NHL Playoffs 2025: Stuart Skinner’s second consecutive shutout earns 3 Stars of the Night nod

The Edmonton Oilers are advancing to the Western Conference Finals on the strength of back-to-back shutouts from none other than Stuart Skinner. On the other side of the NHL playoff bracket, the Florida Panthers pushed the Toronto Maple Leafs to the brink of elimination with huge games from Aaron Ekblad and Sergei Bobrovsky.

After a calamitous start to the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings, Skinner was pulled in favor of Calvin Pickard, who led the Oilers to five straight postseason wins. When Pickard got hurt in Game 2 against the Golden Knights, Skinner got a second chance, and he’s made the most of it.

In Game 5, Skinner stopped all 24 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout. That allowed the Oilers to remain in the game until Kasperi Kapanen buried the overtime winner.

Up in Toronto, the Panthers pounded the Maple Leafs, 6-1. It was a thorough dismantling from start to finish, and two Panthers really stood out. Ekblad dominated tough five-on-five minutes while Bobrovsky once again frustrated a loaded Toronto forward group.

Let’s highlight some of the best performances from around the NHL playoffs on Wednesday with our 3 Stars of the Night.

Sergei Bobrovsky | G | Florida Panthers

Bobrovsky was a mere 64 seconds from back-to-back shutouts against the Maple Leafs, but despite the lone blemish on his record tonight, he was tremendous once again. Bobrovsky has flipped a switch, and he looks even better than he did when leading Florida to the Stanley Cup last summer.

With the Panthers opening up a huge lead, the Maple Leafs threw 32 shots at Bobrovsky, and he turned away 31 of them. None of his saves were better than his first-period stop on Matthew Knies when Bobrovsky went full splits following a wild bounce off the end boards. Bobrovsky finished the game with a .875 high-danger save percentage and 1.17 goals saved above average, per Natural Stat Trick.

Aaron Ekblad | D | Florida Panthers

Ekblad has had a tumultuous postseason, serving two separate suspensions across each of the first two rounds. While you might expect that kind of thing would knock a player off his game, Ekblad has played well, and he was a major factor in Florida’s dismantling of the Maple Leafs in Game 5.

Late in the first period, Ekblad ripped a snapshot over the shoulder of Anthony Stolarz to open the scoring. He also added an assist on Sam Bennett’s third-period power play goal. Perhaps the most impressive part of Ekblad’s night was that he owned his five-on-five minutes, many of which came against William Nylander and John Tavares. According to Natural Stat Trick, Ekblad was plus-14 in shot attempts and plus-12 in scoring chances with both teams at full strength.

Stuart Skinner | G | Edmonton Oilers

Kasperi Kapanen certainly deserves a shoutout for his series-winning overtime goal, but Skinner is the story here. Skinner lost his starting job in the first round because he was playing so poorly, and he only got the crease back because of an injury to Calvin Pickard. He has seized that second chance, and now he has powered Edmonton to the Western Conference Final.

With 24 saves in Game 5, Skinner posted back-to-back shutouts of the Golden Knights to help seal a series win for the Oilers. In Wednesday night’s game, Edmonton defense allowed just two high-danger shots in almost 70 minutes, but Skinner still saved 1.63 goals above average. While the Oilers’ defensive game has improved drastically, Skinner’s turnaround has been amazing to watch, too. Just a couple weeks ago, he was having a hard time stopping a shot of any kind, and now he has ended the season of another Western Conference juggernaut.