Four series went to Game 6 on Thursday night as Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs continued.
The Toronto Maple Leafs started off the evening by moving on to the second round thanks to a late strike from Max Pacioretty.
Pacioretty’s goal helped the Leafs eliminate the Ottawa Senators with a 4-2 win and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second time in three years.
Later that night, Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone batted a game-winning goal out of midair to eliminate the Minnesota Wild and send the Golden Knights to the second round.
The Colorado Avalanche forced Game 7 against the Dallas Stars with a 7-4 win, aided by a shocking own goal by the Stars that broke a 4-4 tie with roughly 11 minutes left in the third period.
The Edmonton Oilers ended the night with a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, clinching a series win and eliminating the Kings from the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.
Here’s a look at the top highlights from Thursday, as well as what to expect as Round 1 action continues.
Thursday Results and Remaining Schedule
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Ottawa Senators 2 (TOR wins 4-2)
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (VGK wins 4-2)
Colorado Avalanche 7, Dallas Stars 4 (series tied 3-3)
Edmonton Oilers 6, Los Angeles Kings 4 (EDM wins 4-2)
Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. ET (WPG leads 3-2)
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Ottawa Senators 2
After last season’s first-round elimination by the Boston Bruins, the risk of a potential Game 7 led to a tense Thursday start for the Maple Leafs in Ottawa.
But it was Leafs captain Auston Matthews who eventually opened scoring on a power play late in the first period.
William Nylander then wired a shot past Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark to pad the Leafs’ advantage in the second period.
Brady Tkachuk answered by tipping in a shot from Thomas Chabot to cut the deficit to one midway through the second.
A Senators power play had just expired when David Perron bounced in the tying goal off the back of Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz to tie the game with seven and a half minutes left on the clock.
With the threat of overtime looming, Max Pacioretty put the Leafs back in front by scoring his first goal of the series with just over five minutes remaining in regulation.
Scott Laughton then bounced a potential put-away goal off the post, leading to a frantic last two minutes of 6-on-5 hockey before Nylander battled his way to the empty net.
The Leafs will next have to take on the Florida Panthers in their quest to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2002. The reigning Stanley Cup champions advanced to the second round for the fourth straight year on Wednesday after claiming a 6-3 Game 5 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2
The Golden Knights are through to the second round for the first time since the team’s 2023 Stanley Cup win.
Game 6 started out in Vegas’ favor when Marco Rossi took an early high-sticking double-minor and Shea Theodore made the Wild pay with an opening power play goal.
Ryan Hartman tied things up for the Wild by beating the buzzer for the end of the first period.
Late in the second period, Jack Eichel capitalized on a breakaway to put the Knights back on top.
Kirill Kaprizov took a tripping penalty with eight and a half minutes in regulation. The Wild successfully killed the penalty off, only to watch minutes later as Stone batted in a pass from Brayden McNabb.
Ryan Hartman later jammed a puck past Filip Gustavsson to put the Wild back within one shot of tying the game, but the Golden Knights survived a late empty-net flurry to close out the win and advance.
The Wild loss marked the final game of Marc-Andre Fleury’s NHL career:
The Knights will now take on the winner of the first-round series between the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers. Connor McDavid and the Oilers will look to win a fourth straight game and advance to the second round on Thursday night.
Colorado Avalanche 7, Dallas Stars 4
The Avalanche staved off elimination with a tough performance against the Stars, led by two goals from Valeri Nichushkin.
A redirected shot by Artturi Lehkonen gave Colorado a 2-0 edge, but Dallas stormed back to take a 4-3 lead through two periods following a Mikko Rantanen goal. Rantanen finished with three assists to go along with the goal.
Nichushkin tied the contest once again early in the third period before the Avs took the lead after a crease clearance went wrong and redirected into Dallas’ net.
Colorado kept the Stars from scoring again, and an empty-net goal from Josh Manson put the finishing touches on the victory.
Edmonton Oilers 6, Los Angeles Kings 4
Edmonton’s quest to return to the Stanley Cup Finals continued with yet another series win over Los Angeles.
The Kings initially looked sharp at Rogers Place, taking a 2-1 lead in the first period. It wouldn’t last long, as the Oilers responded by scoring two goals in quick succession to jump out to a 3-2 advantage at the first intermission.
Edmonton extended its lead to 5-2 in the second period with a goal from Trent Frederic.
Los Angeles attempted to climb back and only trailed by one goal with 50 seconds left, but an empty-net goal from Connor Brown sealed the final result.
