Hi, it's Ian filling in for Brennan today. You may have noticed him covering for me yesterday. Tough shoes to fill, but I'll try my best to recap the four games of playoff pucks on Sunday.

St. Louis 5, Winnipeg 1 (series tied 2-2)

Connor Hellebuyck has been the best goalie in the NHL by a significant margin over the past two regular seasons. However, his recent playoff experience tells a different story. Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 18 shots in Game 4 before being pulled for the second consecutive game. He has now allowed 11 goals in the two games in St. Louis with a .744 SV% and 7.13 GAA.

Certainly not all of that is on him, as he has been the victim of traffic in front of the net and other bad breaks resulting from inadequate defensive coverage. But his numbers have been a major disappointment for those who are counting on him in playoff pools. Over each of the past two seasons, Hellebuyck's goals-against average has been above 4.00 and his save percentage at .870 or lower. He has also allowed at least four goals in nine of his last 14 postseason games. Kind of crazy what a difference that is between the regular season and playoffs.  

If you are of the opinion that a 60+ game workload is causing Hellebuyck to crash during the playoffs, that's debatable. During the final quarter this season, Hellebuyck finished with a 11-4-0 record with a 1.98 GAA and .920 SV%. However, last season Hellebuyck ended the regular season with an 8-7-1 record with a 2.79 GAA and .913 SV%.

Jake Neighbours led the Blues with a goal and two assists and also contributed three hits. Neighbours now has five points and 24 hits in this series.

Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, Robert Thomas, and Tyler Tucker scored the other St. Louis goals, with Schenn finishing with a two-point game.

Kyle Connor scored the lone Jets' goal, which was his third goal and fifth point of the series. However, Connor has been a minus-5 in the two games in St. Louis.

Each team had 40 hits in what was a highly physical game. Faulk had six hits, while Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker each had five hits. Adam Lowry had six hits for the Jets.

Tucker was injured in the third period after falling on his knee in the corner, needing assistance to get off the ice.

With the win, the Blues extended their home win streak to 14 games. The Jets could bounce back in front of their home fans in Game 5, but Game 6 seems like it will be a tough out for Winnipeg if they are in a position to clinch. All four games have been won by the home team, so the first team to win on the road could be the team that wins the series. Obviously, the pressure is squarely on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets – particularly on their goalie.

Carolina 5, New Jersey 2 (Hurricanes lead series 3-1)

Andrei Svechnikov registered his second career hat trick, also filling the stat sheet with a plus-2, six shots on goal, and five hits. In the four games of the series, Svechnikov has five points, 13 shots, and 11 hits. Tied for the league lead in playoff goals (4), Svechnikov is making his presence felt in this series.  

Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin scored the Canes' other goals, with Burns also adding an assist.

The win came at a cost for the Canes, though. Frederik Andersen left the game in the second period after Timo Meier collided into him. Making his first appearance of the series, Pyotr Kochetkov replaced him and preserved the win. Following the game, coach Rod Brind'Amour said that Andersen would be checked out on Monday. At this point, Kochetkov seems to be the more likely starter for Game 5 on Tuesday.

A full look at the event that has forced Frederik Andersen out of the game.

The officials have reviewed the play and determined that there is no penalty. pic.twitter.com/dYW5uWrxns

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) April 27, 2025

Now 35 years old, Andersen has not reached 35 games in any of his past three regular seasons and will be a UFA on July 1. The team that signs him this offseason (if not the Canes) will need to have a strong tandem goalie also in place, similar to what Kochetkov is. Relying on him as a full-time starter would be risky.

Meier and Nico Hischier scored goals for the Devils, with Meier also adding an assist. Hischier has goals in three of the four games in this series, also taking exactly three shots in each of the four games.

Washington 5, Montreal 2 (Capitals lead series 3-1)

Tom Wilson is playing the heel role to a tee. The essential role he plays for the Capitals in the playoffs has me rethinking my original prediction that they wouldn't go very far in the playoffs after a better-than-expected regular season.

Wilson's massive hit on Alexandre Carrier might have been the TSN turning point of the game. The hit directly led to the game-tying goal to make it 2-2.

