2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Presented by Geico Begin Sunday on ESPN and ESPN2 with Tripleheader

• by Soledad Ramon
• April 18, 2025

• 16 First Round Games Over Six Days Beginning Sunday at 3 p.m. ET
• The Point will Air Daily as a Lead-in Show for Games Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs
• ESPN Playoff Hockey Challenge Accepting Entries Until Puck Drop on April 19

With the NHL regular season now complete, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs on ESPN presented by GEICO have arrived as 16 teams face off for the most prestigious trophy in sports. In all, 16 first round games will play out over the first six days on ESPN and ESPN2, beginning Sunday, April 20.

ESPN’s NHL studio show, The Point, will air regularly as a lead-in to games throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs with rotating hosts Steve Levy, John Buccigross and Arda Öcal and NHL analysts Mark Messier and P.K. Subban. The Drop, ESPN’s digital hockey show and podcast co-hosted by Öcal and Greg Wyshynski, will stream throughout the playoffs on the NHL on ESPN YouTube channel and wherever you get your ESPN podcasts. In the Crease, a nightly highlight show, will stream on ESPN+ throughout the playoffs, following the conclusion of games on ESPN platforms.

ESPN’s playoff presentation begins Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN when Sebastian Aho and the Carolina Hurricanes host the New Jersey Devils in an Atlantic Division rivalry series.

The Ottawa Senators return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 as they square off against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs and Auston Matthews at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 in a high stakes edition of the Battle of Ontario. 

Closing out the night at 10 p.m. on ESPN, the Minnesota Wild will take on the Pacific Division champion Vegas Golden Knights and Jack Eichel, with each team having won once against each other during the regular season. 

Leading off Monday’s quadruple header, the Montreal Canadiens return to the postseason after a four-year absence to take on the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

At 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets and Kyle Connor host the St. Louis Blues who return to the playoffs for the first time in three years.  

The Colorado Avalanche and Nathan MacKinnon face off against the Dallas Stars and Jason Robertson at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Meeting for the fourth consecutive year in the first round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings host the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

On Tuesday, Atlantic Division rivals face off in the Battle of Florida when the Tampa Bay Lightning and Art Ross Trophy Nikita Kucherov host the Florida Panthers to open their first round series at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The telecast details and commentators for each game are below. Commentator assignments and coverage details for ESPN games beyond April 28 will be announced in the coming days. 

– TELECAST & COMMENTATOR SCHEDULE – 

*Commentator assignments and studio show times may be subject to change.

NHL Digital Content on ESPN.com and ESPN App
Go to ESPN.com/NHL or the ESPN App for up-to-the-minute NHL news, information and analysis, including premium editorial content by ESPN senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski, exclusively for ESPN+ subscribers. 

• Stanley Cup Playoff Central: Bracket, schedule, scores news
• Stanley Cup contender flaws: Biggest issues for top teams (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• Keys to the offseason: Free agency, draft needs for Rangers, Bruins, other eliminated teams (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• ‘I know how badly they want to win’: How the Senators grew into being a playoff team
• Meet the Wild’s secret weapon — who won’t play a single minute this season
• NHL Urgency Index: Which teams need a Stanley Cup win the most? (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• The numbers behind Lane Hutson’s breakout rookie campaign
• NHL Awards Watch: Final regular-season ballots for seven different trophies
• NHL Power Rankings: Predictions for every team’s 2025-26 contention status 
• Friday: Stanley Cup playoffs preview: Cup cases, X factors, bold predictions for all 16 postseason teams
• Friday: Lapsed fan’s guide to the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs: Everything you need to know
• Saturday: Wyshynski’s full Stanley Cup playoffs bracket: From Round 1 to Cup champs (ESPN+ Premium Content)
• Saturday: Stanley Cup playoffs picks: Every first-round series, plus Cup champion, Conn Smythe Trophy
• Monday: Ranking the top 50 players in the Stanley Cup playoffs (ESPN+ Premium Content)

ESPN Playoff Hockey Challenge
ESPN Playoff Hockey Challenge allows fans to predict the winner of each playoff round for the chance to win a Grand Prize of $25,000 once the Stanley Cup is raised. Like all ESPN Fantasy games, Playoff Hockey Challenge is free to play and makes it easy for fans to fill out brackets and compete with friends, family and others by creating and joining groups. Fans can complete and submit up to two brackets at ESPN.com/playoffhockeychallenge or on the ESPN Fantasy App for iOS and Android. Entries for the Hockey Playoff Challenge will be accepted until Saturday, April 19, when the puck drops for the first matchup of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Fuente: ESPN

With the NHL regular season now complete, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs on ESPN presented by GEICO have arrived as 16 teams face off for the most prestigious trophy in sports. In all, 16 first round games will play out over the first six days on ESPN and ESPN2, beginning…