Apr 30, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens in the second period in game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Tom Wilson collected a goal and an assist to help the Washington Capitals advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals courtesy of a 4-1 victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday in Game 5 of their first-round series.
The Capitals, who recorded a 4-1 win in the series, will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the next round. The Hurricanes ousted the New Jersey Devils in five games during their first-round series.
Washington’s Alex Ovechkin scored on the power play in the first period for his 76th career playoff goal, tying Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for 12th place in NHL history. Jakob Chychrun and Brandon Duhaime added goals, Dylan Strome notched two assists and Logan Thompson made 28 saves for the Capitals.
Montreal’s Emil Heineman scored, and Jakub Dobes turned aside 24 shots.
Panthers 6, Lightning 3
Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen had a goal and three assists as visiting Florida closed out its first-round Eastern Conference playoff matchup, beating Tampa Bay in Game 5. The Panthers, who won all three games in Tampa, advance to face either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators.
Anton Lundell had a goal and two assists for the Panthers, and Sam Reinhart added a goal and an assist. Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett scored, while Brad Marchand had two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.
Tampa Bay’s Gage Goncalves, Nick Paul and Jake Guentzel hit the net, and Victor Hedman had two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots.
Jets 5, Blues 3
Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists as Winnipeg knocked off visiting St. Louis in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series.
The Jets lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading to Game 6 on Friday in St. Louis. Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter each had a goal and an assist, Mason Appleton notched three assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves for the Jets, who bounced back from one-sided road losses in Games 3 and 4.
Nathan Walker scored two goals, Jimmy Snuggerud also tallied and Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for the Blues.
–Field Level Media