Shortly after Wilson laid a big hit on Carrier, Brandon Duhaime finds twine to tie it up at 2!#ALLCAPS | #StanleyCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/USVVBdrK69

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 28, 2025

After that, there was no looking back as the Capitals scored three more goals, including Andrew Mangiapane's eventual game-winner with less than four minutes to play in regulation.

Wilson finished with six hits, three shots on goal, and an empty-net goal complete with a celebration to irritate Habs fans. He also drew Josh Anderson into the penalty box late in the second period, although the Capitals could not convert on that particular power play.

Brandon Duhaime scored two goals and finished with a plus-2 and three shots. Dylan Strome scored the Capitals' other goal while adding an assist.

Logan Thompson's lower-body injury in Game 3 sure looked like it would cost him games, but he was surprisingly back between the pipes for Game 4. Thompson wasn't tested that often, stopping 16 of 18 shots for the win. It looks like he'll be fine for Game 5 on Wednesday, when the Capitals will try to close out the series on home ice.

Sam Montembeault wasn't ready for Game 4, which meant that Jakub Dobes made his first career playoff start. Dobes allowed three goals on 24 shots in what was neither a quality start nor a really bad start.

Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky scored for the Habs, with both goals coming on the power play. Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson each registered assists on both goals. The points were Demidov's first career playoff points.

Edmonton 4, Los Angeles 3, OT (series tied 2-2)

Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winner on the power play 18 minutes into the first overtime period to cap off a four-point night. Draisaitl also had three helpers in this game to go with four shots and four hits. He has now piled up nine points in four games, tying him with teammate Connor McDavid and Adrian Kempe in playoff scoring.

NO QUIT BY EDMONTON! 💪

Leon Draisaitl scores the Subway Canada OT winner for the Oilers in Game 4. pic.twitter.com/y5QWdbrctA

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2025

The power play was the result of a rare overtime penalty where Vladislav Gavrikov tripped McDavid.

Evan Bouchard scored two third-period goals to erase a 3-1 deficit for Edmonton. His second goal tied the game with just 29 seconds left in regulation. If the Oilers need a goal, then they might as well try a Bouch Bomb.

Per @NHLPR

Oilers Evan Bouchard is the 4th defenceman in NHL history with multiple goals in back-to-back playoff games pic.twitter.com/Whe4VK5aCo

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 28, 2025

The Sportsnet broadcast mentioned that Bouchard is second to only Bobby Orr in postseason points per game. That seems believable considering the fact that Bouchard has 65 career points in just 57 career playoff games.

Corey Perry had a solid game, scoring the Oilers' other goal while also adding four shots and four hits. Perry also played on the Oilers' top power play, which is where he scored his goal.

Calvin Pickard started his second consecutive game for the Oilers, stopping 38 of 41 shots. The third period and overtime performance pushed this into quality start territory and likely cemented Pickard as the starter for Game 5 in LA on Tuesday.

Trevor Moore, Warren Foegele, and Kevin Fiala scored for the Kings. Phillip Danault registered two assists, giving him seven points over the four games of this series.

Darcy Kuemper made 44 saves, having a strong game despite the loss. Kuemper has allowed at least four goals in three of the four games, but this has been a high-scoring series from both sides.

If you haven't been able to stay up late enough to watch, this has been an entertaining series. In particular, the last two games, where it feels like the Oilers have been lifted up by their fans. Game 5 in LA will be a true test, as they will need to win at least one on the road to win the series. Whether that happens, this one feels like a series that could go the distance.

–

I'll finish with two thoughts that are non-hockey related but I think are important enough to share anyway.

First, my sincerest condolences to anyone affected by the senseless tragedy at the Filipino Lapu Lapu Day street festival in Vancouver on Saturday night. A time of celebration and fun was turned into a terrible nightmare for many families. We often tend to think that these types of incidents happen in other places and not where we live, so this hits home for me living in the Vancouver area. If you are not aware of the incident, you can read about it here.

Finally, today is Election Day in Canada. If you are a Canadian, please exercise the right to vote that wars were fought to preserve. I'm definitely not here to tell you who to vote for – just that you participate in the democratic process. If you do not believe you have time to cast your vote, your employer is supposed to allow you three consecutive hours to vote if your work schedule conflicts with the time that polls are open. For example, if polls close at 7 pm where you live, you are allowed to leave work at 4 pm.

Have a great week.

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social