Tampa Bay 5, Florida 1 (Panthers lead series 2-1)

After managing just two goals at home through Games 1 & 2, Tampa's offense finally clicked on the road as they put up four against Sergei Bobrovsky and added an empty netter for good measure. It was a big win for Tampa, missing one of their top forwards in Brandon Hagel, who was serving a single-game suspension after interfering with and injuring Aleksander Barkov in Game 2. Barkov's status was up in the air before Game 3, but he ended up playing and seeing nearly 19 minutes of action. 

After scoring on Saturday, Jake Guentzel is up to 40 goals in 72 playoffs appearances. He currently ranks top-10 all-time in goals per game in the postseason, with Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon being the only active players ahead (via QuantHockey). 

Kuch with the nasty little move to set up Guentzel 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/8m9WVUoJ2Q

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2025

Nikita Kucherov had been having a quiet series by his standards, but he celebrated Game 3 with three assists. It's surprising to see Kucherov with just four shots through three games as he's typically a high-volume shooter during the regular season, having averaged 3.4 shots per game this year. Although he's hovered around the 40-goal mark in these past two regular seasons, he's on a 13-game goal drought in the playoffs. 

24-year-old Gage Goncalves ended the regular season on a high note, posting six points in his final seven appearances. He's carried that momentum into the playoffs as he's now up to three points in three games after posting two helpers Saturday. Goncalves has posted strong offensive numbers in the AHL these past few years and could be an intriguing option in fantasy leagues next season if he can hold a consistent role in Tampa's top six. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy had an awful showing in Game 1, but he bounced back in Game 2 and carried that momentum into Game 3, stopping 33 of the 34 shots he faced. He was an integral piece of Tampa's victory as the Lightning were outshot in all three periods, with the final tally reading 34-22 in Florida's favour. 

Playing his first game following a 20-game suspension for violating the league's Performance Enhancing Substances Program, Aaron Ekblad was a little rusty. He skated 20:20 and was on the ice for four of the goals Florida conceded and none that they scored. He didn't reclaim his role on Florida's top power-play unit, as it was still Seth Jones skating on PP1 in Game 3. 

Sam Bennett continues to make a mark for Florida this postseason. After collecting an assist on Saturday, Bennett is the only Panther who has found the scoresheet in all three of Florida's playoff games. He's supplemented his offense with an impressive 14 hits, eight shots, and 12 faceoffs wins. An unrestricted free agent this summer, Bennett is increasing the value of his next contract with strong postseason play. 

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Vegas 4, Minnesota 3, OT (Series Tied 2-2)

At risk of going down 3-1 in the series, Vegas brought forth a strong effort to snatch home-ice advantage back from the Wild on Saturday. The Golden Knights outshot Minnesota 46-32 en route to an Ivan Barbashev overtime winner. Barbashev added an assist to collect his first two points of the series.

Vegas' top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Barbashev had been ice cold heading into this game. Although each member found the scoresheet for the first time this postseason on Saturday, their points did not come together at 5on5. In fact, coach Bruce Cassidy shuffled his lines during the game, so all three players were on separate units.

Eichel was dormant in Games 1-3, going pointless with just five total shots on net. He outdid that output in Game 4, registering six shots and adding an assist for good measure. 

Mark Stone showed a similar rise from slumber. After tallying no points and five shots across Games 1-3, Stone put up four shots and an assist on Saturday. 

Nicolas Roy is someone who's often done well with increased opportunity when playing up in the lineup. We saw a glimpse of that Saturday as Roy stepped onto PP1 (while Stone was getting repairs) and tied the game at two.

With Marcus Johansson injured, Minnesota iced a second line of Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, and Marcus Foligno. The trio combined for Minnesota's second goal of the afternoon, extending Foligno's goal streak to three games and Hartman's assist streak to four.

Marco Rossi continues to produce in a limited role, averaging less than 11 minutes a night this postseason. He has goals in back-to-back games, with three points in his last two outings. As of late, Rossi's been skating on the fourth line with big bruisers Justin Brazeau and Yakov Trenin, who are making quite the impression in the playoffs after underwhelming showings in the regular season. Though four games, Brazeau has 17 hits while Trenin has 22. More importantly though, they haven't hindered Rossi's offensive game thus far.

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Toronto 4, Ottawa 3, OT (Leafs lead series 3-1)

On Saturday, Ottawa saved its fans from potent trash talk fuel for the Toronto faithful, avoiding a sweep thanks to Jake Sanderson's OT heroics.

