Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy could draw the attention of NHL Player Safety after being ejected for slashing in Game 6 against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, May 1.
So could the Sabres' Zach Benson, whose dangerous play led to McAvoy's retaliation.
Benson tripped McAvoy with a slew foot, receiving a two-minute penalty. That type of play is dangerous because the recipient of a slew foot is unable to brace himself as he falls.
McAvoy, who has dealt with a broken jaw and lost teeth this season, got up and went after Benson with a baseball-swing slash. He received five minutes and a game misconduct.
Generally, a slew foot leads to a fine rather than a suspension. The slash will be a judgment call based on the perceived severity. Islanders star Mathew Barzal was fined $5,000 for a slash this season.
If McAvoy is suspended, he would serve it next season
The Ducks now know their second round opponent. They'll be heading to Sin City to face the Vegas Golden Knights after dispatching the Edmonton Oilers in six games. The Golden Knights eliminated the Utah Mammoth in six games, winning 5-1 in Game 6 on Friday night.
Anaheim defeated Vegas in all three regular season games, with two of those matchups going to overtime. All three games finished 4-3, too. It was just the second time since Vegas entered the league in 2017 that Anaheim had won the season series.
Like their Round one opponent, the Golden Knights have a wealth of playoff experience on their roster. Many of the players from the 2023 Cup-winning team are still on the roster, led by forwards Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. Eichel's eight points in the first round were tied for the third-most among all skaters.
Jackson LaCombe took on the assignment of matching up against Connor McDavid, one of––if not the––best players in the world, and did it with aplomb. LaCombe also collected nine points in his first Stanley Cup Playoffs series, tied for second among all skaters in the first round. He and Jacob Trouba will likely take on the responsibility of matching up against the top line of Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev. Dorofeyev scored in the final minute of Game 5, tying the game and grabbing his third goal of the game.
Feb 1, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) shoots the puck against Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
The biggest factor in this series will be goaltending. Lukáš Dostál was not at his best for Anaheim, displaying a .874 SV% and a 3.87 GAA. He was chased from Game 5 after allowing three goals on nine shots, but bounced back in Game 6 with 25 saves on 27 shots against. "I feel like I kind of got that day and a half," Dostál said after Game 6. "And that I have the time to recover physically and mentally."
Three different goaltenders started a portion of the regular season for the Golden Knights, with Carter Hart taking the reins in the final stretch. Hart won his last six games of the regular season, but wasn't much better in the first round than Dostál, carrying an .876 SV% through six games.
"We're gonna have a couple of days now, so I think it's gonna be important, physically and mentally," Dostál said. "We're gonna make sure that we're gonna be ready for the next one because it might be a completely different opponent than Edmonton is. That's what's so magical about the playoffs. When you keep advancing, you get to play different teams with different styles."
During the Pittsburgh Penguins' locker cleanout day on Friday, one of their longtime stars addressed some of the uncertainty concerning his future with the organization.
Evgeni Malkin, 40, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and as of now, he does not have a new contract for next season. He and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas plan to meet before Malkin heads home to Russia for the summer, but in the meantime, he addressed the Pittsburgh media Friday for what could be his final time in a Penguins' uniform.
Malkin - drafted second overall in 2004 - has spent all 20 of his NHL seasons with the Penguins, and, for the first time, there seems to be some uncertainty about his future in Pittsburgh. With the direction the Penguins are headed in terms of getting younger - and him turning 40 this summer - it remains unclear whether or not Dubas will re-sign Malkin, who has amassed 533 goals and 1,407 points in his NHL career and was above point-per-game for the first time in three years this season.
Even if Dubas and the Penguins have not yet come to a decision regarding Malkin, it's clear what Malkin wants, as it has been for a long time and after 20 years of playing with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.
"Now I want more, you know?" Malkin said. "It's different emotion when you play playoffs. Fans are crazy. First game against Philly, in warmup, it's probably, like, 18,000 already here. Again, yeah, I want to play again, for sure. It’s special two guys for me. Love to play together. And yeah, we're not happy we lost, but we try to fight every game. But sometimes, you're losing.
