 outs in a game and this kind of proves it, and you’re just happy to get out with a win.”

On a warm day with the ball carrying, Carson Kelly homered twice. Ian Happ belted a grand slam and Seiya Suzuki went deep, helping the Cubs open a weekend series on a winning note.

“You’ve seen it early — having some tough losses, coming back winning the next day,” Happ said. “Losing the first game of the series, winning the series. Little things like that. Today’s a great example of professional hitters going out there and continuing to have really good at-bats.”

The way things transpired in the final two innings was something to see.

Kelly hit a two-run homer in the second against Corbin Burnes, and Happ came through with his grand slam against Ryne Nelson as part of a five-run seventh. But just when it looked as if the Cubs were in control with a 7-1 lead, things took a wild turn in the eighth.

Eugenio Suarez cut it to 7-5 with a grand slam against Porter Hodge, Geraldo Perdomo singled in a run and Randal Grichuk put Arizona on top by one with a two-run double. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a three-run homer, making it 11-7.

The crowd of more than 39,000 let the Cubs hear it, but their team regrouped in the bottom half. Bryce Jarvis hit Nico Hoerner leading off and walked Pete Crow-Armstrong before Kelly drove a three-run homer to center. Tucker, the Cubs’ prized offseason addition, came through after Happ singled with one out. Suzuki followed with his drive against Joe Mantiply to give the Cubs a 13-11 lead.

Arizona, which had won five straight, became just the third team over the past 50 seasons to lose a game in which it had a 10-run inning at any point, according to ESPN Research.

“You just got to stay locked in,” Kelly said. “Obviously, you don’t want to … give up 10 in an inning. Obviously, you don’t want to do that. I think the biggest thing is coming back, regrouping and continuing to fight.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sports

Chisholm suspended 1 game for conduct, tweet

Published

9 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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Chisholm suspended 1 game for conduct, tweet

ESPN News Services

Apr 18, 2025, 05:49 PM ET

Major League Baseball suspended New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount, the result of his actions during Thursday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Chisholm was ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire John Bacon for arguing after a called third strike on a full-count pitch from Mason Montgomery that appeared low.

Minutes later, he posted on his X account, “Not even f—ing close!!!!!” then deleted the post.

“I didn’t think before I had anything that I said was ejectable but after probably,” Chisholm said after the game. “I’m a competitor, so when I go out there and I feel like I’m right and you’re saying something to me that I think doesn’t make sense, I’m going to get fired up and be upset.

“I lost my emotions. I lost my cool. I got to be better than that. … I’m definitely mad at myself for losing my cool.”

Michael Hill, the league’s senior vice president for on-field operations, said Friday’s discipline was for Chisholm’s “conduct, including his violation of Major League Baseball’s Social Media Policy for Major League Players.”

MLB regulations ban the use of electronic devices during games. The social media policy prohibits “displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire.”

Chisholm did appeal the decision, allowing him to play in Friday night’s 1-0 win against the Rays. He started at second base and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Sports

First-time father-to-be Ohtani away from Dodgers

Published

9 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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First-time father-to-be Ohtani away from Dodgers

Associated Press

Apr 18, 2025, 07:13 PM ET

ARLINGTON, Texas — Shohei Ohtani is away from the Los Angeles Dodgers for the birth of the two-way superstar’s first child.

Manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ series opener Friday night against the Rangers that Ohtani was with his wife and going on MLB’s paternity list.

“He and Mamiko are expecting at some point. That’s all I know,” Roberts said. “I don’t know when he’s going to come back and I don’t know when they’re going to have the baby, but obviously they’re together in anticipation.”

The 30-year-old Ohtani posted on his Instagram account in late December that he and his 28-year-old wife, a former professional basketball player from his native Japan, were expecting a baby in 2025.

“Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!” said the Dec. 28 post that included a photo showing the couple’s beloved dog, Decoy, as well as a pink ruffled onesie along with baby shoes and a sonogram that was covered by a baby emoji.

Ohtani can miss up to three games while on paternity leave. The Dodgers have a three-game series in Texas before an off day Monday, then play the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.