JAKE SANDERSON 💥

He scores in @Energizer OT and the @Senators win their first game of the series! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/KcDuQbyA0o

— NHL (@NHL) April 27, 2025

Considering how close things have been thus far, with this being the third-straight game of the series that's gone to overtime, a sweep would have been a cruel fate for the Senators. It was Toronto that suffered the cruel fate in Game 4 though, falling in overtime despite outshooting Ottawa 34-21. Toronto's five-forward power play, which saw great success through Games 1-3, hit a snag on Saturday, going 0 for 4 and conceding a shorthanded marker. Still, the Leafs showed commendable resilience in this one, battling back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to send the game to overtime. I'm seeing a level of confidence and fortitude in this Leafs' roster that I can't quite recall seeing in years past. Sure, it'll sting they couldn't close this one out when they were just one shot away from doing so, but being up 3-1 through four games is still a great place to be (blocking out 2021 of course).  

22-year-old Matthew Knies continues to carry momentum from his regular season breakout into the playoffs. With a breakaway goal Saturday, he's now scored in three of four games this postseason.

MATTHEW. KNIES.@Rogers | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/NFJ7LBEmBg

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 27, 2025

William Nylander is the most clutch member of Toronto's 'Core Four' in my eyes and Game 4 further cemented that belief for me. Nylander was the only Leaf with two points on Saturday, one of those helpers being a pretty pass to set up Oliver Ekman-Larsson's game-tying goal late in the third. He also added six shots on net for good measure.

In all fairness though, Mitch Marner has also been a consistent producer this postseason. He's up to seven points in four playoff games after posting an assist on Saturday. Perhaps that taste of victory at the Four-Nations Faceoff gave Marner a confidence boost for this playoff run.

Shane Pinto scored on Saturday and led the Sens with 24 minutes of ice time in Game 4. He's earned coach Travis Green's trust with strong two-way play and is averaging over 20 minutes a night these playoffs. It's a strong sign that the 24-year-old forward will see plenty of opportunity next season, empowering him to build on his 43-point pace from the regular season.

Continuing the youth movement in Ottawa, Tim Stützle scored his first career playoff goal with a strong one-timer on the power play. Normally known for his offensive skillset, Stützle has brought the physicality this postseason, boasting 23 hits through four games – which ranks second across the league as I write this.

Captain Brady Tkachuk is just one hit behind Stützle, although his physicality is less of a surprise. Tkachuk has brought his diverse multicategory dominance from the regular season into the playoffs. Sunday's assist gives him a three-game point streak.

Colorado 4, Dallas 0 (Series Tied 2-2)

After a surprise overtime loss in Game 3, Colorado bounced back with an excellent showing in Game 4 as they outshot Dallas 48-23. Mackenzie Blackwood, who's had a really strong debut postseason, registered his first career playoff shutout.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Nathan MacKinnon continues to will pucks on net. He finished with four shots in Game 4 and extended his league-lead in shots on goal this postseason, boasting 24 through four games. MacKinnon also scored on Saturday, bringing him to the top of the league's goal-scoring race with Adrian Kempe, Matt Boldy, and Kirill Kaprizov, who also have four goals so far.

Gabriel Landeskog added an incredible chapter to his story when he returned to the lineup in Game 3, playing his first NHL game in roughly three years. He added another amazing chapter to that story with a goal and assist in Game 4. Landeskog's 13 minutes of action in Game 3, and 14:37 in Game 4, are a far cry from the 20 minutes he used to average before injuring his knee, but it'll likely take a little while for him to ramp up after spending so much time on the shelf.

GABRIEL LANDESKOG HAS SCORED A GOAL!!!

HE IS SOOOOO BACK!!! pic.twitter.com/VdqGzE85x5

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 27, 2025

Brock Nelson, who had an impressive rush that led to Landeskog's goal, collected his first points of the series on Saturday. He's been a strong playoff performer in years past but isn't facing as much pressure to produce offense in Colorado because he's playing a slightly smaller role than he did in New York. It also helps that he has plenty of stars ahead of him in the lineup that can carry the offensive load.

Jonathan Drouin is another piece of Colorado's secondary scoring which makes this team so dangerous. With an assist in Game 4, Drouin has found the scoresheet in three of four games in these playoffs.

Thomas Harley, who leads all skaters in average ice time this postseason, finally got a bit of a breather Saturday as he only skated a game-high 24 minutes. That must've felt like a light jog for Harley, whose time on ice from the first three games reads: 27:34, 35:54, and 29:47. Miro Heiskanen can't return soon enough.

~

A few injury updates for Sunday's games:

🗣️ Gabriel Vilardi is a game-time decision tomorrow, as per head coach Scott Arniel pic.twitter.com/xWbZB5Vigw

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 26, 2025

Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon remain out for Game 4, says #NJDevils HC Sheldon Keefe.

No update right now on Kovacevic.

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) April 26, 2025

Carbery on Protas' status for Game 4: "He's full-go in practice…everything is looking good, he's out there taking contact. So we'll see tomorrow." #ALLCAPS https://t.co/yciZzw0tfB

— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) April 26, 2025