"But again, these are two special guys. I hope we play together one more year. But if not, I have great 20 years together. And never forget."
Malkin also made it clear that he wants to remain in Pittsburgh - and would accept a role change if he stays - but he would be willing to sign elsewhere if Dubas and the Penguins decide to go in a different direction.
"It's fine if I start wing next year. It’s coach wants me, and I help second line to play wing, it's fine. Nothing changes (for) me like crazy. Just, like, a little bit," Malkin said. "But I think it worked this year. I play not bad. I think it's play with Tommy [Tommy Novak] and Chinny [Egor Chinakhov]. But we see what coach wants (from) me. And it's always, like, you talk to individual, like with coach, and he tell you what role he wants to see (from you on) team. But for me, it's not been a problem."
He added: "I mean, I want to play NHL, for sure. But again, I know it's not easy for Kyle. Maybe he wants new blood here. I understand it's business, and I understand he wants maybe new team, see new faces here. But for me, I want to play one more year in the NHL. I'm not looking back to KHL, play in Russia.
Because the Buffalo Sabres managed to finally return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011, it ended what was the longest active postseason drought in the NHL.
Unfortunately, it means that the Detroit Red Wings, who haven't qualified since 2016, now own that distinction.
Adding insult to injury for the current Red Wings is that so many players, some of whom played in Detroit as recently as this and last season, have played key roles in their new respective club's playoff success.
Not only did Vladimir Tarasenko, who managed just 11 goals with the Red Wings last season, more than double his total this year with the Minnesota Wild and help them secure their first playoff series win in 11 years, but another former Red Wing has also helped his new club advance for the first time in nearly twice as long.
Goaltender Alex Lyon, now with the Sabres after playing two seasons in Detroit, made 25 saves to help Buffalo clinch their playoff series over the Boston Bruins. In doing so, the Sabres are on to the second round for the first time since 2007.
Lyon was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Red Wings in 2023 after he'd served as the backup to Sergei Bobrovsky during what would be their first of three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final. During his time with the Red Wings, Lyon went 35-27-6 with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Following Detroit's acquisition of John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks last offseason, and with Cam Talbot still under contract for another year, Lyon was deemed expendable.
He joined the Sabres, signing a two-year, $3 million contract with a $1.5 million cap hit.
And so far, the move has paid off in spades for the Sabres.
Lyon overtook former Sabres (and Red Wings) goaltender Dominik Hasek in the club record books for most consecutive victories, and is now the first Sabres goaltender since former Michigan State Spartan Ryan Miller 19 years ago to win a playoff series.
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MONTREAL (AP) — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:02 overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series.
Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov’s penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.
Game 7 is Sunday in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series also went to overtime.
SABRES 4, BRUINS 1
BOSTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and Buffalo beat Boston in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Josh Norris added an empty-netter. Alex Lyon finished with 25 saves.
The 4-2 series victory is the latest milestone for Buffalo, which saw the end of its 14-year playoff drought by capturing its first Atlantic Division title. The 2007 season was also the last time the Sabres advanced to the second round. They lost in the conference finals that year.
David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 22 stops.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, MAMMOTH 1
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mitch Marner had two goals and an assist, Carter Hart made 21 saves and Vegas beat Utah Mammoth in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series.
Vegas will face Anaheim in the second round. The Ducks advanced Thursday night with a 5-2 home victory over Edmonton in Game 6.
Vegas has surged since John Tortorella took over as coach from the fired Bruce Cassidy, closing the regular season 7-0-1 after the change.
Marner had two goals and five assists in the series.
Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves for Utah. The Mammoth led in the third period in each of the first five games.
BOSTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Friday night in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Josh Norris added an empty-netter. Alex Lyon finished with 25 saves.
The 4-2 series victory is the latest milestone for Buffalo, which saw the end of its 14-year playoff drought by capturing its first Atlantic Division title. The 2007 season was also the last time the Sabres advanced to the second round. They lost in the conference finals that year.
