Following just one game on the schedule on Tuesday night, Wednesday night is back to the standard of two games — one of which could be the swan song for a recent Stanley Cup champion.

The first matchup pits the Florida Panthers against the Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET, ESPN); those teams are tied 2-2. In the nightcap, the Vegas Golden Knights host the Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), with the home team hoping to avoid a 4-1 series loss just two seasons after winning it all.

Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, a recap of what went down in Tuesday’s game and the Three Stars of Tuesday from Arda Öcal.

Matchup notes

Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 5 | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN

With the series tied 2-2, ESPN BET has the Panthers as the favorites to win the series at -210 compared to +170 for the Leafs. Florida is now +400 to win the Cup, while Toronto is +900.

When a best-of-seven series is tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win the series 79% of the time in Stanley Cup playoffs history.

Each goal that Carter Verhaeghe scores extends his lead atop the franchise leaderboard for career playoff goals; he’s currently at 30, ahead of Sam Reinhart (24), Aleksander Barkov (22) and Matthew Tkachuk (20).

Acquired at the trade deadline from Boston, Brad Marchand has a personal 4-0 record against Toronto in playoff series, and is tied for the third-most points against the Leafs in Stanley Cup playoff history; his 33 are tied with Henri Richard, trailing Alex Delvecchio (35) and Gordie Howe (53).

William Nylander leads Toronto in goals this postseason, with six, and he continues to climb the Leafs’ career playoff goal-scoring leaderboard. With 26, he is tied with Steve Thomas and George Armstrong for fifth on the list; Ted Kennedy is fourth, with 29.

Fellow member of the Core Four Mitch Marner is on the precipice of a career milestone too; with his next assist, he’ll join Doug Gilmour as the only Maple Leafs with 50 or more career playoff assists.

Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights
Game 5 | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

The Oilers take a 3-1 lead into Game 5, and ESPN BET has adjusted the series winner odds accordingly; Edmonton is now -1000 to win this series, with the Knights at +550. Edmonton also has the shortest Stanley Cup odds, at +260, while Vegas’ are +3000; only the Capitals have longer odds, at +7500.

When leading a best-of-seven series 3-1, the Oilers have gone on to win 94% of the time in their history; the Knights have never rallied to win a series after trailing 3-1.

Adam Henrique had two goals in the first period of Game 4 after just one goal in the first nine games this postseason. It was his second career multigoal game — the last came in 2012 during the Devils’ run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Connor McDavid assisted on Evander Kane‘s goal in Game 4, extending his assist streak to eight games. That ties Wayne Gretzky (1983) for the third-longest such streak in Oilers postseason history, trailing Leon Draisaitl (2022) and Glenn Anderson (1985), both of whom had a nine-game assist streak in a single postseason.

Vegas’ Mark Stone has 36 career playoff goals, tied with Jonathan Marchessault for the Knights’ franchise playoff record.

Teammate Jack Eichel is getting pucks on net, but he has scored only once this postseason. His 27 shots on goal lead the Knights, but among the 43 players with 20 or more shots on goal this postseason, Eichel’s 3.7% shooting percentage is the lowest.

Öcal’s Three Stars from Tuesday

Granlund scored his first career hat trick to lead the way for Dallas. He now has multiple points in consecutive playoff games within a single postseason for the first time in his career.

The Minnesota native stopped 31 of 32 shots to earn the win. He’s the sixth U.S.-born goalie to win 30 playoff games — Tom Barrasso leads the list, with 60.

The star defenseman had an assist and skated just under 15 minutes in his first game since Jan. 28.

Tuesday’s recap

Dallas Stars 3, Winnipeg Jets 1
DAL leads 3-1 | Game 5 Thursday

For much of the postseason, it has been the Mikko Rantanen show for the Stars. On this night, center stage belonged to another Finn the Stars added in trade during the season. Mikael Granlund scored his first career hat trick — spacing them out nicely with one in each period — which was more than enough to outscore the visiting Jets. Nikolaj Ehlers‘ tally at 1:02 of the second period was the only shot that got past Dallas’ Jake Oettinger, as chants of “Otter’s better!” rained down from the Dallas faithful in the seats to torment Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck. Dallas brings a 3-1 lead to Game 5 in Manitoba, pushing for a third conference finals trip in the past four years. Full recap.

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Jake Oettinger’s save earns rousing ovation from Dallas fans

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger makes a beautiful save early in Game 4 vs. the Jets.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — North Carolina coach Bill Belichick said he has addressed the attention surrounding his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, with his football team, but he said the media reaction and social media fervor over their relationship is not a football issue.

“Really off to the side,” Belichick said during a SportsCenter interview from the ACC spring meetings on Tuesday. “It’s a personal relationship, and she doesn’t have anything to do with football.”

