Despite having a 2024-25 season that would qualify as the best year for many NHL players, Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews didn't live up to his usual standard because of a lingering injury.

The Eastern Conference Finals has already begun, with the Panthers winning Game 1 by a convincing 5-2 margin to take a 1-0 series lead. Over the course of their third consecutive trip to the ECF, Florida took down the Ottawa Senators in Round 1 before a barn-burning seven-game series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 2025 NHL Playoffs are here ... who prevailed in the Battle of Florida to open the playoffs and face Toronto in a tough second-round matchup. Translation: it's a wide-open race.

Referee Chris Rooney, who was hit in the face with a hockey stick during the Florida Panthers-Toronto Maple Leafs series, is doing well and hopes to return to work the NHL playoffs, a league source told UPI on Tuesday.

The Maple Leafs have failed to reach the conference finals nine years in a row, unable to pass round two amid intense fan pressure and tough Game Sevens.

The NHL’s playoff final four has a very familiar feel. The Western Conference final is a rematch of the same round last year with the Dallas Stars facing the Edmonton Oilers.

The Florida Panthers are advancing to the Eastern Conference Final for the third consecutive season. The Panthers mauled the Maple Leafs, 6-1, in front of the Toronto faithful on Sunday night. The biggest thorn in Toronto's side in this one was Florida defenseman Seth Jones,