Buffalo will play the winner if the Montreal-Tampa Bay series in the second round. That series will go to seven games after the Lightning’s 1-0 overtime win Friday night in Montreal.
David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman made 22 stops.
Tempers flared with 1:31 to play after Benson tripped Charlie McAvoy. McAvoy responded with a slash at Benson. Both were sent to the penalty box.
It ends a feisty series comeback for the Bruins after earning a playoff berth in their first season under coach Marco Sturm. Boston has lost its last six home playoff games.
MONTREAL — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:02 overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series.
Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov’s penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.
Game 7 is Sunday in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series also went to overtime.
The game was the second in three days to go to overtime scoreless, with Philadelphia beating Pittsburgh 1-0 on Wednesday night to end that series in six games. Before the season, the last 0-0 playoff game in regulation was in 2021.
Dobes and the Canadiens survived a flurry of shots on a late power play. The Lightning got the man advantage after Ivan Demidov broke in on Vasilevskiy, failed to score and was called for goalie interference.
Late in the second — with the Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous off for slashing Phillip Danault — Vasilevskiy stopped Demidov twice from close range.
Tampa Bay had a power-play chance early in the third after Kaiden Guhle was called for slashing Jake Guentzel. On the Lightning’s best chance, Nikita Kucherov fired a shot off the post.
Montreal had only one shot on goal on a power play to start the second period with Guentzel off for high-sticking Guhle with 11 seconds left in the first.
Danault kept it scoreless a few minutes later when he swept the puck away before it could cross the goal line. Montreal then killed Alexandre Texier’s high-sticking penalty.
Three former Vancouver Canucks had their dreams of lifting the 2026 Stanley Cup come to a close. On Friday, the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1, which secured a series win for Vancouver's expansion cousin. The victory was Buffalo's first series win since 2006-07, when they went to the Conference Final.
The three players on the Bruins with ties to Canucks are Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm and Lukas Reichel. Zadorov and Lindholm both left Vancouver as free agents during the 2024 off-season, while Reichel was traded at the 2026 trade deadline. Of the three, Lindholm led the way with two goals, while Zadorov finished the series with one assist.
There are also two players on the Sabres' roster with ties to Vancouver. Luke Schenn and Tanner Pearson were among the scratches for Game 6. Neither played a game in the series.
Jan 26, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Boston Bruins center Elias Lindholm (28) skates against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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Dylan Holloway got his money on Friday. Signing a sizeable contract extension with the St. Louis Blues, the former 14th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2020, is going to earn a hefty paycheck over the next five seasons.
Holloway left Edmonton via offer sheet in August 2024 alongside defenseman Philip Broberg. The Oilers elected not to match the deals, a move that didn't sit well with several Oilers fans.
Just starting to come into his own as an NHLer, Holloway, an Alberta native, later revealed that contract negotiations with Edmonton “rubbed me the wrong way.” He felt there was a lack of respect during the process and felt unwanted, given that his choice would have been to remain with the club that drafted him.
In St. Louis, Holloway has flourished. He posted career-high numbers and said in a recent interview he would love to get an extension done and stay with the Blues. He was confident the two sides could find a way to make things work, and he was right. The Blues gave him five years by $7.75 million per season.
For Oilers fans, the signing brings some hard feelings. One day after being eliminated from the 2025-26 playoffs, several fans are looking for reasons the Oilers seemed so disjointed this year. A player like Holloway on the roster certainly would have helped.
Many view the loss of the promising young winger for only mid-round draft picks as a missed opportunity. The Blues seized their opportunity to get that deal done.
While some see the hefty new contract as a potential risk if his production plateaus or he continues to have injury issues, it's a solid bet if Holloway can remain in the lineup.
The NHL Coach of the Year finalists were announced on Friday.
Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dan Muse of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres are the three men who are up for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the head coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.
There was no shortage of analysts who believed that Ottawa's Travis Green should get some love for the award, and for the record, playoff performance has no bearing on the voting.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss what happened to the Senators in their first round elimination.
The award is voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association at the end of the regular season, so the Senators' disappointing sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes had no bearing on anything.
