The Stanley Cup Playoffs field is down to four teams. The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights are battling in the West, while the Montreal Canadiens face the Carolina Hurricanes in the East.
Eastern Conference Final
After beating the Buffalo Sabres in dramatic fashion, the Canadiens now face the top-seeded Hurricanes. In winning Game 1 of the conference final, Montreal handed Carolina its first loss of the postseason, ending the Canes' bid for a perfect 16-0 run.
Young forward Juraj Slafkovsky was terrific, recording two goals and one assist while 24-year-old Jakob Dobes stood tall between the pipes yet again.
Series Schedule
- Game 1: Canadiens 6, Hurricanes 2
- Game 2: Hurricanes 3, Canadiens 2
- Game 3: Monday, May 25 | at MTL | 8 p.m. | TNT
- Game 4: Wednesday, May 27 | at MTL | 8 p.m. | TNT
- Game 5: Friday, May 29 | at CAR | 8 p.m. | TNT
- Game 6: Sunday, May 31 | at MTL | TBD | TNT
- Game 7: Tuesday, June 2 | at CAR | 8 p.m. | TNT
Western Conference Final
The Colorado Avalanche have been arguably the best team in the league all season, and that has carried over to the playoffs. They swept the Kings out of the first round before knocking out the Wild in the second round, closing out the Minnesota series with an astonishing three-goal comeback in Game 5.
The level of difficulty will ramp up a notch for the Avs, however, as they face the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas has closed out each of its first two opponents — the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks — in six games. To beat the Avalanche, the Golden Knights will have to counter their depth as 17 different Colorado players have scored through just nine games.
Series Schedule
- Game 1: Golden Knights 4, Avalanche 2
- Game 2: Golden Knights 3, Avalanche 1
- Game 3: Sunday, May 24 | at VGK | 8 p.m. | ESPN
- Game 4: Tuesday, May 26 | at VGK | 9 p.m. | ESPN
- Game 5: Thursday, May 28 | at COL | 8 p.m. | ESPN
- Game 6: Saturday, May 30 | at VGK | 8 p.m. | ABC
- Game 7: Monday, June 1 | at COL | 8 p.m. | ESPN