The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs kicked off on Saturday with two games, both of which involved only Central Division teams.

Winnipeg 5, St. Louis 3 (Jets lead series 1-0)

Kyle Connor scored the eventual game-winning goal with just 1:36 left in regulation in front of a "whiteout" crowd in Winnipeg.

KYLE CONNOR IS COOKIN' 🍗 pic.twitter.com/rRw5IqwOO1

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 20, 2025

Connor also added two assists, five shots, 10 shot attempts, and a plus-2 in 22 minutes of icetime. In other words, he was able to continue a successful regular season in which he recorded a career-high 97 points. He might be the most underrated player in the NHL. Don't let him slip too far in fantasy drafts next season.

Connor's linemate Mark Scheifele also finished the game with a goal and two assists, with the goal scored on the power play. Connor and Scheifele formed one of the league's top duos this season, which was a major reason the Jets were the Presidents' Trophy winner this season.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Alex Iafallo, and Adam Lowry scored the other Jets' goals. Josh Morrissey picked up two assists while leading all players in this game with 23:51 of icetime.

Despite the win, the worries about Connor Hellebuyck in the playoffs are still present. Hellebuyck had allowed three goals by early in the second period, but he managed to settle down after that. I qualify that by saying he wasn't tested a whole lot after the third goal, as the Blues managed six shots in the second period and just two shots in the third period. Hellebuyck has a sub-.900 SV% in the playoffs both this season and in the last two seasons. The Jets did not make it out of the first round in either of those two seasons.

Gabriel Vilardi was unavailable for Game 1, meaning that Alex Iafallo remained on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Vilardi is a possibility to play at some point during the series, although Nikolaj Ehlers is not expected to appear in the series.

Robert Thomas, Oskar Sundqvist, and Jordan Kyrou scored the Blues' goals. Justin Faulk assisted on two of the goals.

Colorado 5, Dallas 1 (Avalanche lead series 1-0)

Nathan MacKinnon showed that he has that playoff dog in him, scoring two goals while adding an assist with a plus-2 and six shots in 20 minutes of icetime. MacKinnon has now reached 50 career playoff goals, which ties him for ninth with Steven Stamkos among active players. With MacKinnon rolling, you have to feel fairly confident in Colorado's chances of winning this series and beyond.

Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, and Charlie Coyle scored the Avalanche's other goals. Logan O'Connor chipped in two assists.

Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 23 of 24 shots, looking impressive in his first-ever NHL playoff game at age 28.  

Roope Hintz scored the Stars' only goal, which was a power-play goal.

This game was closer than the score suggested, as the score was 2-1 for several minutes during the third period.

In his first playoff game against his former team, Mikko Rantanen was held without a point with a minus-2 and three shots on goal.

Miro Heiskanen is being listed as day-to-day after participating in Saturday's morning skate prior to Game 1. Heiskanen wore a non-contact jersey, which means that a return may not happen in Game 2. However, it seems like Heiskanen could return during the series, which would be huge for Dallas. The Stars were also without Jason Robertson for Game 1.

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The Dobber writers have made their predictions for the first round! Find out who they picked for first-round series winners, Stanley Cup finalists and winner, and Conn Smythe winner here.

Don't forget that you can also purchase Dobber's Interactive Playoff Draft List if you are in a playoff pool.

As well, join DobberHockey's Bracket Challenge over at NHL.com. Make your picks, then compare them to mine and others.

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Saturday was the first day of the NHL playoffs, but it might as well have been Black Saturday with two head coaches receiving their walking papers.

In what should be no surprise, the Rangers have decided not to retain Peter Laviolette as head coach. After a 2023-24 season when they won the Presidents' Trophy, the Rangers missed the playoffs after a season with all kinds of turmoil. Not all of that was Laviolette's fault, as GM Chris Drury may have fired Laviolette in order to try to save his own job (although Drury's job should be by no means safe). However, the Rangers went through a 5-14-0 stretch where they looked far from a Stanley Cup contender. Even after making some other roster upgrades, including acquiring J.T. Miller, the Rangers simply couldn't gain enough traction to secure a playoff spot.

Fantasy-wise, all of Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere, and Chris Kreider had at least 10 fewer points compared to last season. Igor Shesterkin finished eighth in goals saved above expected (19.00 GSAx), but his fantasy league stats (27 W, 2.86 GAA, .904 SV%) were not at the level of the top-tier goalie he was drafted to be. Expect at least some of these players to rebound to some degree next season, although the majority of these players are over 30. Less drama should also be better for the overall team result.

In Anaheim, the Ducks have let go of Greg Cronin as head coach. Cronin had coached the Ducks for the past two seasons, improving the team from 59 points in his first season to 80 points this past season. This seems like a move based more on personality and philosophical differences than performance, as there have been rumblings from various sources that Ducks players weren't happy with Cronin as the coach. Whoever the new coach is will be expected to bring the Ducks back into the playoffs while getting the necessary buy-in from the players.

Moving on from Cronin also seems like a move to provide the Ducks' younger players with more icetime and added responsibility. Icetime and power-play time seemed to be divided up equally among the younger and older players. No Ducks forward averaged more than 19 minutes per game or more than 60% of the available power-play minutes. The Ducks have many under-25 players, including Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Trevor Zegras, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, and Pavel Mintyukov, so a new coach could help at least some of these players take the next step.

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Jon Cooper has confirmed that Oliver Bjorkstrand will not play at all in the Lightning's first round series with the Panthers. Bjorkstrand, an important trade deadline acquisition for the Bolts, suffered a lower-body injury on April 11 and was listed as week-to-week shortly after. In 18 games with the Lightning, Bjorkstrand has five goals and four assists. He has one more season left on his contract after this one.

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Rasmus Andersson played the final 12 games of the season with a broken fibula. With the Flames chasing a playoff spot until the bitter end, Andersson took one for the team. If the Flames were out of the race, he likely would have been shut down for the season. Over those last 12 games, Andersson registered just four points, but he blocked an average of nearly three shots per game. He should have enough time over the offseason to recover from the injury. The bigger question might be whether his next game will be in a Flames uniform.

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Some other player news bits for today's (Sunday's) games:

Frederik Andersen is expected to be the Game 1 starter for the Canes against New Jersey. Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov have alternated starts this season, so it remains to be seen whether they do the same for the playoffs. Kochetkov will probably play at some point, given Andersen's injury history and recent usage as a 50% starter. The Hurricanes are the type of team that might not follow the traditional model of riding one goalie through the entire playoffs.

Anthony Stolarz is expected to be the Game 1 starter for the Leafs against Ottawa. Stolarz has appeared in only one playoff game, and that was in relief for Florida in the Stanley Cup Final last season. He has posted some impressive numbers this season (2.14 GAA, .926 SV%) and finished with eight straight wins while allowing only 11 goals over that span, so he deserves this opportunity.

Zeev Buium is expected to make his NHL debut in Game 1 for the Wild against Vegas. Buium, the 12^th overall pick in the 2024 draft, just signed his entry-level contract a week ago after finishing the NCAA season.

For more injury updates and roster transactions, check the Dobber Player News feed.

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