Green surely got some votes after leading the Senators into the postseason with a 21-6-3 finish to the season, all while dealing with a rough first half, shaky goaltending, off-ice drama and one injury after another down the stretch, especially on his blue line.
The 55-year-old Creston, B.C. native consistently urged the Senators to ignore those outside distractions, which he billed as white noise, and to stick to the process, whether they win or lose. There was nothing particularly innovative about his message. The impressive part was Green being able to get what appeared to be complete buy-in from his players.
Green was probably never going to beat out Cooper, who, remarkably, has never won the award, or Ruff, who helped snap the Sabres' NHL record playoff drought by winning the Division.
But Muse, the rookie head coach of the Penguins, actually finished one point behind Green's Senators. Jack has a soft spot for rookies, though. Muse is the 19th first-year head coach to be voted as a Jack Adams Award finalist.
Only two Senators head coaches have ever won the award. Paul MacLean in 2012–13 and Jacques Martin in 1998-99. Green won't join them this year, but still deserves a ton of credit for keeping Ottawa's weird season on the rails.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
There was no shortage of great moments for the Detroit Red Wings during their run to the 2008 Stanley Cup, the franchise's 11th in club history and their most recent title to date.
Along the way, the player that Steve Yzerman affectionately referred to as "Mule" during his first NHL Training Camp in 2005 emerged as a bona fide playoff assassin.
Forward Johan Franzen, who had broken out offensively in the second half of the 2007-08 regular season with a whopping 14 goals in March, continued his scoring prowess in Detroit's opening round playoff series win over the Nashville Predators.
Not only did he open the scoring in the series, but would later score the overtime game-winning goal in Game 5, giving Detroit a three-games-to-two series advantage that they'd eventually cap off with a win in Game 6.
Moving on to face the Colorado Avalanche for the first time since 2002, Franzen took the series by force.
Not only did the Detroit Red Wings sweep the Colorado Avalanche, but Johan Franzen himself managed to outscore the entire Avalanche roster over the four games, lighting the lamp nine times.
He recorded two hat tricks, one in Game 2 and another in Game 4, the latter coming in an 8–2 win in Denver to complete the sweep.
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In their first playoff series since 2018, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and earned their first series win since 2017, when they ironically defeated the Oilers.
The Ducks have an entirely different roster than that team from nine years ago. In 2017, their core consisted of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, etc., who were taking their final kicks at the can together. The new core, which consists of Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, etc., is on the completely opposite trajectory.
At the beginning of the season, the 2025-26 Ducks set their seemingly lofty goal to make the playoffs and potentially make some noise once there. Well, they made the playoffs, and they made noise, eliminating the defending back-to-back Western Conference Champions, who employ (potentially) the two best hockey players on the planet, in six games.
Very few picked the Ducks to win the series, so here are three primary keys to the Ducks’ success in their opening round victory:
Author’s note: These are keys from the Ducks’ perspective. The Oilers had injuries to impact players like Leon Draisaitl (missed 14 games heading into the playoffs, lower body), Connor McDavid (appeared to have sustained an injury to his right leg/ankle in Game 2), Jason Dickinson (missed three games heading into the playoffs and missed games 2 and 3 of this series, lower body), and Adam Henrique (exited game 1, lower body), which were potentially their most significant factor in losing this series to Anaheim.
Jackson LaCombe
If the Conn Smythe were to be awarded after the first round, a relatively easy case could be made for Anaheim’s star defenseman Jackson LaCombe. As of Friday morning, he’s tied for second among all players in scoring with nine points (1-8=9) in six games and leads all defensemen. At 5v5, he played 138:24 TOI, and in those minutes, the Ducks accounted for 64.06% of the shots on goal, 60.81% of the shot attempts, and 65.63% of the expected goals.
More impressively, he was hard-matched against Connor McDavid as much as Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville could manage. When LaCombe was on the ice against McDavid (66:09) at 5v5, the Ducks won the shots on goal battle 42-19, the shot attempt battle 78-50, accounted for 67.3% of the expected goals, and outscored the Oilers 6-2.
