2025 NHL playoffs daily: Previews for Thursday's games - ESPN

The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs have already included some twists and turns, including long-injured players returning to the ice and others playing through various ailments.

Two teams carry 2-0 leads into Game 3 on Thursday, and history is on their side: according to ESPN Research, teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win 86% of the time.

Will that be the case for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets? Or can the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues notch victories at home?

Plus, will the Florida Panthers win another game in the Tampa Bay Lightning's barn? And which team will win a pivotal Game 3 of the Vegas Golden Knights-Minnesota Wild series?

Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down in Wednesday's games, and the Three Stars of Wednesday Night from Arda Öcal.

Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 2 (FLA leads 1-0) | 6:30 p.m. ET | TBS

With the Panthers up 1-0, ESPN BET has adjusted the series line to install Florida as the series favorite at -210, whereas the line was -115 before Game 1.

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Matthew Tkachuk made his return after more than two months on the shelf, and scored two goals to help the Panthers take Game 1 in the Battle of Florida. Matthew and brother Brady both scored goals Tuesday, which was the 83rd time in Stanley Cup playoffs history that a pair of brothers scored on the same day, the most recent being Marcus and Nick Foligno on April 21, 2023.

Sergei Bobrovsky has backstopped the Cats to many playoff wins