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Stanley Cup playoffs takeaways: Hurricanes advance, panic time for Maple Leafs
The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs continued on Tuesday night and included the first team to advance and more pressure mounting on a Stanley Cup contender. There was also a big suspension that could impact the Tampa Bay-Florida series.
Here are some takeaways from Tuesday's action:
Carolina rallies to move on
The Carolina Hurricanes did not mess up their opportunity to advance on Tuesday, eliminating the New Jersey Devils with a 5-4 win in double overtime to get through to the second round.
They did not make it easy on themselves.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, Carolina rallied all the way back for the win that was capped off by a Sebastian Aho goal in double overtime.
SERIES WINNER IN DOUBLE OT ️
— NHL (@NHL) April 30, 2025
Sebastian Aho scores in @Energizer double overtime to send the @Canes to the Second Round! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/ouRWZaO8Gq
Dawson Mercer's double-minor for high-sticking ended up setting up that goal.
Carolina will now play the winner of the Washington Capitals-Montreal Canadiens series.
Maple Leafs lose another potential closeout game
There is no way the Toronto Maple Leafs can do this again, right?
There is no way they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and humiliate themselves in another first-round series, is there?
With their 4-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, they missed another opportunity to clinch a series and fell to 1-12 in potential closeout games since the start of the 2018 playoffs.
That is astonishing. It almost defies all reason and logic. That is also how they have managed to win just a single series in that time. With Tuesday's loss they will get another chance in Game 6 on Thursday night in Ottawa, and the pressure is only going to keep building on them.
Because every game they lose, and every game they fail to clinch this series, the outside noise is going to keep getting louder and louder.
By the end of Tuesday's game you could sense the panic from the fans in Toronto. The arena was silent. Fans were not even reacting to fights or skirmishes that were breaking out as time expired. There was just a sense of doom in the air and absolutely zero energy. It was almost as if the Maple Leafs had already lost the series instead of still being up 3-2 with two more chances to close it out.
Aaron Ekblad gets suspended
The NHL got it wrong by not suspending Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk for his late hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel.
It had no choice but to suspend defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
After missing the boat with Tkachuk, the NHL corrected its mistake on Tuesday by suspending Ekblad for two games for delivering a forearm directly to the face of Lightning forward Brandon Hagel on Monday night. There was no penalty called on the play, but there was no way the NHL could ignore this.
From @NHLPlayerSafety, slow-mo view of Ekblad’s forearm to Hagel’s head.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 29, 2025
This is a reverse angle that we hadn’t seen - and shows the carnage. Very clear 2 game suspension. pic.twitter.com/8DoWbNcxKj
Ekblad is one of the Panthers' top players and defenseman, and his absence could open the door for the Lightning to get back in the series. Florida has a chance to win the series in Game 5 on Wednesday.
More must-reads:
- Hurricanes escape three-goal hole, eliminate Devils in 2OT
- Senators' Linus Ullmark posts shutout, staves off elimination vs. Maple Leafs
- The 'MLB mascot names' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Important trade stalls as Maple Leafs dangle bottom-six forward
The Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking for a solution to their bottom-six surplus, and veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok remains at the center of trade discussions. However, according to The Fourth Period, trade talks surrounding the 33-year-old winger have failed to gain momentum. They write: “He has a $2.1M cap hit and owns a 10-team no-trade list. The market hasn’t been vibrant, to this point, but the Leafs will continue to dangle him.” Why can’t the Maple Leafs find a taker for Jarnkrok? Jarnkrok has quietly been on the trade block for much of the offseason, but general manager Brad Treliving has yet to find a taker. After adding several depth forwards this summer, the Leafs now face a crowded bottom six — and Jarnkrok’s age, injury history and $2.1M cap hit through 2025–26 aren’t helping his value. Since joining Toronto, Jarnkrok has appeared in only 71 games over two seasons, scoring a modest 28 points. While his defensive versatility and penalty-killing ability are assets, his declining offensive production and durability concerns have made teams wary. With training camp approaching, the Maple Leafs may be forced to keep Jarnkrok on the roster — or retain salary in a deal — if they want to create space and flexibility. Dropping his cap hit down to just over $1M would open up the market a little. Until then, the Swedish forward remains a trade candidate in limbo. This isn’t great news as moving Jarnkrok from the roster is an important item on the team’s to-do list. Treliving would like more cap space, and with Jarnkrok and David Kampf both still on the roster, it hampers the GM’s ability to do other things.
