NHL News and Notes from Friday, April 25th, 2025
News
- The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that they have fined Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins.
- Cousins was fined $2,083.33 for unsportsmanlike conduct during pregame warmups on Thursday, April 24th.
- The fine is the maximum allowed per the CBA.
- The NHL also fined the Senators $25,000 for the Nick Cousins incident.
- The NHL Department of Player Safety also announced they have suspended Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel.
- Hagel was suspended one playoff game for interference against Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov.
Jersey Tracking and Mini Recaps
Washington Capitals v. Montreal Canadiens – 7p ET – Game 3
- With the series moving to Montreal, the Canadiens look to turn things around in Game 3 as they host the Washington Capitals, and in the first period Connor McMichael helped the Capitals weather the storm early in the game with his 3rd of the playoffs to give them the 1-0 lead, but in the final minute of the period Alexandre Carrier scored to tie the game at one for the Canadiens.
In the second period Nick Suzuki scored on the powerplay to give the Canadiens the 2-1 lead, but Jakob Chychrun score a little over two minutes later to tie the game at two for the Capitals. However, in the final minute of the period the Canadiens strike again, this time Cole Caufield after a Rasmus Sandin turnover to give the Canadiens the 3-2 lead. Then after the second period ended, the fireworks would go off as Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson battled each other onto the empty Capitals bench as both teams were got confrontational with each other.
Then in the third period Alex Ovechkin would strike for his third of the playoffs to tie the game at three for the Capitals, but things would unravel from there as Christian Dvorak scored minutes later to retake the lead, and Juraj Slafkovsky would score to give the Canadiens the 5-3 lad. However, the fifth goal against would come at a cost for the Capitals as Dylan Strome would collide with Logan Thompson resulting in a leg injury to Thompson. Then late in regulation while on the powerplay, Alex Newhook scored to give the Canadiens the 6-3 victory and cut the Capitals series lead to one.
Carolina Hurricanes v. New Jersey Devils – 8p ET – Game 3
- With the series coming to New Jersey, the Carolina Hurricanes look to continue surging over the injured Devils in Game 3, and in the first period Nico Hischier scored his second of the playoffs to give the Devils the 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period Dawson Mercer scored to grow the Devils lead to two, but goals from Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho would tie the game at two and force overtime for the Hurricanes.
After a scoreless overtime period, Simon Nemec scored 2:36 into the second overtime period to give the Devils the 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes and get back within one in the series.
Los Angeles Kings v. Edmonton Oilers – 10p ET – Game 3
- With Game 3 in Edmonton, the Oilers turn to Calvin Pickard between the pipes as they host the Los Angeles Kings, and in the first period Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring with his first of the playoffs to give the Oilers the 1-0 lead, and Evan Bouchard followed with a goal of his own to grow the Oilers lead to two. However, late in the period Adrian Kempe scored to get the Kings on the board and cut the Oilers lead to one.
In the second period Kevin Fiala and Drew Doughty both scored powerplay goals to give the Kings the 3-2 lead, but Connor Brown’s first of the playoffs would tie the game at three for the Oilers. However, 9 seconds later Trevor Moore scored an insane one-handed goal to give the Kings the 4-3 lead.
Then in the third period, in the latter half of the period, Evander Kane would score a goal that required two reviews to A. see if Kane kicked the puck into the net, and B. the Kings challenged for goalie interference, which the officials deemed there was none. 10 seconds later while on the powerplay due to the failed coach’s challenge, Bouchard netted his second of the game to give the Oilers the 5-4 lead. To close things out for the Oilers, Connor McDavid and Brown would both score empty netters to give the Oilers the 7-4 victory and cut the Kings series lead to one.
Today’s Games
- TB v. FLA – 1p ET – Game 3
- VGK v. MIN – 4p ET – Game 4
- TOR v. OTT – 7p ET – Game 4
- DAL v. COL – 930p ET – Game 4
Noteworthy in Hockey
- 32 Thoughts Podcast – Sudden Death & Slide Notes (SportsNet)
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