NHL News

The NHL announced the finalists Tuesday for the award, which is presented "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition."

Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, led or co-led all rookies in goals (22), assists (39) and points (61) despite missing 14 games due to injuries. He is looking to become the 10th Blackhawks player to win the award and the first since Artemi Panarin in 2015-16.

Faber, the 45th selection in the 2020 draft, scored 47 points (eight goals, 39 assists) and played all 82 games while leading all rookies in average ice time (24:58) and blocked shots (150). The only previous Wild finalist for the award was Kirill Kaprizov, who won it in 2020-21.

Hughes, the No. 4 overall pick in 2021, also scored 47 points (nine goals, 38 assists) and played all 82 games while topping all rookies in power-play assists (21) and power-play points (25). Previous Calder Trophy winners for the Devils were Scott Gomez (1999-2000) and Martin Brodeur (1993-94).

Hughes' brother, Quinn, finished second in the 2019-20 Calder voting, making them the first siblings in NHL history to be voted finalists for the award.

Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Evgenni Dadonov also scored for top-seeded Dallas which evened the best-of-seven series with its second straight road win. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Dallas.

Jack Eichel and Michael Amadio scored for Vegas and Logan Thompson finished with 28 saves.

Vegas took a 1-0 lead at the 14:25 mark of the first period when Amadio, a healthy scratch for the first three games of the series, tapped in his own rebound.

Dallas tied it a few minutes later when Dadonov banked a shot in off Thompson's mask for his first goal of the playoffs.

The Golden Knights regained the lead at 2-1 early in the second period when Eichel tapped in a rebound of a Jonathan Marchessault shot that caromed to him off the post for his third goal of the playoffs.

Dallas tied it midway through the period on a power-play tally by Johnston, who fired in a wrist shot from the low shot for his third goal.

The Stars took their first lead at 3-2 with 1:26 left in period when Craig Smith's shot from right side of the net hit Dellandria, stationed by the left post, in the shoulder and caromed into the net for his first goal of the playoffs.

Vegas pulled Thompson for an extra attacker with 1:50 to go, and Hintz, moments after making a big block, made it 4-2 with an empty-netter with 1:22 left.

Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter picked up a hooking penalty with 50.7 seconds to play. The Golden Knights pulled Thompson again for a six-on-four power play but couldn't manage a shot on goal. Chris Tanev blocked three shots and Eichel and Chandler Stephenson fired shots wide of the goal.

After two prior series defeats, this is the first time the Panthers have beaten the Lightning in a playoff round.

The Panthers await the winner of the Boston Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs series. The Bruins lead the series 3-1 with Game 5 set for Tuesday night in Boston.

Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, who earlier in the day was named one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie, made 31 saves.

Evan Rodrigues and Niko Mikkola, who added an assist, also scored for the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk chipped in with two assists.

Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning, who got 33 saves from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Tampa Bay appeared to open the scoring with seven minutes left in the first period as Anthony Cirelli knocked in a rebound. But Florida coach Paul Maurice challenged the call, and the goal was disallowed due to goalie interference by former Panthers forward Anthony Duclair.

The teams were playing four-on-four when the first legitimate goal occurred. Verhaeghe followed his own shot and scored with just 45 seconds elapsed in the second period.

Verhaeghe's first shot, from the high slot off a pass from Barkov, produced a long rebound. Verhaeghe then beat three Lightning players to the puck.

With 11:22 gone in the second, Panthers forward Anton Lundell was penalized for a high-sticking penalty on Steven Stamkos.

But with 44 seconds left on Tampa Bay's ensuing power play, Florida scored shorthanded as Vasilevskiy couldn't grab Aaron Ekblad's shot from the point.

The puck went off Vasilevskiy's glove and Barkov pounced for a rebound goal that made it 2-0.

Tampa Bay, though, scored 15 seconds after its power play elapsed as the Lightning denied a Panthers clearing attempt. Instead, Hedman's high blast went in over Bobrovsky's glove. A few seconds earlier, Bobrovsky had spun completely around to stop a Stamkos shot.

With 2:12 left in the second, the Lightning appeared to tie the score on Mikhail Sergachev's shot. But the referees disallowed the goal due to goalie interference on Cirelli.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper challenged the call and lost.

Florida poured it on in the third with goals from Barkov (rebound with 9:54 left); Rodrigues (one-timer off the rush, 5:44); Verhaeghe (empty-netter, 3:57); and Mikkola (empty-netter, 1:19).

After suffering a stunning 4-3 overtime loss in a game they led 3-1 with three minutes remaining in regulation, the Predators have the opportunity to show their mettle.

"It's an Etch a Sketch, goldfish kind of mentality," coach Andrew Brunette said Monday. "We had to win a game (in Vancouver) regardless. So just go win one. And everything, all the focus, all the effort is just about (Tuesday) night. It doesn't matter how you got here. This is playoff hockey. Things happen fast, things change fast, and let's change the narrative."

