2025 NHL Playoff Bracket and Results: Panthers Repeat

The 2025 champion and the tournament's defining results

The Florida Panthers won the 2025 Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers four games to two. The playoffs began on April 19 and ended on June 17. Florida secured its second consecutive championship and finished a third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.

The championship matchup repeated the previous year's Final, but the series developed differently. Florida had needed seven games against Edmonton in 2024; this time the Panthers finished in six. The same two finalists reached the last round through a tournament containing several extraordinary escapes, including the Western opening round's two deciding seventh games.

This completed 2025 NHL playoff bracket belongs to the 2024-25 season. It records all fifteen series, from the eight opening matchups to the championship. It is a historical results guide; use the current NHL game slate for games being played now.

Florida entered as the Atlantic Division's third-place club. Edmonton occupied the equivalent third-place position in the Pacific. Neither finalist began with a division winner's bracket label, but both worked through higher-finishing opponents to earn another meeting for the Cup.

Eastern first round: Florida, Washington and Carolina finish in five

Opening series	Winner	Series result
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators	Toronto	4-2
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers	Florida	4-1
Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens	Washington	4-1
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils	Carolina	4-1

The Eastern opening round moved quickly. Florida, Washington and Carolina each eliminated an opponent in five games, while Toronto needed six. No Eastern matchup reached a seventh game. The surviving routes were Toronto-Florida on the Atlantic side and Washington-Carolina on the Metropolitan side.

Florida's championship defense started with two road victories in Tampa. After losing Game 3, the Panthers won the next two and closed with a 6-3 Game 5 victory. Winning all three games played at Amalie Arena gave Florida a strong opening statement against its in-state rival.

Washington eliminated Montreal with a 4-1 Game 5 win. Alex Ovechkin scored in the clincher, and the Capitals moved into a second-round meeting with Carolina. The Eastern Conference's leading regular-season club had completed its first assignment without allowing the wild-card Canadiens to extend the series beyond five games.

Carolina's five-game victory against New Jersey ended less comfortably than its series margin suggests. Sebastian Aho scored in double overtime to finish Game 5, 5-4. The result supplied the Hurricanes with a fourth win and a division-based matchup against Washington, rather than a fresh draw against an Atlantic survivor.

Toronto closes the Battle of Ontario in six

Toronto took a 3-0 lead against Ottawa, then lost two straight before finishing the Senators in Game 6. A 4-2 road victory ended the series. Max Pacioretty broke a third-period tie, and William Nylander scored twice, including the empty-net goal that completed the final score.

The Senators' recovery made Toronto work beyond the point where a sweep had seemed possible, but Ottawa never earned the deciding seventh game. The Maple Leafs advanced to face Florida, with a six-game opening victory rather than the maximum-length series they had risked by losing Games 4 and 5.

The official Game 6 recap identifies the late goal that settled that route. At the end of the Eastern first round, all four remaining clubs had avoided a Game 7, an outcome sharply different from the two Central Division series unfolding in the West.

Western first round: two unforgettable Game 7s

Opening series	Winner	Series result
Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues	Winnipeg	4-3
Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche	Dallas	4-3
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild	Vegas	4-2
Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton	4-2

Winnipeg and Dallas each survived a deciding seventh game after trailing in the third period. Their victories created the Central side's second-round matchup. Vegas and Edmonton finished their series in six games, establishing the Pacific side's meeting before those two Game 7 dramas were complete.

Winnipeg escapes at the last moment

Winnipeg trailed St. Louis 3-1 late in regulation in Game 7. The Jets scored twice with their goaltender pulled, and Cole Perfetti supplied the tying goal with only seconds left. Adam Lowry then ended the game 4-3 in the second overtime.

The official account of Winnipeg's comeback captures how close the Blues came to ending the Presidents' Trophy winner's season. The Jets had to recover the two-goal deficit before overtime was even possible, then continue deep into a second extra period to advance.

For a historical replay, this is the first-round game that most rewards watching the closing regulation minutes in sequence. The final score alone leaves out the late extra-attacker goals that kept Winnipeg alive. Its second-round berth was secured only after the original game had nearly ended in defeat.

Rantanen decides Dallas against Colorado

Dallas also faced a two-goal deficit in the third period of Game 7. Mikko Rantanen responded with three goals and an assist as the Stars scored four unanswered goals to win 4-2. Wyatt Johnston supplied the go-ahead goal; Rantanen's final goal completed the hat trick into an empty net.

