The highest seeds of their respective conferences hope to stave off elimination at residence when the second spherical of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues on Thursday. The Washington Capitals, who’re the No. 1 seed within the East, host the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Enviornment in Sport 5 of their sequence, whereas the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets welcome the Dallas Stars to Canada Life Centre for the fifth sport of their matchup. Washington and Winnipeg each path 3-1.
After splitting the primary two video games at residence, the Capitals had been outscored 9-2 whereas dropping each contests at Lenovo Heart in Raleigh, N.C. The Hurricanes held a two-goal lead after two intervals in Sport 4 on Monday and scored 3 times within the third, with Taylor Corridor and defenseman Sean Walker each recording a purpose and an help within the session en path to a 5-2 victory.
Winnipeg has adopted the identical path towards Dallas, splitting the primary two contests of the sequence at residence earlier than dropping each at American Airways Heart. With teammate Mikko Rantanen already posting a pair of hat tips this postseason, Mikael Granlund obtained into the act on Tuesday, scoring as soon as in every interval because the Stars registered a 3-1 win in Sport 4.
Dallas is trying to advance to the Western Convention Remaining for the third consecutive yr, whereas Carolina is looking for its second journey to the Japanese Convention Remaining in three seasons. The Edmonton Oilers, who defeated the Stars within the convention remaining in six video games final postseason, await the winner of the Winnipeg-Dallas sequence. Carolina probably may have an opportunity to avenge their convention remaining loss to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who swept the Hurricanes in 2023 and at present lead the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 of their second-round matchup.
Listed below are some gamers with worth to contemplate when making NHL participant props for Thursday’s playoff video games.
Shayne Gostisbehere, Hurricanes: 1+ level (+110, DraftKings)
Gostisbehere entered this postseason with eight factors in 32 profession playoff video games and has recorded seven in 9 contests to this point. The 32-year-old defenseman has registered some extent in three straight video games, scoring two objectives and establishing one other. I obtained burned on Monday as Gostisbehere opened the scoring with the fifth tally of his playoff profession after I picked him to notch an help, so I am making a safer choice for Sport 5 as I imagine he’ll be concerned within the Hurricanes’ offense in some vogue.
Miro Heiskanen, Stars: 1+ help (+162, FanDuel)
Heiskanen made his 2025 postseason debut on Tuesday, as he hadn’t performed since Jan. 28 resulting from a knee damage, and instantly obtained concerned in Dallas’s offense. The 25-year-old Finnish blue-liner helped arrange Granlund’s power-play purpose within the third interval to document his forty sixth help in 86 profession playoff contests. Heiskanen reached double figures in assists every of the final two postseasons and completed second within the NHL in 2020, when he amassed 20 in 27 video games throughout Dallas’ run to the Stanley Cup Remaining. He’ll seemingly choose up one other on Thursday.
Josh Morrissey, Jets: 1+ help (+133, Caesars)
Morrissey has set a postseason profession excessive with six factors, all assists. The 30-year-old defenseman missed Sport 1 of this sequence with an upper-body damage however registered an help in every of the subsequent three contests towards the Stars, giving him one in 4 of his final 5 total playoff video games. Morrissey additionally recorded three assists in 4 regular-season conferences with Dallas in 2024-25, so it is secure to suppose he’ll notch one in Sport 5.
Mikko Rantanen, Stars: 2+ factors (+215, FanDuel)
Rantanen proved to be mortal on Tuesday, recording only one help within the Stars’ victory. The 28-year-old Finnish proper wing collected a minimum of three factors in 5 of his earlier six contests, with the one exception being Dallas’ shutout loss in Sport 2. At one level throughout that stretch, he set an NHL postseason document by factoring in on 13 consecutive objectives by the Stars. Rantanen leads the NHL with 19 factors and is six away from matching the playoff profession excessive he set in 20 video games throughout the Colorado Avalanche’s march to the Stanley Cup championship in 2022. With Dallas having an opportunity to finish this sequence, I search for Rantanen to provide you with one other sturdy offensive efficiency.
Take a look at the SportsLine Projection Mannequin’s predictions for each sport of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, together with knowledgeable picks, solely at SportsLine!