The Predators, who reached the Stanley Cup playoffs as the conference's first wild-card team, may be down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, but they have been every bit as good as the Canucks. Certainly, a Game 4 victory was in their grasp and could have been sealed had forward Colton Sissons not hit the post with the net empty and the Predators holding a 3-2 edge.

"It's hard not to like a lot of parts of our game, but at the same time, we've got to find ways to close it out and find ways to win games," defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "We talked about our desperation level after Game 1 and proved that we can get that in Game 2 (a 4-1 victory). We have that to lean on here and that's what we've got to do, is focus on winning one game."

"We've played really good hockey in all four games and didn't get rewarded maybe as much as we would've liked," Brunette added. "But that doesn't change the mentality of the group."

The Canucks, who won the Pacific Division regular-season title, are looking to win a playoff series for the first time since 2020.

As improbable as Sunday's victory went, they return home with all the momentum and plenty of motivation to close out the pesky Predators.

"There's been times this year where we've shown a lot of character," said forward Brock Boeser, whose hat-trick goal forced overtime. "I think that's prepared us for this moment. I think the message is you can't give up until the final horn, and we didn't give up there. We continued to battle back and we felt that momentum shift once we tied it up. We were feeling really good going into overtime."

Funny enough, the Canucks are not exactly believing they are on top of their game. While they took both games in Nashville, their 2-1 victory in Game 3 was won by clinging to a narrow lead and the Game 4 comeback came on a late outburst after generating very few scoring chances through 55 minutes.

"We're all knowing that so far we haven't played our best," said Elias Lindholm, who scored the overtime winner. "There's been a couple of periods here and there where we've played pretty good, but overall, we haven't been nearly as good as we can. I think (Sunday) was showing a lot of character on the team -- coming back like that the way we did -- and, hopefully, we can build off that."

There was no word Monday whether second-string goaltender Casey DeSmith will be given the green light to return to action. With No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko on the shelf due to injury, Arturs Silovs made 27 saves in his playoff debut on Sunday.

Just as they did last season against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Jets won their playoff opener against the Avalanche but have dropped three straight to put them in a 3-1 hole in the best-of-seven series.

Winnipeg couldn't extend the series beyond Game 5 last season against Vegas, and the Golden Knights went on to win the Stanley Cup.

"Completely different teams on both sides of the coin," Jets forward Mark Scheifele said. "We had a good regular season against (the Avalanche) and they made adjustments and we haven't. We've got to bring a different game come Tuesday. We've got to fix some things. We've got to change some things up."

Winnipeg had won nine in a row before losing Game 2 on April 23.

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck was second in the NHL during the regular season with a .921 save percentage and fourth with a 2.39 goals-against average, but he has given up 19 goals in the first four games of the series for an .870 save percentage and a 5.22 GAA.

"I don't think those goals are his fault," Scheifele said. "He's our backbone. He's our heart and soul."

Hellebuyck was replaced by Laurent Brossoit at the start of the third period of Game 4, but Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said that was simply to give him a break.

"There's just too much time having to make save after save," Bowness said of Hellebuyck, who was named a Vezina Trophy finalist on Monday. "It's not on him whatsoever. It's on the players in front of him."

Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev allowed seven goals in the Game 1 loss but has rebounded to limit the Jets to five goals in the past three games.

Avalanche forwards Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen also continue to sizzle.

Nichushkin had a hat trick in the 5-1 win in Game 4 to give him six goals in the series.

Lehkonen has also scored in all four games, totaling four goals and three assists.

"If you really watch and dissect video and look at how many plays Lehky makes on any given night on the offensive side, on the defensive side, he doesn't get anywhere near enough credit for what he does for our team," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "This guy's a relentless worker, this guy's a warrior."

Colorado played without third-line center Joel Kiviranta (lower-body injury) in Game 4. He is day-to-day.

Despite not practicing with the Avalanche, right winger Nikolai Kovalenko made his NHL debut in place of Kiviranta and the 24-year-old contributed four hits in 7:17 of ice time.

"He's not scared of the moment," Bednar said.

Winnipeg forward Vladislav Namestnikov, who sustained a fractured cheekbone when he was hit by a deflected shot from teammate Nate Schmidt in Game 4, hasn't been ruled out for Game 5. Bowness told reporters on Monday that Namestikov was feeling better.

The Jets were already without top defenseman Brenden Dillon, who sustained a left hand injury during a scrum that followed the 6-2 loss in Game 3 on Friday. Bowness said on Monday that Dillon won't play in Game 5.

The Hurricanes lead the series 3-1. New York star Mathew Barzal ensured his team lived to fight another day on Saturday when he tipped in Robert Bortuzzo's shot in double overtime of Game 4 to give the Islanders their first win of the series.

"There's obviously a hill to climb," Barzal said. "We dug ourselves a pretty deep hole. But the hole got a little smaller after the last game and as long as you have belief and passion anything can happen, anything is possible.

"So we definitely believe in this locker room. A little bit of it, too, is everyone loves each other. And we don't want things to end."

One reason for that belief has been the play of goalie Semyon Varlamov. The 36-year-old has started three of the four games. He didn't start Game 3 but came in in relief of Ilya Sorokin.

