Sixth game guaranteed in all four series in NHL’s second round

The second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are heating up. What we know so far is that all four series in the Conference semifinals are going to a sixth game. In the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks are tied at two games apiece, and the series is guaranteed to return to Edmonton on Saturday after they play game five in Vancouver this evening. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars lead the Colorado Avalanche three games to two. In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers lead the Carolina Hurricanes three games to two, and the Florida Panthers lead the Boston Bruins three games to two.

Stayin’ Alive

The biggest story of the second round so far is the fact that the Panthers, Rangers and Stars had the glorious opportunity to close out their series and failed to do so.

In game five of the Rangers/Hurricanes series on Monday, the Hurricanes stayed alive by scoring four third period goals in a 4-1 win over the Rangers. Martin Necas of Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic and Jack Drury of New York, New York had multi-point games as Necas had one goal and one assist for two points and Drury had two assists. The Hurricanes have won the last two games of the series after the Rangers won the first three.

In game five of the Panthers/Bruins series on Tuesday, the Bruins beat the Panthers 2-1 on a game-winning goal by defenseman Charlie McAvoy of Long Beach, New York from Charlie Coyle of East Weymouth, Massachusetts and Trent Frederic of St. Louis, Missouri on an all-American goal at 10:25 of the second period. The goal broke a 1-1 deadlock.

In game four of the Oilers/Canucks series on Tuesday, the Oilers tied the series at two with a 3-2 win over the Canucks. The Oilers heroes were defenseman Evan Bouchard of Oakville, Ontario, who scored the game-winning goal with 39 seconds left in the third period, and Calvin Pickard of Moncton, New Brunswick, who made 19 saves.

In game five of the Avalanche/Stars series on Wednesday, the Avalanche stayed alive and forced a sixth game by beating the Stars 5-3. Cale Makar of Calgary, Alberta scored twice, while Nathan MacKinnon of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Artturri Lehkonen of Piikkio, Finland each had a goal and an assist for two points.