LaCombe, forever calm and poised, defended rushes all series perfectly, dictated tempo, was efficient on breakouts, active along the blueline, and joined as many rushes as he could to generate offense for Anaheim. He broke out in the 2024-25 season, continued to turn heads during the 2025-26 season, and has now put the hockey world on notice, playing his best when it matters most.
“This guy (pointing to LaCombe) is really good,” Ducks forward Troy Terry said after Game 6 when asked about defeating McDavid. “That team had been to two cup finals, and we have a lot of respect for him and those players. He really is that good, and to watch the task that this guy and (Jacob) Trouba had. These guys were on him most of the time, but collectively, we all had to play him and we were all aware of it.”
Special Teams
In the 2025-26 regular season, the Ducks held the 23rd-ranked power play (18.6%) in the NHL and the 27th-ranked penalty kill (76.4%). The Oilers were the NHL’s top power play team (30.6%) and had the 20th-ranked penalty kill (77.8%). Logic would have suggested the Oilers had the advantage should the series be decided by special teams.
The Ducks were one of the NHL’s most penalized teams in the regular season, racking up 814 penalty minutes (6th in NHL). They flipped the script in the first round of the playoffs and averaged just 6.5 PIMs/Game, the lowest rate of any team in the first round. They didn’t kill at a spectacular rate in the playoffs (71.4%), but only allowing four power play goals to the Edmonton Oilers is a feat not to be ignored.
The deciding factor on special teams through the series was the Ducks’ power play. The Ducks converted on eight of their 16 opportunities with the man-advantage and deployed two equally potent units capable of scoring in a variety of ways. Ducks assistant coach Jay Woodcroft, former Oilers head coach, found the puzzle pieces he liked together on each unit and crafted several ways for each unit to execute clever in-zone sequences to generate optimal chances.
One of Woodcroft’s units featured John Carlson at the top of the umbrella and accounted for five power play goals, while the other featured Jackson LaCombe and accounted for three (all from Cutter Gauthier).
“The best part about it was that in the whole series, we didn’t take that many penalties,” Quenneville said. “That was one of the things that we had to do in order to have some success. As infrequent as they were on the power play, their top guys are going to have some confidence, and they can generate stuff off of that, and then everybody helps their team. That was a point of emphasis, and the guys did a good job of that.”
Joel Quenneville’s Adjustments (Tactical and Personnel)
This series was a six-game chess match between head coaches Joel Quenneville and Kris Knoblauch, along with their respective staffs. They each took turns adjusting and counteradjusting to personnel and tactical tweaks made by the other.
After losing Game 1 in Edmonton, Quenneville seemed to be deploying the exact same lineup for Game 2, but at the apparent last second, and keeping his cards close to the chest, he swapped his third and first-line left wingers, offering his club new looks and forcing his opponent to counter on the fly. He did the same thing between Games 5 and 6 in an attempt to disrupt any potential game plan Knoblauch had prepared.
Tactically, this series took on many forms despite high goal totals in every game. Edmonton took advantage of Anaheim’s wide eyes early in game one, controlling cycles and connecting plays at high speeds. From the first puck drop, Anaheim’s focus when it came to defending McDavid was to match him up against LaCombe when possible and hound him with backchecking pressure, creating a five-man unit with waves of defenders, and they were careful to keep a high F3 when 97 was on the ice.
Knoblauch tweaked his approach to a more streamlined, north-south game after Game 2, as the Oilers were turning a high number of pucks over in neutral ice when trying to manufacture connecting sequences. Ducks defenders were up to the task, evading heavy F1s and had supporting forwards low to help in precarious situations.
Ultimately, the Ducks and their coaching staff were able to draw the Oilers into playing their brand of hockey, trading chances, forcing neutral zone turnovers, and turning said turnovers into quick-strike offense.
“Jay (Woodcroft) was great. I think our coaching staff is outstanding. Gilly (Ryan McGill) with the penalty kill was outstanding as well,” Quenneville said after Game 6.