Rantanen's involvement gave the matchup a distinctive personal connection because Colorado was his former club. The performance should still be described through the actual scoring sequence: he helped turn a 2-0 deficit into a win, but he did not score every Dallas goal. The Stars' completed 4-3 series victory put them opposite Winnipeg.

Edmonton and Vegas advance in six

Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles 4-2, closing with a 6-4 Game 6 victory. The Oilers had started the series with two losses, then won four straight. That recovery kept the previous year's Western champion in the tournament and set up another meeting with Vegas.

The Golden Knights beat Minnesota 4-2 and finished with a 3-2 road victory in Game 6. Vegas won the last three games of that series. The Pacific matchup therefore brought together two clubs that had finished their opening series with consecutive victories, while the Central survivors arrived from two of the tournament's most dramatic deciding games.

Second round: Florida survives its toughest series

Second-round series	Winner	Series result
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers	Florida	4-3
Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes	Carolina	4-1
Winnipeg Jets vs. Dallas Stars	Dallas	4-2
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton	4-1

Carolina and Edmonton each won in five games, Dallas advanced in six and Florida needed seven. The results removed Washington and Winnipeg, the two conference-leading regular-season clubs, while preserving the possibility of another Florida-Edmonton championship series.

Dallas ended Winnipeg's tournament with a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 6. Thomas Harley scored on the power play to send the Stars into the conference final. Winnipeg's late opening-round escape had kept its season alive for one more series, but the Jets could not produce another deciding-game opportunity against Dallas.

Carolina eliminated Washington 4-1, advancing from a Metropolitan matchup into the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes had now won both opening series in five games. Edmonton matched that second-round pace by defeating Vegas 4-1, following its six-game Los Angeles victory with a shorter route through the Pacific Division winner.

The seven-game Florida-Toronto turning point

Florida's defense of the Cup came closest to ending against Toronto. The Maple Leafs won the first two games before the Panthers recovered with three consecutive victories. Brad Marchand's overtime goal in Game 3 was particularly consequential: it prevented Toronto from taking a 3-0 series lead and supplied Florida's first win of the matchup.

Toronto forced Game 7 with a 2-0 road win in Game 6. Florida therefore had to travel back to Toronto after missing an opportunity to finish at home. The Panthers responded with a 6-1 victory, with Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen each contributing a goal and two assists.

The Game 7 report records a decisive finish to a series that had been much less straightforward than the final evening. Toronto held a 2-0 series lead and later forced an elimination game; Florida still won the fourth game it needed.

On the completed bracket, Toronto's opening victory over Ottawa ended at this second-round stop. Florida moved forward toward Carolina, while Edmonton prepared for Dallas. The four remaining clubs had all earned conference-final places, but only the Panthers had needed a seventh game in this round to preserve their route.

Conference finals produce another Florida-Edmonton matchup

Florida defeated Carolina 4-1, and Edmonton defeated Dallas 4-1. Both conference finals ended after five games, setting up the same Stanley Cup Final pairing as in 2024. The rematch followed two decisive third-round victories rather than two drawn-out seven-game tests.

Florida won the first three games against Carolina by scores of 5-2, 5-0 and 6-2. The Hurricanes avoided a sweep with a 3-0 road victory in Game 4, then lost Game 5 at home, 5-3. Carter Verhaeghe scored the go-ahead goal in the clincher, sending the Panthers into a third consecutive Final.

The fifth game required another Florida response after Carolina built a 2-0 lead. The Panthers recovered, the game reached 3-3, and Verhaeghe's third-period goal broke the tie before an empty-net goal completed the scoring. Florida's overall 4-1 series margin included an early three-game surge and a much tighter final evening.

Edmonton's series began with a 6-3 loss in Dallas. The Oilers then won four straight, following the same broad recovery pattern they had used after their opening losses against Los Angeles. Their subsequent victories over the Stars were 3-0, 6-1, 4-1 and 6-3.

The Game 5 clincher started quickly, with Edmonton scoring three times in the first period's opening stretch. Connor McDavid supplied the eventual winning goal. Dallas had eliminated Colorado and Winnipeg to reach this stage, but it could not turn its opening victory over the Oilers into another series win.

The completed conference-final results show the two different sequences clearly: Florida won three before conceding one, while Edmonton conceded the opener before winning four. Each arrived at twelve playoff victories, with four more needed to become champion.

