NHL Playoffs 2023: Top Storylines for May 4 Schedule

The Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs are under pressure to win at home in their respective second-round Game 2s on Thursday night.

The two sides fell in their openers against the Seattle Kraken and Florida Panthers and must avoid going down two games before hitting the road.

Toronto needs to replicate its performance from Game 2 in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Leafs netted seven goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning after conceding on seven occasions in the opener.

Dallas must solve why the Kraken have been so good on the road in the postseason. Seattle won three games in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche before taking Game 1 in Texas on Tuesday.

The Stars will not panic, though, as they also went behind by one game and scored seven times in Game 2 in their first-round series with the Minnesota Wild.

Dallas and Toronto know how to play with early series deficits, but the danger they face is playing two squads with little to lose because they already pocketed one road victory.

May 4 Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule

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DALLAS, TX - MAY 02: Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) blocks a shot during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Seattle Kraken on May 2, 2023 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Game 2: Florida at Toronto (7 p.m. ET, TNT)

Game 2: Seattle at Dallas (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

Toronto Must Get Off to Better Start

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TORONTO, ON - MAY 02: Florida Panthers Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a glove save on a shot by Toronto Maple Leafs Right Wing William Nylander (88) during to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi Final between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs on May 2, 2023 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Toronto placed itself in a Game 1 hole by conceding the first two goals to the Panthers.

Florida took the lead midway through the first period, and after that, Game 1 was tied for only a 2:56 stretch of the second frame.

The Panthers rode the wave of momentum from their Game 7 road win over the Boston Bruins into Game 1 in Toronto and stunned the Leafs a bit.

Auston Matthews and his Toronto teammates need to produce a near-exact response to the one they provided in Game 2 against Tampa Bay when Toronto jumped out to a 1-0 lead through Mitchell Marner in the first minute of the contest and had a three-goal lead by the first intermission.

The Leafs used that victory as a starting point to a three-game winning streak that put them in the driver's seat in that series.

The home side needs to convert on more of the chances it had in Game 1 to replicate that performance from two weeks ago.

Toronto forced Sergei Bobrovsky into 34 saves. Eighteen of its 36 Game 1 shots came from Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares.

Florida must find a way to make Toronto's top scorers less active in the attacking zone.

Dallas Needs to Solve Seattle's Terrific Road Form

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DALLAS, TX - MAY 02: Seattle Kraken center Ryan Donato (9) tries to poke the puck past Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) with help from center Luke Glendening (11) during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Seattle Kraken on May 2, 2023 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Seattle's tremendous road form has been one of the most notable storylines to develop in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The second-year franchise captured three of four games played in Colorado in the first round and took a victory in Dallas to start the second round.

The Kraken were 26-11-4 on their travels in the regular season, but there were concerns about them winning on the road in the playoffs because of the inexperience across parts of the roster.

Seattle relied on the Stanley Cup champions on its roster to get off to a fast start in Dallas.

Jaden Schwartz, who won a title with the St. Louis Blues, and Justin Schultz, who captured two Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, provided the first-period responses to Joe Pavelski's first two goals among his four total.

Seattle moved into the lead after Schultz's equalizer, as Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jordan Eberle finished off a six-goal first period with their own tallies.

The Kraken's rapid start may not happen again in Game 2 against a Dallas side that conceded two first-period goals in three opening-round home contests with Minnesota.

Dallas needs to cool down Seattle's first-period offense while also getting some of its stars going in the attacking zone.

Pavelski's four-goal Game 1 was incredible, but the Stars need to have multiple sources to punch back against the Kraken.

Roope Hintz and Tyler Seguin delivered that response in Game 2 against the Wild with first-period scores.

Hintz had five goals and seven assists against Minnesota, but he was held without a point in the second-round opener.

Dallas needs Hintz, Seguin and a few others to be more involved to manage Seattle's threat better and level the series, just like it did in the last round.