The New York Islanders are moving on to the semifinals after defeating the Boston Bruins in Game Six of their second round playoff series. The Islanders won the round with a 6-2 win Wednesday night, improving to 8-0 in clinching Game Sixes at the Nassau Coliseum. And they did the job with a boisterous live crowd at the Old Barn, a throng that sang and chanted and kept the energy going throughout the Wednesday contest. It may be the end of an era at Nassau, but these Islanders and these fans are making the most of it. Travis Zajac opened the scoring with his first goal of the playoffs, but Bost ..read more

The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to the semifinals after overcoming the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The defending Cup champs won Game Five by a final score of 2-0 on Tuesday. They are the second team to advance to the third round, following the Montreal Canadiens’ sweep of the Winnipeg Jets. The Hurricanes were the top seed in the Central Division, while the Lightning were the third seed. Carolina was eliminated in the first round last season after making it to the conference final in 2019. Tampa’s Brayden Point opened the scoring in the second pe ..read more

The Montreal Canadiens are the North Division champs. The Habs defeated the Winnipeg Jets by a final score of 3-2 in overtime of Game Four, completing the sweep thanks to Tyler Toffoli’s winner. Erik Gustafsson opened the scoring for Montreal on the power play and Artturi Lehkonen made it 2-0 Canadiens going into the middle frame. Then the Jets rallied, with Logan Stanley scoring twice in the second period to tie it up going into the third. After a scoreless final period, the game shifted to overtime and it didn’t take Toffoli long to end the series. The winning goal came at 1:39 into the extr ..read more

The Montreal Canadiens are one game away from sweeping the Winnipeg Jets and earning a berth to the semifinals. They took home a Game Three victory Sunday, winning the contest 5-1 to take a 3-0 series lead. Joel Armia had two goals and an assist for the Canadiens, while Corey Perry, Artturi Lehkonen, and Nick Suzuki also scored. Adam Lowry had the lone goal for the Jets. Winnipeg was fortunate enough to have Paul Stastny back in the lineup after he missed the first two games due to an undisclosed injury. This is the first time the Habs have led a playoff series 3-0 since 2015, when they defeat ..read more

Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele has been suspended four games for his hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans in Game One of their first-round playoff series. The hit took place with the Canadiens leading Game One 4-3. In the final minute of the contest, Evans was circling around the front of the net to tuck in an empty-netter. Scheifele drove into him after skating down the length of the ice. Evans was down and motionless in what was a scary moment, with Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers and a linesman keeping the scrum away from the fallen Hab. Scheifele was issued a major penalty on the p ..read more

The Buffalo Sabres have secured the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft after winning the draft lottery Wednesday. The expansion Seattle Kraken will have the second overall pick, while the Anaheim Ducks will pick third. This will be the fourth number one draft pick in Sabres franchise history and the second in the last three years. “It’s a great moment for our franchise. It’s obviously been a tough year,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said. “We’re very excited, we’re proud to have this selection. It’s a step in the right direction.” Buffalo has been looking for anything to righ ..read more

The Winnipeg Jets will face the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the first post-season meeting of these two clubs. Both overcame the odds to win their respective first round outings. The Jets are coming off a sweep of the Edmonton Oilers. They allowed just eight goals against in four games and confined Connor McDavid to four points. The Canadiens took care of the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. They rallied with straight wins to seal the deal with a 3-1 win Monday. They held Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews to a combined one goal in the serie ..read more

The Montreal Canadiens have defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and are moving on to face the Winnipeg Jets. The Canadiens completed the series comeback with a 3-1 win in Game Seven on Monday. Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring for Montreal three minutes into the second period after a scoreless opening frame. Corey Perry was back with a power play goal over a dozen minutes later and that was all it took to seal the contest – and the series. Tyler Toffoli added an empty net goal late for Montreal and Toronto’s William Nylander ended Canadiens n ..read more

It will be a battle for West Division supremacy as the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The top two seeds in the division will meet in the post-season for the first time in a best-of-seven series. They tangled in the round robin portion of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Golden Knights won 4-3 in overtime. And they met in at Lake Tahoe earlier in 2021 for an outdoor game, a beautiful contest the Avalanche ended up winning despite the bad ice. Colorado enters this second round series coming off an impressive sweep ..read more

The Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning will meet for the first time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when Game One kicks off Sunday. Tampa beat the Florida Panthers in the first round of the postseason. The Hurricanes enter as the top seed in the Central Division. They picked off the fourth-seeded Nashville Predators in six games. Tampa went 4-3-1 against the Hurricanes in the regular season. “The games that we’ve had with them have been pretty intense,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Somewhat similar to what we experienced with Florida. There’s a reason they were almost the Presidents ..read more