Quenneville and Co. will have a brand new set of challenges facing them in the second round, and a new chess match will present itself, whether they’ll face the Utah Mammoth or the Vegas Golden Knights. This series proved one thing: this coaching staff has the ability to manipulate their opponent to optimize the Ducks’ chances at advancing.
The Carolina Hurricanes host the Philadelphia Flyers to begin Round 2 at Lenovo Arena on Saturday, May 2.
My top Flyers vs. Hurricanes predictions and NHL picks expect Carolina to make it five consecutive postseason wins and grab a 1-0 series lead over Philadelphia.
Flyers vs Hurricanes Game 1 prediction
Flyers vs Hurricanes best bet: Hurricanes moneyline (-205)
The Philadelphia Flyers lost the five-on-five battle with a 41.8 Corsi For percentage and 46.2 expected goals percentage in Round 1, and that won’t fly against the Carolina Hurricanes.
It’s as simple as that because the Hurricanes paced the NHL in CF% while ranking second in xGF% during the regular season, and they were on the right side of both metrics in the opening round while never trailing during their four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators.
Of course, Carolina also received top-tier goaltending from Frederik Andersen to the tune of a .963 save percentage with 1.67 goals saved above average per 60 minutes.
Philly having to play two extra Round 1 games will take a toll during this losing effort, too.
Flyers vs Hurricanes Game 1 goal scorer pick
Andrei Svechnikov (+190)
Carolina winger Andrei Svechnikov was dangerous throughout Round 1 and finished with a team-high 2.38 individual goals and 19 scoring chances without finding the back of the net. He scored eight times across 15 games last spring in the playoffs, and the go-to Russian projects to remain on the top line and No. 1 power-play unit.
The Carolina Hurricanes have beaten the Philadelphia Flyers in eight of their past 10 games. Find more NHL betting trends for Flyers vs. Hurricanes.
How to watch Flyers vs Hurricanes Game 1
Location
Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
Date
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Puck drop
8:00 p.m. ET
TV
ABC
Flyers vs Hurricanes latest injuries
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According to NHL 26, the Colorado Avalanche will defeat the Minnesota Wild to advance to the Western Conference Final.
After correctly forecasting a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, the simulation turns its attention to the Minnesota Wild, where Colorado once again follows a script that feels increasingly difficult to dismiss as coincidence.
What unfolded over five games was not just an Avalanche series win, but a gradual tightening of control. Minnesota had answers at times, even a brief surge in Game 3, but Colorado’s depth, pace, and star-driven execution consistently tilted the series back in their direction.
Nathan MacKinnon set the tone early. Valeri Nichushkin punished every seam of space he was given. Ross Colton emerged as a reliable secondary finisher. And Scott Wedgewood provided steady, timely goaltending behind an offense that rarely stopped pushing.
Even when Minnesota responded — most notably through Matt Boldy’s standout performances — Colorado never truly surrendered control of the series’ rhythm.
Game 1: Avalanche 5, Wild 3
Ross Colton scored twice for Colorado, while Valeri Nichushkin, Nazem Kadri, and Martin Necas also found the back of the net. Cale Makar recorded three assists, and Nick Blankenburg added two helpers.
For Minnesota, Matt Boldy scored twice, while Brock Faber finished with two assists.
Valeri Nichushkin was penalized for interference midway through the first period, but Colorado turned the momentum instantly. Martin Necas exploded through the neutral zone on a shorthanded rush, beat every Wild defender, and snapped a wrister over Jesper Wallstedt’s glove for a 1-0 lead.
Colorado doubled the advantage late in the period when Gabe Landeskog won a puck race after a dump-in and fed Nazem Kadri for a booming one-timer from the left circle.
Minnesota answered before intermission as Matt Boldy finished a dazzling breakaway move to cut it to 2-1.
The Wild tied the game at 7:30 of the second when Yakov Trenin buried a loose puck during a chaotic scramble in front of Scott Wedgewood.
Colorado’s depth quickly responded.
Nichushkin set up Ross Colton to restore the lead, then buried one himself after Necas created another rush chance to make it 4-2.
But Minnesota stayed alive when Boldy struck again with 31 seconds left in the second after another defensive breakdown made it 4-3.
