The second round of the 2025 NHL playoffs rolled along on Thursday night with a pair of Game 2s. In the first, the Washington Capitals notched a 3-1 win to even their series with the Carolina Hurricanes,

Sixteen teams in total make the NBA playoffs, eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences. The top six seeds in each conference advance based on the regular season record. The final two seeds in each conference are wild-card spots based on the best remaining records in each conference.

To tilt the series back in its favor, Carolina will want to replicate much of the first two games while improving other aspects of its game.

The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights each led going into the third period of Game 1 of their second-round series at home.

The Washington Capitals are in rebound mode Thursday night facing a 1-0 series deficit with Game 2 of their NHL Playoffs series on tap against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Mikko Rantanen has shown exactly why Dallas was willing to pay a hefty price to acquire him. Logan Stankoven has fit in perfectly going from the Stars to Carolina, with Taylor Hall and Mark Jankowski also playing well.

Dallas Stars superstar Mikko Rantanen has done it again. He single-handedly won the Stars' first-round series against his former team, and now he has propelled them to a Game 1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets to open the second round.

Mikko Rantanen has put himself in elusive company with his recent performances, as the Dallas Stars winger has become the third player in NHL history with hat tricks in consecutive playoff games.