The top-seeded Washington Capitals and reigning champion Florida Panthers both attempt to wrap up their respective Eastern Conference first-round series, while the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets look to gain the upper hand in their Western Conference series against the St. Louis Blues as the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs resume Wednesday with a three-game slate.
Washington has an opportunity to record its first playoff series win since defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final when it hosts the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of their matchup. Montreal was 20 minutes away from evening things at two wins apiece on Sunday, but Brandon Duhaime scored twice during a four-goal third period as the Capitals rallied for a 5-2 victory and a 3-1 series lead.
The Panthers visit Tampa Bay with hopes of eliminating the Lightning in five games in the opening round for the second consecutive postseason. Florida staged a third-period comeback of its own in Game 4 of the series on Monday, tallying three times in a span of 2:07 late in the third period to erase a deficit and post a 4-2 win.
But the Panthers once again will be without defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who scored the tying goal with 3:47 remaining in regulation on Monday in just his second contest back following a 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. The 29-year-old received a two-game ban from the league for delivering an elbow to the head of Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel in the second period of Game 4.
The home team has held serve in the series between the Jets and Blues, with Winnipeg winning the first two games at Canada Life Centre and St. Louis capturing the next two contests at Enterprise Center. After allowing the first goal in Game 4 on Sunday, the Blues took control as they chased two-time Vezina Trophy winner and 2025 finalist Connor Hellebuyck from the crease for the second straight game en route to a 5-1 victory. St. Louis has outscored Winnipeg 13-5 over the last three contests after suffering a 5-3 loss in the series opener.
Entering with a five-day streak of hitting on postseason best bets, here are some players with value to consider when making prop bets for Wednesday’s playoff games.
Best bets
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals – Anytime goal scorer (+110, bet365)
Washington scored five times in its Game 4 victory over Montreal, and somehow, Ovechkin was held in check. The NHL’s all-time leading regular-season goal scorer tallied twice in the series opener and also converted in Game 3. A nine-time winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy, the 39-year-old Ovechkin has not gone back-to-back games without a goal since March 11-13, scoring 14 times over his last 19 contests. I expect the Capitals to finish off the Canadiens on Wednesday and believe Ovechkin will play a big part in doing so.
Sam Reinhart, Panthers – Anytime goal scorer (+200, DraftKings)
Reinhart scored at least two goals in each of Florida’s four series last postseason, including its first-round, five-game set against Tampa Bay in which he tallied three times. The 29-year-old tallied in the first period of the opener of this matchup with the Lightning but has been denied ever since. The Panthers will advance to the second round with a win on Wednesday, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Reinhart help accomplish the feat by breaking through against Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Aleksander Barkov, Panthers – 1+ assist (+106, FanDuel)
Dating back to the regular season, Barkov has notched at least one assist 11 assists over his last 11 games and hasn’t failed to set up a goal in consecutive contests since March 20-22. The only game in this series in which the 29-year-old Finnish captain didn’t record an assist was Florida’s 5-1 loss in Game 3. Barkov has amassed 45 assists in 66 career contests against the Lightning, including 14 in 19 postseason games.
Cam Fowler, Blues – 1+ assist (+146, FanDuel)
Fowler is having quite a series for St. Louis as he is tied for fifth in the NHL with eight points this postseason. The 33-year-old became the eighth defenseman to record at least five points in a postseason contest when he had a goal and four assists in the Blues’ 7-2 victory over the Jets in Game 3. Fowler has notched nine assists during his current five-game streak that began in St. Louis’ regular-season finale against the Utah Hockey Club and has racked up 14 over his last 17 playoff contests.
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