Takeaways from Day 2 of NHL playoffs: Devils are in trouble; perfect start for Leafs 

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continued on Sunday. Here are some takeaways from the day's action.

The New Jersey Devils are in trouble

Every year there is always that one team that goes into the playoffs with just rancid vibes. A team that everybody knows has no juice left and is probably just waiting for their season to end.

That team this season is the New Jersey Devils. 

Not only because they struggled down the stretch, but because they are also without their best player in forward Jack Hughes due to a season-ending injury. There is just no way to replace a talent like him, and while the Devils do have a solid team with good depth they do not have another game-breaking player that can take over on any given night.

They simply looked overmatched in a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 on Sunday, completely unable to deal with their forecheck or break through their defense. 

If the Devils are going to have a chance in this series they are either going to need starting goalie Jacob Markstrom to steal a few games, or something in the Devils' overall play is going to have to dramatically change from what we have seen from them over the past few weeks. 

Logan Stankoven makes great first playoff impression for Hurricanes

One of the more fascinating developments to watch this postseason will be the performance of Carolina's Logan Stankoven in comparison to Dallas' Mikko Rantanen.

The Hurricanes acquired Stankoven as part of the pre-deadline blockbuster trade that sent Rantanen to the Stars. It was a shocking trade because Carolina had just acquired Rantanen a few weeks earlier in the hopes he could help get them to a Stanley Cup Final. But when it became clear they could not re-sign him, they opted to trade him instead of risk losing him for nothing in free agency. 

From a big picture perspective, getting Stankoven and two future first-round picks was a strong return and a potential long-term win. It just may not get them closer to a championship this season. 

But while Rantanen's line badly struggled in Dallas' first playoff game, and while he has struggled to make the expected impact since the trade, Stankoven shined in his playoff debut with Carolina scoring a pair of goals.