The Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers are set to clash on Wednesday after a two-game slate on Tuesday that saw an overtime and double overtime game.
Here are five things to know entering Wednesday’s post-season action:
ALL-CANADIAN SERIES
Vancouver will host Edmonton for Game 1 of their second-round series.
The all-Canadian series guarantees that a Canadian team will be in the Western Conference finals this season. A Canadian team hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens did so in 1992-93.
Wednesday will mark the first playoff game between Edmonton and Vancouver since 1992, when the Oilers bested the Canucks in a six-game set.
Vancouver was the dominant side in the regular-season series between the two clubs, with the Canucks sweeping the Oilers 4-0.
FAST START
The Boston Bruins got off to a fast start in opening their second-round series against the Florida Panthers on Monday with a 5-1 road win.
Boston was coming off a 2-1 Game 7 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday to advance.
Now the Bruins and Panthers are set to meet again on Wednesday in Florida, with Boston looking to ride its momentum to a 2-0 lead.
BATTLE TO THE END
The Carolina Hurricanes fought tooth and nail to avoid an 0-2 second-round series deficit, yet their efforts fell short.
The New York Rangers made use of their home-ice advantage with a 4-3 double overtime win on Tuesday. Vincent Trocheck scored 7:24 into double overtime to finally put an end to the contest.
Carolina, which made the Eastern Conference finals last season, now faces a must-win scenario in looking to avoid falling three games behind at home when the two teams meet Thursday.
AVALANCHE OF GOALS
Colorado turned the switch on and let the scoring avalanche its way to a Game 1 victory.
Miles Wood capped a run of four unanswered goals with the winner at 11:03 of overtime as the Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday. Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-tying marker 39 seconds into the third period.
It was Colorado’s first game since ousting the Winnipeg Jets in five games in that opening-round series, with Game 5 having been on April 30. Dallas, meanwhile, last played on Sunday with a 2-1 Game 7 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
HART TROPHY FINALISTS
Oilers captain Connor McDavid was named a finalist for this year’s Hart Trophy on Tuesday as he seeks to win the NHL’s most valuable player award for a second straight season.
MacKinnon and Tampa Bay Lightning right-wing Nikita Kucherov are the other finalists as voted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
McDavid, who won his third Hart Trophy last season, finished third in league scoring with 132 points (32 goals, 100 assists) in 76 games. He became the fourth player to record 100 assists in a season, and the first since Wayne Gretzky in 1990-91.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press
