The Vancouver Canucks pushed the Edmonton Oilers to the brink of elimination, and the New York Rangers booked their ticket to the Eastern Conference final.
Here are five things to know entering Friday’s post-season action:
MILLER TIME
J.T. Miller was the hero Thursday night, scoring with 33 seconds left to give the Canucks a 3-2 win and a 3-2 series lead over the Oilers in their second-round matchup.
Miller’s winner happened two days after Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard scored with 38.1 seconds left on the clock to give the Oilers a 3-2 victory in Game 4.
Canucks forward Phil Di Giuseppe scored Thursday after missing two games for the birth of his son.
Vancouver can advance to the Western Conference final for the first time since its Stanley Cup final run in 2011 with a win in Game 6 Saturday in Edmonton.
FLIPPED A SWITCH
The Carolina Hurricanes looked well on their way to sending their second-round series against the Rangers to Game 7. Then Chris Kreider happened.
With the Rangers trailing 3-1 in the third period, Kreider rattled off three unanswered goals for a natural hat trick to help New York win 5-3 and end the series in six games.
Kreider became the third player in Rangers history to score three times in one playoff period, joining Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky.
The Hurricanes had won two straight after falling into a 3-0 hole in the best-of-seven series.
MILE HIGH STAKES
The Colorado Avalanche need another win tonight to keep their season alive and force a Game 7. Colorado trails the Dallas Stars 3-2 in their second-round series but already staved off elimination once.
Avalanche superstars Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon came alive in a 5-3 Game 5 win in Dallas on Wednesday.
The Stars are trying to reach the Western Conference final for the second straight season. They lost to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Vegas Golden Knights a year ago.
SEEKING REVENGE
The Boston Bruins can get one step closer to exacting revenge over the Florida Panthers tonight.
A year ago the Panthers pulled off a 3-1 comeback in the first round to eliminate the heavily favoured Bruins after their record-setting regular season.
Florida jumped out to a 3-1 lead over Boston in the second round this year but couldn’t close the series out in Game 5 at home Tuesday, falling 2-1.
Now the Bruins will try to force a Game 7 with a victory tonight at T-D Garden.
‘PART OF THE PLAYOFFS’
Bruins captain Brad Marchand said it out loud on Thursday: trying to hurt players on the other team is part of playoff hockey.
Marchand has missed two games after being the victim of a blow to the head from Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 3. Bennett was not penalized and denies that his apparent punch to the head in his collision with Marchand was intentional.
As one of the NHL’s biggest agitators, Marchand said it was difficult to be on the other side of the equation but insisted a play like Bennett’s is part of the game, stating teams gain an advantage by taking their opponents out of action.
The 36-year-old Marchand said he’s hopeful he’ll play in Game 6.
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