NHL playoff picks, odds, how to watch info with a series win on the line in every game
The Stanley Cup playoffs continue on Thursday with the Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers have won three consecutive games and now lead the series 3-2, while the Senators have won the last two and are only one game behind the Maple Leafs. The Stars-Avs series has been close the entire way, but Dallas is up a game and has a chance to advance with a win, just like all teams up 3-2 today, including the Golden Knights, who have the best odds to win the series at -700.
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The Oilers (+700), Stars (+800), Golden Knights (+800) and Maple Leafs (+900) are at three, four (tied) and six to win the Stanley Cup in the odds, respectively. The Hurricanes (+425) and Panthers (+500) lead the pack, but it's still (almost) anyone's to take.
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Maple Leafs lead series 3-2
Series odds: Maple Leafs -350, Senators +280
With their backs against the wall, the Senators kept their season alive. Thomas Chabot opened the scoring in the second period, and Dylan Cozens added to it with a short-handed goal. It was the second consecutive game without a power-play goal from the Maple Leafs, who went 0-for-4 in Game 4 and 0-for-3 in Game 5.
Toronto amped up the pressure in the third to come back from a 0-2 deficit. The Maple Leafs attempted 22 shots, but only nine reached the net. Tim Stützle and Brady Tkachuk capped off the night with empty net goals in the last three minutes of play to take the game 4-0. Linus Ullmark put up his best playoff performance ever, with three goals saved above expected — that qualifies as both a quality start and a stolen win.
Can the Senators stave off elimination for the third straight game, or will the Maple Leafs close this series out? Toronto still holds a 3-2 series lead, so there isn't much to worry about — other than past demons.
Golden Knights lead series 3-2
Series odds: Golden Knights -700, Wild +500
With a 3-2 overtime victory over the Wild, the Golden Knights are one game away from Round 2.
William Karlsson opened the scoring with a short-handed goal, set up by Jack Eichel. This was only Eichel's second point of the series, and his first primary helper. Kirill Kaprizov responded seconds later with a power-play goal to tie the game. But Mark Stone, assisted again by Eichel, pulled Vegas ahead later in the first frame.
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Filip Gustavsson surprisingly exited the game before the third period, giving veteran Marc-Andre Fleury a chance to play against his former team. He held Vegas off in the third period, and Matt Boldy scored the tying goal to force overtime for the second straight game. And unlike Game 4, it was Vegas that won in extra time. Brett Howden scored the winner to give his team a series lead for the first time since Game 1.
Stars lead series 3-2
Series odds: Stars -210, Avalanche +170
Just when it seemed like Colorado had the juice in this series, the Stars struck back. Dallas opened the scoring early in Game 5, as Wyatt Johnston netted his first goal of the series nine seconds into play. With 45 seconds left in the period, Thomas Harley made it 2-0.
The Stars added to their lead just 1:12 into the second, with Mikko Rantanen's first goal of the series, and first ever against the Avs. With goals from Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado tried to claw its way back in. But Johnston's power-play goal gave the Stars some separation later in the second frame, then Mason Marchment's tally made it 5-2. Jake Oettinger was solid in net, and unlike in Game 4, he had a lot of support from the team in front of him.
Now the pressure is on the Avalanche to rebound on home ice to extend the series, which could be even trickier if Miro Heiskanen returns for Game 6. He is traveling with the team to Colorado, but his status is still up in the air.
Oilers lead series 3-2
Series odds: Oilers -400, Kings +310
The Edmonton Oilers are back in the driver's seat and one win away from eliminating the Los Angeles Kings in the first round for the fourth consecutive year. The Oilers won a commanding Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead with a dominant performance that Daniel Nugent-Bowman said was the team's best of the season. And they didn't need top-level play from Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl to get it done, either.
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The Kings couldn't win at home, something they had done much of the regular season and in Games 1 and 2, and failed to make a statement against their familiar opponents, even with stellar goaltending from Darcy Kuemper.