Last week, reports emerged that Hudson was banned from the Tar Heels’ football facilities, which the school emphatically denied. UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham told ESPN on Tuesday there had never been any push to keep Hudson away from the athletics department or facilities.

“Bill’s been great to work with,” Cunningham said. “He talked about practicing like a pro and he runs a professional organization that is teaching students how to be professional in all aspects of their life. He is a very determined, professional individual, and that’s the way he carries himself and the way he conducts the program.”

Asked directly whether he was worried about distractions, Cunningham said: “Bill is an incredibly focused person.”

The relationship between the 73-year-old Belichick and the 24-year-old Hudson had already drawn attention, but Hudson’s involvement in shaping Belichick’s personal brand — including interrupting an interview with CBS last month — has put the two in headlines both inside and outside of the sports world.

Hudson participated in the Miss Maine beauty competition last weekend, finishing as the second runner-up with Belichick in attendance.

Belichick, who does not frequently use social media, said he has discussed the recent attention on his personal life with his team and does not believe it will be a distraction.

“I talked to the players when we meet with them,” Belichick said. “We want to make the players the best they can be and giving them the best opportunity on and off the field.”

Belichick has been the headliner at this year’s ACC gathering, where other coaches said he’s been inquisitive and professional during meetings.

The six-time Super Bowl winner said he’s been learning about the key differences between the college and professional game, but he said his goal remains making North Carolina the “33rd NFL team” by implementing a pro model throughout the program.

“Everything we do is a pro model,” Belichick said. “Head coach, general manager, and we want the players to develop professionally in every aspect.”

Belichick has not made any UNC players available to the media since arriving in Chapel Hill six months ago, but he said he’s been pleased with the progress the team has made throughout the spring.

As for what would determine success in his first college season, Belichick said he’s not interested in setting any specific expectations.

“Try to stack good days together,” Belichick said. “Good day, come back, build higher the next day. It’s not about where we’re going to be X-number of months or weeks from now.”

ESPN’s Andrea Adelson contributed to this report.

Illinois has locked in its football and men’s basketball coaches for the long term, agreeing to six-year contracts with Bret Bielema and Brad Underwood.

Illinois rewarded Bielema for turning around its struggling football program, and Underwood for an eight-year run that includes five NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the Elite Eight. Both deals were announced Tuesday.

Bielema’s deal runs through 2030, while Underwood is locked in through the 2030-31 season. The contracts are pending approval by the university’s board of trustees on May 22.

Bielema’s annual salary would begin at $7.7 million, while Underwood’s would start at $4.4 million. Both coaches would be eligible for four one-year extensions if performance benchmarks are met, as well as annual retention incentives starting next July 1.

For Bielema, the retention incentives would start at $700,000 and increase each year. For Underwood, they would begin at $1.15 million.

In four seasons in Champaign, Bielema has led Illinois to a 28-22 record and an 18-18 mark in Big Ten play. The Illini matched a school record for wins in 2024 when they went 10-3. They beat South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl and became just the fifth team in the program’s 133 years to reach double-digit victories.

“Over the last four seasons, our program has been built on tough, smart, dependable people in every facet: from our players, to our coaches and staff, to our administration,” Bielema said in a statement. “I am fortunate to work every day with an athletic director that fully believes in our football program and a coaching staff that fully believes in our players.”

Underwood praised his program’s “alignment” with athletic director Josh Whitman, the administration and trustees.

“That foundation created the environment where — led by all the tremendous players we’ve had along with a group of talented assistant coaches and a dedicated staff — we have been able to achieve success,” he said.

Bielema, who led Wisconsin to three Rose Bowls before a disappointing run at Arkansas, replaced the fired Lovie Smith after the 2020 season. He got a six-year contract at the time with a salary starting at $4.2 million to return to the Big Ten and his home state.

Illinois had nine straight losing seasons before Bielema was hired. The Illini went 5-7 in his first year before winning eight games in 2022. They went 5-7 in 2023 before bouncing back last year.

Illinois won 10 games for the first time since 2001 and were ranked by the College Football Playoff selection committee a program-record four straight weeks, while appearing in the AP poll 11 times, finishing at No. 16.

Underwood is 165-101 overall at Illinois and 92-66 in Big Ten play, with three league championships. He and Lou Henson are the only Illini coaches with at least five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Illinois was also on track to make the 2020 tournament that was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Illini won 22 games last season after losing five starters and the top eight scorers from a team that reached the Elite Eight in 2024.

Underwood has a 274-128 record in 12 seasons as a head coach, including three at Stephen F. Austin and one at Oklahoma State.