Shedeur Sanders gets new chance after Browns QB injury
Shedeur Sanders has been working with the Cleveland Browns' equipment staff as the No. 4 quarterback this summer. He'll have a new opportunity following troubling injury news for Kenny Pickett. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Pickett suffered a hamstring injury during Saturday's practice and will not receive reps until his issue is re-evaluated. "Browns QB Kenny Pickett injured his hamstring near the end of Saturday’s practice and is expected to re-evaluate the injury later this week, per sources," Schefter posted on X. "Pickett was coming off a strong couple of practices, per sources, and at least for the short term, there now will be more reps for Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Pickett's injury will shake up the quarterback race in Cleveland. Through OTAs and early in training camp, Sanders has been the odd man out as the only signal caller on the roster not to receive reps with the first-team offense. It's unclear if the Browns coaching staff intends to give Sanders reps with the first-team offense now that Pickett is sidelined, but the fifth-round pick will have more chances this week to prove that he deserves an opportunity to stay in Cleveland. The Browns are in a unique situation with their rookie quarterbacks. Third-round pick Dillon Gabriel was selected before Sanders, but the son of Deion Sanders fell to Day 3 of the draft for reasons other than talent. The majority of draft analysts had Sanders as a better-graded quarterback than Gabriel, and many thought the Colorado product would be taken in the first round. The Browns can use the injury as an excuse to give Sanders reps with the first team, and it's a task they need to take advantage of before the team names a starter. Sanders has the potential to be a starter in the league, and this week is pivotal for his rookie season in Cleveland.
Biggest surprises after the first week of Steelers training camp include a quarterback on the rise and a changeup in the WR room
There are a lot of things that have to be sorted out during the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 training camp. Part of that includes the WR room and what exactly the team has via rookie quarterback Will Howard. Through the first weekend, we have some surprising developments on both fronts... Roman Wilson is taking lots of outside reps When the Steelers are in 11 personnel (one back and one tight end on the field) their three WRs have been relatively predictable: DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson. And on the first day, that was the order with Metcalf and Austin on the outside and Wilson in the slot. But the Steelers spent a good portion of the weekend playing Wilson outside and moving Austin inside. To this point, Robert Woods hasn't been much of a factor at all, and while Wilson is playing a lot outside, Calvin Austin III has been the one making plays from wherever he aligns. Now we obviously can't draw any firm conclusions from four days of unpadded practice, but it's clear that the Steelers are giving Roman Wilson every opportunity to prove he's the team's #2 WR, even if Calvin Austin III is the one who holds the title. Will Howard already making waves? After starting practice in Latrobe as the third team quarterback, Howard worked his way into first team reps with the Steelers in 7v7 on Sunday. He received one of the biggest pops from the crowd of anyone on Saturday, and what few reps he's been afforded, he has run with them. I fully expected Will Howard to surpass Skylar Thompson on the depth chart by the end of camp, but to see him making such a big jump after just days of practice is very encouraging for the rookie. Preseason will be huge for Howard.
Hype around Yankees prospect Spencer Jones creating unrealistic expectations
The most intriguing baseball player not currently in the major leagues might be New York Yankees prospect Spencer Jones. That's not only because of the impressive numbers he has put up in Triple-A, but also because of his perceived value in trade talks ahead of Thursday's MLB trade deadline. That trade speculation, and the Yankees' reported expectations for what that trade value is, might be doing him more harm than good when it comes to his future in the big leagues. With the Yankees in need of significant help to make another World Series run, Jones is one of the prospects that has been speculated as a potential trade chip. But according to baseball insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees are only willing to trade him for one type of player: a Paul Skenes type. Since Skenes is not likely to move, and since the handful of players on that level are also unlikely to move, it probably means that Jones is going to remain with the Yankees organization. It's a long-winded way of saying he is almost untouchable in trade talks. That, frankly, seems to be an absurd position for the Yankees to take, assuming it is their position. Not because Jones isn't a good prospect, but because they might be setting an unrealistic expectation for the type of player he is or can become. He is far from a sure thing or a can't-miss prospect. His power is prodigious, and in 19 games since his promotion to Triple-A, he has already hit 13 home runs with a 1.407 OPS. Those numbers jump off the page at you and make him the type of player a team and front office (and fans) can dream on. It's exciting, and it's encouraging in an era where power and home runs are one of the first things teams look for with hitters. But there is something else in Jones' game that also jumps off the page, and it is far less encouraging. It is the strikeouts. As in, he strikes out ... a lot. A concerning amount. For his career (entering play on Sunday), he had already struck out 469 times in 1,310 minor league at-bats. That is a strikeout rate over 35%. His Double-A strikeout rate was an even more concerning 40.22% over the past two-and-a-half seasons. It reached as high as 42% during the 2024 season. While that number has come down a bit since his promotion to Triple-A, it's such a small sample size of games and at-bats that it's hard to know if it's a real improvement or just a random hot streak. While strikeouts have become far more accepted in the major leagues in this era, especially for power hitters, there still has to be some concern and tempered expectations for a guy who misses the ball that much in the minors. The opposing arms and the quality of pitches he sees are only going to get tougher as he takes the next step into the major leagues. There is also the fact he is 24 years old and has only played 19 games above Double-A ball. Not to mention the fact the Yankees — the team that would know him better than anybody — do not seem to be in a rush to promote him to the big league club. If the Yankees really thought that highly of him and really believed in him being a difference-maker, he might already be an option for them. There are red flags here. This is not to say that Jones won't be good. It is also not suggesting that the Yankees should trade him for just anybody. It is simply saying he shouldn't be an almost untouchable trade asset for a team trying to win a World Series right now. He's an intriguing prospect with big flaws that could ultimately hold him back.
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