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid: Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
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Brad Marchand's quest to win the Stanley Cup as a member of the Florida Panthers has inspired a nostalgia-fueled discussion about something that happened in 2001 with his old team, the Boston Bruins. But even if you're not a Bruins fan, even if you hate the Bruins, you may know what I'm talking about. Advertisement It goes something like this: Marchand is an aging ex-Bruin playing for the Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, which is not unlike what happened nearly a quarter of a century ago when the great Raymond Bourque was an aging ex-Bruin playing for the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final. There are, of course, major differences between what Marchand is trying to accomplish versus what Bourque accomplished in the spring of 2001, and I'll get to those differences in a moment. But I need to get this out of the way first: It's a good thing whenever we can revisit June 13, 2001, which was the day Ray Bourque of the newly crowned Avalanche stepped out to a balcony at Boston's City Hall Plaza to be cheered by the thousands of Bruins fans who turned out for the occasion. How Bourque came to be holding the Stanley Cup over his head at City Hall Plaza is a story with all kinds of twists and turns, not to mention a years-later rollout of long-simmering grievances. Rather than rehash it all here, I invite you to read the oral history I wrote for The Athletic in 2021 commemorating the 20th anniversary of the event. I interviewed some 15 people back then, including Bourque and former Bruins president Harry Sinden, and everybody was remarkably candid and anecdotal. In short, the Bruins did Bourque a solid on March 6, 2000, when they traded the legendary defenseman to the Avalanche. The Bruins were rebuilding and Bourque had yet to win a Cup, and the trade was designed to be win-win for everybody. The Avalanche didn't make it to the Cup final that year, but they won it all a year later, toppling the New Jersey Devils. In an instant-classic hockey moment, Avalanche captain Joe Sakic was handed the Stanley Cup by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and immediately handed it off to Bourque, lest there be any doubt as to the identity of the most emotional man in the building. Advertisement Six days later, there stood Bourque at City Hall Plaza. It was an idea hatched by the office of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, after which it bounced to Bourque's agent, Steve Freyer, and then to Bourque himself. A call was placed to Sinden, who was fishing in Maine. He wasn't one bit happy about this City Hall Plaza idea. Again, read the original piece. But know this: While there may have been some hard feelings about the event, there were no villains. Everybody shook hands and went on with their lives. And I'll let you in on a secret: Bourque originally didn't want to be interviewed for the story but then said he'd take part only if Sinden agreed to be interviewed. To my surprise — and, I guess, to Bourque's surprise — Sinden did the interview. And away we went. I'm forever grateful to both men. So there. Thanks for indulging me as I invite you to read a story that was written at a time when we were all just beginning to dust ourselves off from the pandemic. (In fact, every interview I did was over the phone.) Now, back to Marchand. How is his pursuit of the Stanley Cup different from Bourque's 2001 vision quest with the Avalanche? Let us count the ways: • As a member of the 2010-11 Bruins, Marchand has already played on a Stanley Cup winner. The trade that sent him to Florida was not a goodwill gesture by Bruins GM Don Sweeney. The Bruins had tried to work out a contract extension; failing that, they dealt him to the Panthers, who were loading up for another Cup run. • Whereas it was not surprising when the 40-year-old Bourque retired after winning the Cup, Marchand has no plans to go gently into that good night. (Not that he's ever gone gently anywhere.) Marchand will be a free agent after this Cup final has ended, and as The Athletic's Chris Johnston points out, 'To say that the 37-year-old has boosted his market value this postseason is an understatement.' • Is Marchand a Hall of Famer? Well, yes, says me. But it's a discussion worth having. In fact, if you google 'Brad Marchand' and 'Hall of Fame,' you'll be directed to dozens of these very discussions. Bourque, on the other hand, is hockey royalty. In The Athletic's countdown of the top 99 players in modern NHL history, he came in at No. 10. Advertisement • Marchand has baggage. Bourque arrives for this discussion without even a carry-on. Put another way, Marchand has boiled the blood of many hockey fans over the years, from licking the faces of opposing players to speed-bagging the Vancouver Canucks' Daniel Sedin during the 2011 Cup final. Bourque? When Sakic handed him the Cup that night in Denver, it was one of hockey's all-time feel-good moments. If/when the Panthers repeat as champions, and if/when team captain Sasha Barkov hands the Cup to Marchand, crushed beer cans will be landing on flat screens across North America. Brad Marchand was one heck of a trade deadline pickup — The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) June 5, 2025 • While many Boston fans would enjoy seeing Marchand play on a Cup winner, it means rooting for the Panthers, which means rooting for the team that pushed the Bruins out of the playoffs (while also pushing them around) in 2023 and '24. There were no such hard feelings with the Avalanche when Bourque won his Cup. I suppose one could go all the way back to the days when the Avalanche were doing business as the Quebec Nordiques and get re-upset over Boston-born, future NHL referee Paul Stewart running up 27 penalty minutes (including an epic fight with Stan Jonathan) in Quebec's 7-4 loss to the Bruins on Nov. 22, 1979, at the Old Garden, but that's next-level grudge-holding. The Nordiques also knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs in 1982, but c'mon. • For Bourque to bring the Cup to City Hall of Plaza in 2001 made it possible for fans everywhere else to crow that things were so bad in Boston that their fans had been reduced to celebrating another city's championship. At the time, no Boston team had won a championship since the 1985-86 Celtics, nor had any Boston team played so much as a postseason game in nearly two years. Marchand is welcome to bring the Stanley Cup to Boston should the Panthers recover from their Game 1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers and win it all, but he shouldn't expect Mayor Michelle Wu to order up a party. The Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins have combined to win 13 championships since the day Bourque held the Stanley Cup over his head.