The third period stayed tense until Colton iced it with an empty-net goal in the final 30 seconds.
Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves in the win, while Wallstedt stopped 23 shots.
Series: Avalanche lead 1-0
Game 2: Avalanche 7, Wild 3
Brock Nelson led the charge with two goals and an assist as Colorado overwhelmed Minnesota to grab a 2-0 series lead.
Gabe Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, and Ross Colton each had a goal and an assist. Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas also scored, while Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves.
For Minnesota, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, and Kirill Kaprizov scored. Jesper Wallstedt made 35 saves under heavy pressure.
Colorado struck early just 1:12 in when Nathan MacKinnon capitalized on a turnover and buried the opening goal.
On a 5-on-3 power play, Brock Nelson made it 2-0 only minutes later.
Kaprizov responded on a 2-on-1 chance to cut it to 2-1, but Colorado quickly regained control.
Landeskog restored the cushion after a Wallstedt misplay, and Necas added a rebound goal to make it 4-1.
Minnesota briefly fought back with goals from Zuccarello and Hartman, but Colorado exploded late with Kadri, Colton, and Nelson all finishing to seal a dominant 7-3 win.
Series: Avalanche lead 2-0
Game 3: Wild 3, Avalanche 2
Minnesota finally answered behind a massive night from Matt Boldy.
Boldy scored twice, Jared Spurgeon added a goal, and Jesper Wallstedt made 24 saves in a tight 3-2 win.
Martin Necas and Jack Drury scored for Colorado, while Scott Wedgewood made 19 stops.
Colorado opened the scoring just 30 seconds in when MacKinnon found Necas at the doorstep.
Spurgeon tied it with a point shot through traffic, and Drury restored Colorado’s lead later in the first.
But Boldy struck late in the frame to tie it 2-2, then delivered the game-winner in the third period to cut the series deficit.
Series: Avalanche lead 2-1
Game 4: Avalanche 4, Wild 1
Colorado responded with authority on the road.
Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, Logan O’Connor, and Valeri Nichushkin scored, while Scott Wedgewood made 23 saves.
Nick Foligno scored Minnesota’s lone goal, and Jesper Wallstedt stopped 25 shots.
Kadri opened the scoring at 4:22, and O’Connor followed quickly after winning a dump-in battle and finishing through traffic.
Minnesota answered through Marcus and Nick Foligno, but that was it.
Nichushkin restored control in the third with a rebound finish, and Nelson added the final dagger late.
Series: Avalanche lead 3-1
Game 5: Avalanche 3, Wild 2
The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 at Ball Arena to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Nathan MacKinnon, Ross Colton, and Valeri Nichushkin scored for the Avalanche, while Scott Wedgewood came up with 25 saves.
Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek scored for the Wild, and Jesper Wallstedt made 20 saves in defeat.
MacKinnon opened the scoring at 2:49 of the first period on the power play after Brock Nelson’s rebound attempt sat loose in the crease.
Minnesota attempted to respond with sustained pressure, but Colorado’s structure held firm early, forcing the Wild to the perimeter and limiting clean looks.
At 6:58, Valeri Nichushkin doubled the lead in emphatic fashion.
Ross Colton carried the puck through the neutral zone under heavy contact, absorbed a hit along the boards, and still managed to slide a perfectly timed drop pass into space. Nichushkin was left alone in the slot and hammered a one-timer past Wallstedt to make it 2-0.
Colton then extended the lead to 3-0 early in the second period after winning a battle along the boards and driving directly to the net, finishing through traffic.
Minnesota finally broke through in the third when Kaprizov beat Wedgewood with a sharp wrister to make it 3-1.
Moments later, Joel Eriksson Ek pulled the Wild within one after a turnover in Colorado’s zone led to a quick finish.
But Colorado shut the door down the stretch, defending cleanly and managing the final minutes with control.
The Avalanche closed it out 3-2 and eliminated Minnesota in five games.
Series: Avalanche win 4-1
For now, we'll have to wait and see what happens and when this series will actually begin.
