The Capitals are the latest paper tiger to fall by the wayside, but the Jets put up their best game of the postseason to force a Game Six. The Leafs hope that they can keep their Cup hopes alive tonight in a game that could radically alter their team should they lose this series, and the Abbotsford Canucks start their Pacific Division Final series against the Colorado Eagles tonight.

LAST NIGHT'S ACTION

CAROLINA HURRICANES 3 WASHINGTON CAPITALS 1 (Canes win series 4-1)

In with a bang, out with a whimper. That will be the defining narrative of the 2024-25 Washington Capitals. Fantastic in the regular season, and positively mid in the playoffs, the Caps got out played, out scored, out hit, and out coached by a Carolina team that looks like a serious threat to win their second Cup in franchise history. There were a lot of reasons the Caps lost this series. Their inability to score, especially their top players was one. The numerous bounces they got in their win over Montreal was definitely a factor. The biggest reason, though? Karma.

Ted Cruz has nothin' on this guy.

WINNIPEG JETS 4 DALLAS STARS 0 (Stars lead series 3-2)

It seemed pretty simple for Dallas. Keep doing all the things that have worked so far in this series, put a couple past Connor Hellebuyck early to take the fans out of it, and they'd be heading back to Dallas to get ready for a rematch with the Oilers. Turns out, if you don't actually do these things, it can go horribly wrong. Instead of a Jets team nervous and trying not to fuck up, they came out hard and put up their best performance of the postseason, scoring two PPGs en route to a 4-0 to send the series back to Dallas for Game Six on Saturday night. And it all started when they finally got a bounce.

Mark Scheifele's pass to the front of the net went in off Thomas Harley's skate in the second period for a 1-0 lead. They would get power play goals from Nikolaj Ehlers and Vlad Namestnikov in the third, and a shorthanded empty netter from Ehlers to seal it and keep their quest alive. Hellebuyck had 22 saves for his second shutout of the series.

TONIGHT'S ACTION

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (2-3) vs FLORIDA PANTHERS (3-2)

AMERANT BANK ARENA, SUNRISE, FL

5:00 PM PST/ 8:00 PM EST

TV: SPORTSNET, CBC

If you want to see a Canadian team win the Cup this year, having options beyond the Oilers is definitely a good thing. If you're someone who knows the meaning of the word schadenfreude, then you will definitely want to keep an eye on things tonight. This was, and it's not hyperbole, one of the best seasons the Leafs have ever had. And yet, it's in danger of all falling apart yet again. And you know that this time, there's going to actually be consequences. This team's core is going to be blown the hell up if they can't pull off a comeback here. To have a team that has Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares and they can't get out of the second round is a clear indication this team needs to be blown up. And you're gonna hear a lot of blame being hurled at Nylander and Tavares, but really, Marner and especially Matthews deserve the brunt of it. Matthews has just three goals in the last four playoff series this team has played. That's just not good enough from the guy who's supposed to be their leader. So tonight we find out if this team really has a hope, or we get to see the beginning of the end of what was supposed to be the team that ended the longest Cup drought in the NHL.

MAPLE LEAFS (1A) at PANTHERS (3A)

Eastern Conference Second Round, Game 6

8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC

Florida leads best-of-7 series 3-2

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner

Pontus Holmberg -- John Tavares -- William Nylander

Bobby McMann -- Max Domi -- Max Pacioretty

Steven Lorentz -- Scott Laughton -- Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly -- Brandon Carlo

Jake McCabe -- Chris Tanev

Simon Benoit -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Joseph Woll

Matt Murray

Scratched: Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, Nicholas Robertson, Dennis Hildeby, David Kampf, Ryan Reaves, Artur Akhtyamov

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Anthony Stolarz (undisclosed)

Panthers projected lineup

Jesper Boqvist -- Aleksander Barkov -- Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Brad Marchand

Jonah Gadjovich -- Tomas Nosek -- A.J. Greer

Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola -- Seth Jones

Nate Schmidt -- Dmitry Kulikov

Sergei Bobrovsky

Vitek Vanecek

Scratched: Mackie Samoskevich, Nico Sturm, Uvis Balinskis, Jaycob Megna, Evan Cormier

Injured: Evan Rodrigues (undisclosed)

There's a slight possibility that the Leafs could have Stolarz back for a Game Seven, but in reality, they won't have him unless they're through to face Carolina. So it's up to Joseph Woll to shut the door tonight and allow the Leafs a chance for a Game Seven at home.

ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS vs COLORADO EAGLES

ABBOTSFORD CENTRE, ABBOTSFORD, BC

7:00 PM PST/ 10:00 PM EST

RADIO: Sportsnet 650 TV: Flohockey.tv

The baby Canucks kick off their first appearance in the AHL's Pacific Division finals tonight at home in Game One as they take on the Avalanche's farm team, the Colorado Eagles. The Canucks went 2-0-1-0 against the Eagles this season, and this should be a good matchup featuring the top two teams in the division this season.

The Canucks have been led by Sammy Blais (3-5-8) and Phil DiGiuseppe (3-3-6) as well as getting some stellar goaltending from Arturs Silovs. They've also been 100% on the penalty kill, something that will serve them well the further they go. They will need to get their PP going on the road, though, as all of their PPG's have come at home so far.

One interesting note is a familiar face on the other side. Jayson Megna, yes THAT Jayson Megna, is tied for the lead in playoff scoring for the Eagles with 3G 3A so far. I wonder if Wille will be watching this, to see how his favorite is doing?

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Here's an absolute banger from Terry Butler's (DEATH, OBITUARY) other band INHUMAN CONDITION. Check out 'Face For Later' from their upcoming album 'Mindtrap', which is out at the end of June.

Enjoy the game. Go Canucks Go! Fascists can fuck off!