The top seeds in their respective conferences hope to stave off elimination at home when the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues on Thursday. The Washington Capitals, who are the No. 1 seed in the East, host the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena in Game 5 of their series, while the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets welcome the Dallas Stars to Canada Life Centre for the fifth game of their matchup. Washington and Winnipeg both trail 3-1.
After splitting the first two games at home, the Capitals were outscored 9-2 while losing both contests at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. The Hurricanes held a two-goal lead after two periods in Game 4 on Monday and scored three times in the third, with Taylor Hall and defenseman Sean Walker both recording a goal and an assist in the session en route to a 5-2 victory.
Winnipeg has followed the same path against Dallas, splitting the first two contests of the series at home before dropping both at American Airlines Center. With teammate Mikko Rantanen already posting a pair of hat tricks this postseason, Mikael Granlund got into the act on Tuesday, scoring once in each period as the Stars registered a 3-1 win in Game 4.
Dallas is looking to advance to the Western Conference Final for the third consecutive year, while Carolina is seeking its second trip to the Eastern Conference Final in three seasons. The Edmonton Oilers, who defeated the Stars in the conference final in six games last postseason, await the winner of the Winnipeg-Dallas series. Carolina potentially could have a chance to avenge their conference final loss to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who swept the Hurricanes in 2023 and currently lead the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in their second-round matchup.
Here are some players with value to consider when making NHL player props for Thursday’s playoff games.
Shayne Gostisbehere, Hurricanes: 1+ point (+110, DraftKings)
Gostisbehere entered this postseason with eight points in 32 career playoff games and has recorded seven in nine contests thus far. The 32-year-old defenseman has registered a point in three straight games, scoring two goals and setting up another. I got burned on Monday as Gostisbehere opened the scoring with the fifth tally of his playoff career when I picked him to notch an assist, so I’m making a safer selection for Game 5 as I believe he’ll be involved in the Hurricanes’ offense in some fashion.
Miro Heiskanen, Stars: 1+ assist (+162, FanDuel)
Heiskanen made his 2025 postseason debut on Tuesday, as he hadn’t played since Jan. 28 due to a knee injury, and immediately got involved in Dallas’s offense. The 25-year-old Finnish blue-liner helped set up Granlund’s power-play goal in the third period to record his 46th assist in 86 career playoff contests. Heiskanen reached double figures in assists each of the last two postseasons and finished second in the NHL in 2020, when he amassed 20 in 27 games during Dallas’ run to the Stanley Cup Final. He’ll likely pick up another on Thursday.
Josh Morrissey, Jets: 1+ assist (+133, Caesars)
Morrissey has set a postseason career high with six points, all assists. The 30-year-old defenseman missed Game 1 of this series with an upper-body injury but registered an assist in each of the next three contests against the Stars, giving him one in four of his last five overall playoff games. Morrissey also recorded three assists in four regular-season meetings with Dallas in 2024-25, so it’s safe to think he’ll notch one in Game 5.
Mikko Rantanen, Stars: 2+ points (+215, FanDuel)
Rantanen proved to be mortal on Tuesday, recording just one assist in the Stars’ victory. The 28-year-old Finnish right wing collected at least three points in five of his previous six contests, with the only exception being Dallas’ shutout loss in Game 2. At one point during that stretch, he set an NHL postseason record by factoring in on 13 consecutive goals by the Stars. Rantanen leads the NHL with 19 points and is six away from matching the playoff career high he set in 20 games during the Colorado Avalanche’s march to the Stanley Cup championship in 2022. With Dallas having a chance to end this series, I look for Rantanen to come up with another strong offensive performance.