For fans tracing the bracket, Florida's opponents had been Tampa Bay, Toronto and Carolina; Edmonton's had been Los Angeles, Vegas and Dallas. The established playoff bracket routes explain those pairings. The final stage brought the two conference survivors together again, with Edmonton seeking to reverse the previous year's outcome.

Stanley Cup Final: six games and three overtime finishes

Florida won the Final 4-2, but the opening four games produced a 2-2 series rather than an immediate championship advantage. Three of those four contests reached overtime, including a double-overtime second game. Edmonton won two of the three sudden-death games before Florida took the last two games in regulation.

Every Final score

Game	Date	Result
1	June 4	Edmonton 4, Florida 3, overtime
2	June 6	Florida 5, Edmonton 4, double overtime
3	June 9	Florida 6, Edmonton 1
4	June 12	Edmonton 5, Florida 4, overtime
5	June 14	Florida 5, Edmonton 2
6	June 17	Florida 5, Edmonton 1

The teams split the first two games in Edmonton, then split the next two in Florida. The Panthers' 6-1 Game 3 win was followed by an overtime loss in Game 4, leaving the series tied as it returned to Alberta. Florida then won Game 5, 5-2, and earned the opportunity to finish at home.

The official Final results make the contrast with 2024 clear. The earlier matchup had gone the distance; the 2025 series stopped after six games. Edmonton's early overtime successes kept it level through four, but the Oilers could not produce a third victory.

Reinhart's four-goal championship clincher

Sam Reinhart scored four times in Florida's 5-1 Game 6 victory on June 17. Matthew Tkachuk scored the Panthers' other goal, and Sergei Bobrovsky made twenty-eight saves. Reinhart's total included two empty-net goals as Edmonton tried to extend the series.

The four-goal performance was especially distinctive because Reinhart had scored the winning goal in the previous year's seventh-game championship victory. In 2025, he supplied most of Florida's scoring on the night the club repeated. Tkachuk's goal was the official game-winner in the 5-1 result, a useful detail when separating the statistical winner from the evening's highest scorer.

Florida finished the championship series with consecutive victories of 5-2 and 5-1. Those final two scores followed a much more volatile opening stretch, where overtime had decided three games. The Panthers completed the repeat through a pair of regulation wins rather than needing another sudden-death finish.

The deciding game also completed the tournament's final entry: Florida over Edmonton, 4-2. It was the Panthers' second Stanley Cup and the Oilers' second consecutive loss in the Final against the same opponent. Both clubs had returned through three rounds of victories, but Florida again collected the last four wins.

Bennett, road victories and the shape of Florida's repeat

Reinhart owned the clinching night, but Sam Bennett received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the entire postseason. Bennett led the NHL with fifteen playoff goals, adding seven assists for twenty-two points in twenty-three games. Five of those goals came in the Final. His award reflected production across the tournament rather than a vote limited to the championship series.

The location of Bennett's scoring was especially striking. Thirteen of his fifteen goals came on the road, an NHL postseason record. The league's official Conn Smythe report documents that record and his five Final goals. Florida's championship route repeatedly required victories in the opposing building, and Bennett's scoring supplied a concrete measure of how effectively the Panthers handled those assignments.

Florida won ten road games: three in Tampa, two in Toronto, three in Raleigh and two in Edmonton. The Panthers opened every series away from home. They swept the three games played in Carolina during the Eastern Conference Final, yet their other rounds also contained defeats and recoveries. The road total therefore describes repeated success across four separate opponents, rather than one unusually productive trip.

The complete path required twenty-three games and produced a 16-7 record. Florida needed five games against Tampa Bay, seven against Toronto, five against Carolina and six against Edmonton. Toronto was the only opponent to take the Panthers to a deciding seventh game. That makes the second round central to the story: the eventual champions had to recover from a two-game deficit and then win a road decider before reaching either conference or Stanley Cup Final.

The repeat also came through a familiar opponent in a different six-game sequence. Edmonton had forced seven games in 2024; in 2025, the Oilers won twice, but Florida ended the series with two convincing regulation victories. Bennett's tournament scoring, Reinhart's four-goal finale and the team's ten road wins describe different parts of the same championship. For the full field beyond the sixteen playoff entrants, the NHL team directory provides the league-wide reference alongside this completed historical bracket.