Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m frankly overwhelmed by how good last night’s playoff games were.
In today’s SI:AM:
Not bad for some old guys
Monday was a great night for athletes on the wrong side of 30.
The best of the bunch was Kawhi Leonard, the nearly 34-year-old oft-injured Los Angeles Clippers star who, when healthy, is still capable of being one of the best players in the NBA.
Leonard tried to play through a knee injury in last year’s playoffs but only appeared in two of the Clippers’ six games in a first-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The same knee injury caused him to miss the first 34 games of this season. But he’s finally healthy again, and on Monday, he looked more like the guy who carried the Toronto Raptors to a championship in 2019 than the guy who’s been hobbled by knee issues for years.
Leonard had a remarkably efficient 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting in a 105–102 win over the Denver Nuggets as the Clippers evened the series at a game apiece. His .789 shooting percentage is the third highest among players who scored at least 39 points on 19 or fewer shot attempts.
“I’m just happy that I’m able to move,” Leonard said. “That’s what I’m taking pride in is just being healthy. I sat and watched these playoff games and series the past two years. So being able to be frontline out there, it just feels good for me no matter which way the game goes.”
Leonard was decent in Game 1, scoring 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, but he also tied a playoff career high with seven turnovers, including a costly one in the final minute of overtime. He more than made up for that error in Game 2, not only piling up points, but scoring what proved to be the game-winning basket in the final minute and then coming up with a clutch steal on the ensuing Denver possession to seal it.
KAWHI LEONARD WAS EVERYWHERE IN THE FINAL MINUTE!!
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2025
Game-icing bucket 🧊
Elite defense in multiple places 🔒
CLIPPERS WIN TO EVEN THE SERIES 1-1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QXPSQx159x
The other veteran hero on Monday night was someone who, unlike Leonard, has been one of the most durable players in the history of their sport. Washington Capitals icon Alex Ovechkin, 39, continued his dream season by scoring the overtime game-winner in his team’s Game 1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens—the first playoff overtime goal in his storied career.
Just over two minutes into the overtime period, following a chaotic faceoff in the Habs’ zone, Washington’s Anthony Beauvillier threw the puck in front of the net and Ovechkin was able to bat it out of midair with the shaft of his stick and into the back of the net.
Ovechkin has now scored 74 postseason goals, more than any other active player, but he’d never scored the winning goal in any of his previous 45 playoff overtime games. Only seven players in NHL history have played more postseason overtime games. The goal was a long time coming for Ovechkin, but he still downplayed its significance.
“A goal is a goal,” he said. “And in the playoffs, especially, it doesn’t matter who scores.”
His teammates knew how big a moment it was for their captain, though.
“Forty-five games, I know—45 overtime games,” center Dylan Strome said. “It’s great. Not really surprised that he got that one. He’s been on a tear all year. Great pass by (Beauvillier) and great finish by ‘O.’ I think it was out of the air, so it was a great finish.”
While Ovechkin was a likely hero for the Caps, the man of the hour for the Dallas Stars was someone no one could have expected. It was another veteran: 32-year-old Colin Blackwell, a former seventh-round pick playing for his sixth team in his seventh NHL season. Blackwell scored just six goals in 63 regular season games for Dallas this season. He was a healthy scratch in Game 1 of the team’s series against the Colorado Avalanche but found himself back in the lineup on Monday night and made the most of the opportunity. With just over two minutes remaining in the overtime period, Blackwell jammed home his own rebound to win it for Dallas and tie the series at 1–1.
IN HIS STARS PLAYOFF DEBUT, PLAY PANTERA FOR COLIN BLACKWELL!!!! pic.twitter.com/PsxM3OaVrc
— X - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 22, 2025
Those were just three of the six NBA and NHL playoff games on Monday night—and the other three were also fantastic. The Detroit Pistons tied their series against the New York Knicks at 1–1 with a hard-fought 100–94 win. The Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues, 2–1, on a third-period goal by Kyle Connor to go up 2–0. And in the wildest game of the night, the Los Angeles Kings blew a 4–0 lead to the Edmonton Oilers before Phillip Danault’s goal with less than a minute left gave the Kings a chaotic Game 1 win. What a night to be a sports fan.
The best of Sports Illustrated
• Today’s Digital Cover is Bryan Fischer’s profile of Ashton Jeanty, who’s in line to be the new face of the NFL’s running back renaissance.
• With the NFL draft just days away, we’re still coming out with fresh mock drafts. Conor Orr’s projection has the Raiders making a couple of trades.
• Albert Breer spoke with several people around the NFL who don’t think highly of this year’s quarterback class.
• Tom Verducci explains why no one looks good in the drama that engulfed the Braves over the weekend.
• The NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal is still open for a few more hours. Kevin Sweeney breaks down all the latest movement, including how Kentucky has shelled out for a high-priced roster.
• Pat Forde thinks the Nico Iamaleava saga shows the dangers of college athletes chasing a quick buck over thinking about the long-term impact on their career.
• There’s more fallout from the Iamaleava situation, too. UCLA quarterback Joey Aguilar is leaving the school to go to Tennessee, where Iamaleava just left.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. A smooth steal, behind-the-back dribble and dunk by Cade Cunningham.
4. Norm Powell’s clutch three after freezing Nikola Jokić with a jab step.
3. Quinton Byfield’s goal from an impossible angle.
2. Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood’s incredible save to keep his team alive in overtime.
1. Logan O’Connor’s backhand goal while falling to the ice.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | A Night for Vets As Leonard, Ovechkin Key Playoff Victories.
