The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is really starting to take shape now, as the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers all eliminated their respective opponents on Saturday.
The Oilers got 27 saves from Cam Talbot and goals from Leon Draisaitl, Anton Slepyshev and a Connor McDavid empty-netter to beat the San Jose Sharks by a 3-1 count to win the series four games to two. Edmonton will face the Anaheim Ducks in the next round.
Also coming up with a 4-2 series win were the New York Rangers, who posted a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden. Mats Zuccarello scored twice and Henrik Lundqvist made 27 stops for the Rangers. Up next for the Rangers is the winner of the Ottawa – Boston series.
The St. Louis Blues advanced with a 4-3 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild, who gamely fought back from two-down to send the game to the extra session. Mangus Paajarvi notched the winner off a slick play by Vladimir Sobotka to give St. Louis a 4-1 series win. The Blues will take on the Nashville Predators in the second round.
Ottawa and Washington can both advance with Game 6 road victories today. The Senators will face the Bruins in Boston today at 3 p.m. on NBC. The Capitals visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7 p.m. on NBCSN.
In Florida Panthers news, Sam Brittain made 28 stops for the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) in a 3-2 road loss to the Adirondack Thunder. The Monarchs lead in the series was cut to three games to two. Defenseman Thomas Schemitsch finished the game with a -1 rating. In OHL action, Jonathan Ang and the Peterborough Petes were blanked 3-0 by the Mississauga Steelheads. Mississauga now leads the Conference Final two games to none. Ang registered one shot on goal and finished with an even rating. And finally, Samuel Montembeault made 15 stops as Blainville-Boisbriand evened their QMJHL semifinal series with Charlottetown at a game apiece with a 5-4 road win. Montembeault raised his record in the playoffs to 9-2.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and keep the hockey talk coming.