It’s hard to believe that of Alex Ovechkin’s 72 career playoff goals heading into Monday night, none of them came in overtime.
But anything can happen in the NHL playoffs, including new heroes, huge rallies, a depth player winning a game and goaltenders standing tall.
Monday night in the Stanley Cup playoffs featured a new bunch of storylines from the four games. Here’s more on the Capitals versus Canadiens, Jets versus Blues, Stars versus Avalanche and Kings versus Oilers.
Washington Capitals Defeat Montreal Canadiens 3-2 OT (WSH Leads Series 1-0)
The regular season was all about Ovechkin’s chase and eventual capture of the all-time goal record. In Game 1 of the playoffs, it was about Ovechkin again.
The Washington Capitals captain scored two crucial goals against the Montreal Canadiens. He opened the scoring with a goal from his office, but more importantly, he ended the game with the game-winning goal.
This was Ovechkin’s first playoff overtime goal of his 20-year career, and it was in the first overtime period of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. It could not have been better timing after the ESPN and Sportsnet broadcasts highlighted that he never scored an overtime-winner in the playoffs.
“There are a few things Ovechkin hasn’t done, not many, but he’s never scored an overtime game-winning goal in the playoffs.” 🤷♂️
Literally 10 seconds later…
Sean McDonough spoke it into existence. #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/LC09wFynT5pic.twitter.com/d45IogUGGE
— NHL (@NHL) April 22, 2025
If it wasn’t for Ovechkin’s imprint on this contest, it would be all about Montreal’s late push, specifically from Nick Suzuki’s line. That line had 16 shots while the rest of the team had 19.
Despite the loss, the young Habs can take some positives from that battle.
“There was a lot of good stuff. Unfortunately, you don’t win, but we got some really good stuff from this game,” Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis told reporters post-game.
Game 2 is on Wednesday, and Montreal expects to play better.
“We’ll be in better shape coming into Game 2,” Suzuki told the media.
The Capitals, meanwhile, will be without Martin Fehervary for the rest of the playoffs. The team announced Tuesday he underwent surgery to repair his meniscus.
Winnipeg Jets Defeat St. Louis Blues 2-1 (WPG Leads Series 2-0)
The Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues in a tight-checking game. However, it’s Winnipeg’s stars that pull the team through for the victory.
Winnipeg’s physicality from the back end, as well as the goaltending from both teams, contributed to the low-scoring affair. But for the second game, the Jets’ Hellebuyck outduelled the Blues’ Binnington.
Much like Game 1 of the series, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor led the Jets in Game 2. The duo has nine points in two playoff games. Connor also has back-to-back game-winning goals.
However, the Jets must be wary of the Blues’ power play as the series moves to St. Louis for the next two outings. Through the first two games of the series, the Blues are three for seven on the power play.
They had four opportunities in Game 2 but only converted once as Winnipeg’s penalty-killers prevailed. Since March 10, St. Louis had the second-best power play in the NHL, and the Blues will look to continuously be a threat with the extra man for the rest of the series.
Blues coach Jim Montgomery wants to move forward and look ahead to what’s next.
“We’re gonna go home, we’re going to be in front of our frenzied crowd, and we’re going to have an opportunity to hold serve at home. We have to get ready for Game 3,” he told reporters.
Dallas Stars Defeat Colorado Avalanche 4-3 OT (Series Tied 1-1)
The Dallas Stars provided a great response in Game 2 after a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1. This game was a testament to how close the matchup is between the two clubs in the series.
Colorado’s offense was heavy in the first two periods of this game, but the undermanned Stars – missing Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen – stayed persistent and took over in the later stages of the contest.
From the third period onward, Dallas continuously threatened the Avalanche and eventually took them to overtime, equalizing in the middle of the third period. The game would ultimately need the NHL’s second overtime of the night to decide a winner.
Colin Blackwell was the hero for the Stars after an absolute chess match between the two clubs. He had six goals and 17 points in 63 games for the Stars this season, all while averaging 11:34 of ice time. While he has had five previous goals hold up as game-winners, this is the first time in his NHL career that he scored in overtime.
The Stars had to grind their way to this victory, although they did control most of the play in the extra frame.
Los Angeles Kings Defeat Edmonton Oilers 6-5 (LA Leads Series 1-0)
This was easily the most dramatic game of the entire playoffs so far.
“This game is on some sort of substance,” The Hockey News’ Ryan Durham wrote in a live game thread.
From a 4-0 lead for the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-5 tie and a 6-5 Kings victory, this contest was a real rollercoaster.
It was a dreadful start for the Edmonton Oilers, which had a mountain to climb after two periods and were completely outplayed by Los Angeles. However, Oilers captain Connor McDavid put the team on his back.
Leon Draisaitl planted the seed, scoring the team’s first goal with an assist from McDavid and Evan Bouchard with just under five seconds remaining in the second.
There were six goals in the third period, four by Edmonton. They completed an improbable comeback, evening up the score with goals from Zach Hyman and McDavid in the last two minutes to make it a 5-5 game.
Despite this exciting comeback for Edmonton, they couldn’t force overtime as Phillip Danault gave the Kings the lead again, scoring with 41.1 seconds left.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Oilers, but a relieving win for L.A.
“I’m so happy we won that game, because that would have been a s—-y game to lose,” defenseman Drew Doughty told Sportsnet’s Gene Principe post-game.
Bouchard drew criticism for his defensive play Tuesday night with Mattias Ekholm missing the first round due to injury. But Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch had other words about Bouchard.
“I saw Evan give us an excellent opportunity to win tonight,” Knoblauch told the media post-game. “He made a lot of nice plays. Was his game perfect? I’m not sure anyone’s game was perfect tonight.”
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