Stanley Cup playoffs daily: Critical Game 4s for Capitals, Knights

The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights are astatine the aforesaid crossroads, facing 2-1 deficits up of roadworthy playoff games Monday.

First up connected the docket is Capitals-Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET, TNT), followed by Golden Knights-Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

Read connected for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, a recap of what went down successful Sunday's games and the Three Stars of Sunday from Arda Öcal.

Matchup notes

Washington Capitals astatine Carolina Hurricanes
Game 4 | 7 p.m. ET | TNT

With a 2-1 bid lead, the Canes are present -650 favorites to triumph this series, portion the Capitals are +425. Carolina has besides jumped to 2nd successful the Stanley Cup futures table, astatine +350, portion the Capitals are present +2500.

This is the 2nd consecutive bid successful which the Canes led 2-1 (they bushed the Devils successful 5 games successful Round 1). Carolina/Hartford is 9-4 each clip successful best-of-seven bid erstwhile starring 2-1.

Game 3 was the Canes' archetypal playoff shutout triumph since Game 2 of the 2022 2nd circular against the Rangers. It was the Caps' archetypal shutout nonaccomplishment since Game 5 of the 2020 archetypal circular against the Islanders.

Frederik Andersen's shutout was the 4th of his playoff career, but his archetypal postseason cleanable expanse arsenic a Hurricane. He joins Cam Talbot arsenic the lone progressive goalies with a playoff shutout for 3 antithetic franchises.

Andrei Svechnikov present has six goals this postseason, which is the 17th lawsuit of a Hurricanes/Whalers subordinate scoring six oregon much goals successful a azygous postseason.

The 4 goals allowed by Logan Thompson successful Game 3 were much than his combined goals against successful Games 1 and 2, and the astir since Game 3 of the archetypal circular against Montreal (five).

Vegas Golden Knights astatine Edmonton Oilers
Game 4 | 9:30 p.m. ET | TNT

The Oilers' and Knights' bid likelihood contracted aft Vegas' Game 3 win. Edmonton is present -250 to win, whereas Vegas is +200 to bash so. The Oilers person the third-shortest Cup futures likelihood astatine +360, portion the Knights are 3rd longest astatine +1000.

Vegas' Reilly Smith was credited with the winning extremity successful Game 3 with 0.4 seconds near connected the timepiece aft the puck angled successful disconnected Leon Draisaitl's stick. It goes successful the grounds books arsenic being scored with 1 2nd near successful the 3rd play -- tied for the latest go-ahead extremity successful regularisation successful Stanley Cup playoff past with Colorado's Nazem Kadri successful 2020 and Carolina's Jussi Jokinen successful 2009.

Jack Eichel enters Game 4 riding an progressive six-game assistance streak, which is tied for the Golden Knights' postseason record. Mark Stone (2023) and Smith (2018) besides accomplished the feat.

Connor McDavid present has 40 vocation playoff goals; he's the seventh Oilers subordinate to scope that benchmark.

Edmonton's Corey Perry scored 2 goals successful the archetypal play of Game 3, becoming the third-oldest subordinate successful Stanley Cup playoff past with a multigoal period; astatine 39 years, 359 days old, helium is down Nicklas Lidstrom (41) and Teemu Selanne (40) astatine the clip they had a multigoal play successful a playoff game.

Öcal's Three Stars from Sunday

1. The Florida Panthers

The reigning Stanley Cup champions played their champion crippled of the postseason. They constricted the Maple Leafs to 22 shots connected goal, owned the neutral zone, and peppered Toronto's Joseph Woll with 37 shots en way to a 2-0 win. (Small shoutout to Woll, who played large -- this crippled could've easy been 8-0.)

2. Mikko Rantanen
RW, Dallas Stars

With a extremity and 2 assists successful Game 3, Rantanen became the archetypal subordinate successful Stanley Cup playoffs past with 5 three-point games done a team's archetypal 10 contests. His archetypal of those games was successful Game 5 of the archetypal round.

3. Sergei Bobrovsky
G, Florida Panthers

Bobrovsky didn't person the busiest nighttime of his playoff career, but helium stopped each 22 shots connected goal, his 5th vocation postseason cleanable sheet.

Sunday's recaps

Dallas Stars 5, Winnipeg Jets 2
DAL leads 2-1 | Game 4 Tuesday

The Stars returned location having earned home-ice vantage successful the bid with a divided of the archetypal 2 games successful Winnipeg, and from the commencement of this one, they looked similar they did not privation to springiness it back. Dallas' Roope Hintz scored 2:27 successful connected a powerfulness play, and portion Kyle Connor answered midway done the first, Thomas Harley responded thereafter, giving Dallas a 2-1 borderline aft the first. Nino Niederreiter scored his 4th extremity of the playoffs to knot the crippled astatine two, but past the 3rd play was each Stars. Alexander Petrovic and Mikko Rantanen scored wrong 50 seconds of each other, and Wyatt Johnston enactment the exclamation constituent connected the contention with a extremity astatine 14:06. Full recap.

Florida Panthers 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 0
Series tied 2-2 | Game 5 Wednesday

It's down to a best-of-three for the Atlantic Division crown. Carter Verhaeghe kicked disconnected the scoring for the Panthers astatine 15:45 of the first, and the 1-0 people would persist until 12:09 of the third, erstwhile Sam Bennett added his 5th of the postseason to marque it 2-0. That was much than capable for Sergei Bobrovsky, who saved each 23 shots the Maple Leafs sent connected goal. Joseph Woll was nary slouch successful the Leafs' cage, either, redeeming 35 of 37. Tempers flared precocious successful the crippled aft Toronto's Max Domi boarded Panthers skipper Aleksander Barkov and a tiny melee ensued. Will that transportation implicit into Game 5? Full recap.