SCHMIDT THE SCORER

Nate Schmidt scored five goals during the 2024-25 season and 52 over his first dozen NHL seasons, but he turned into a goal-scoring machine against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2025 Eastern Conference First Round series. Schmidt joined Hockey Hall of Famer Nick Lidstrom as the second defenseman since 1944 to score the game-winning goal in each of his team’s first two playoff games. “I am feeling that we have a 2-0 lead going home,” Schmidt said. “And somehow, someway, I found a way to score a couple goals in the first part of the series that ended up being difference-makers, which is awesome. I mean, someone told me that it’s something to do with Nick Lidstrom, and that guy’s my idol.”