The Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes play Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs Monday in Carolina.

Midway through the night, the NHL reposted a Bleacher Report's B/R Open Ice graphic celebrating Ovechkin’s 77th career playoff goal, which pushed him past Mario Lemieux for 12th place all-time in league history.

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.

The NHL playoffs have already provided a fair share of players reaching another level, but for some high-profile names, the spotlight's not flattering.

Jason Blake played 871 NHL regular-season games but never made it out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six trips. Jackson, in his first NHL postseason, is playing regularly against the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Second Round.

Thompson has been perhaps the best goalie in the postseason, and he’s gotten there playing an unorthodox style built around his strengths.

We tested the sound during Game 3 vs. the Washington Capitals. Needless to say, it got very loud in the Lenovo Center!

The second round of the 2025 NHL playoffs provided another night of entertaining hockey as the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights took another step toward the conference finals. The Hurricanes blanked the Washington Capitals in Game 3,