Varlamov made 42 saves in the win Saturday. He has a 2.08 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in the series.

"I mean, he's big in the net and he's playing with so much confidence right now and brings confidence to our guys as well," coach Patrick Roy said. "Seeing him make those saves, it brings some security to the group, and I think that helps a lot."

Matt Martin will miss a second straight game with a lower-body injury. As of Monday, Roy hadn't decided who would replace the forward in the lineup. Ruslan Iskhakov drew in on Saturday, but at practice Monday, it was Simon Holmstrom skating at left wing with Kyle MacLean and Cal Clutterbuck.

Though the Hurricanes are just one win away from advancing to the second round, they know there is more for them to give, especially at 5-on-5. Carolina and New York are tied in 5-on-5 goals through the series thus far, with each scoring six.

While the Hurricanes have held the advantage in high-danger chances (43-37, per Natural Stat Trick), they haven't been able to capitalize nearly often enough.

"It's just small things, really," forward Teuvo Teravainen said. "Play our style, play it the right way. Make them turn the puck over and crash the net a little more. It's pretty easy. Simple answer. Just have to do it."

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour tweaked all but one of his lines.

The top line of Sebastian Aho between Jake Guentzel and Andrei Svechnikov remained intact. Jordan Staal found himself between scoring wingers Teravainen and Seth Jarvis, Jack Drury had Jordan Martinook and Martin Necas on his wings and Jesperi Kotkaniemi dropped to the fourth line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Stefan Noesen.

Brind'Amour said not to read too much into it, that they're just "looking at some other things."

No matter what the lines look like for Game 5, though, Carolina knows it needs to be better.

"We're aware that obviously we have another level and we need to get to that," Aho said. "Just trying to win hockey games, that's the whole deal out here. Tomorrow, we come in and we try to do our best. That's our mindset."

The Boston Bruins will try to close out the Atlantic Division rival Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Tuesday.

Just a year ago, Boston held the same 3-1 first-round series lead before its Presidents' Trophy-winning campaign came to an end in overtime of the seventh game against the Florida Panthers.

Prior to last year, the Bruins had lost just two of 23 all-time series when leading 3-1 in a best-of-seven.

"You always talk about how hard it is -- we've got to match their desperation," coach Jim Montgomery said of his Bruins' mentality entering the potential clincher.

"We talked about urgency with the group this year, about how we need to get better. ... I think the experience of last year helps us this year, but we haven't talked about it."

The Bruins pushed Toronto to the brink of elimination with a 3-1 road win Saturday.

Captain Brad Marchand has scored the deciding goal in back-to-back games, giving him eight playoff points -- tied for second-most in the NHL entering Monday.

Fellow forward Charlie Coyle knows that clinching Boston's third straight win to punch a ticket to the next round will be difficult.

"The ‘closing out' game is always the toughest," Coyle said. "You know their back's against the wall and they're going to give it everything they can. We're expecting their best game, and that's something we want to be ready for. ... Right back at it, we want to show them our best."

Boston holds a 14-7 scoring advantage through four series games, limiting Toronto stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares to just one goal apiece.

Trading chances with the likes of Marchand and fellow high-scoring winger David Pastrnak? It's not how Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe wanted the series to go.

"That's not a very good recipe," Keefe said. "It's a recipe we went with at times during the regular season and it didn't work out for us."

Despite the goal numbers, defenseman Morgan Rielly and the Leafs feel they've been in the games.

"Our team's in a good spot," Rielly said Saturday. "We feel like we're playing hard. We're getting our chances. It's just not going in the net. There's areas to clean up."

While Toronto did welcome back winger William Nylander (undisclosed injury) for Game 4, its ideal recipe also certainly doesn't include missing Matthews, who was the league's goal-scoring leader with 69 during the regular season.

Matthews did not finish Game 4 due to an undisclosed, still-lingering illness before not skating Monday -- before the team flew to Boston -- on what was termed as another maintenance day.

"His status is yet to be determined," Keefe said. "Of course we're hopeful he is available and feeling good and to (being) back to himself."

As expected, neither coach has named a starting goaltender for Tuesday.

Jeremy Swayman made his second straight start Saturday, stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced. Swayman and Linus Ullmark had evenly rotated for the previous 28 games.

Toronto's Ilya Samsonov was relieved by Joseph Woll after two periods in Game 4.

Montgomery indicated Monday that forward Justin Brazeau (upper-body) and defenseman Derek Forbort (lower-body) would be options for the Bruins' Game 5 lineup.

"We'll see (Tuesday) night if they're in the lineup or not," Montgomery said. "There's steps left to be made, but they're close."

Hired on June 24, 2021, Hakstol guided the Kraken to a 107-112-27 record that included a disappointing 34-35-13 mark in 2023-24.

It was a letdown after a 100-point finish and a first-round playoff series win during the 2022-23 campaign, when Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

"I thank Dave for his hard work and dedication to the Kraken franchise," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. "Following our end-of-the-season review, we have decided to make a change at our head coach position.

"These decisions are never easy, but we feel this is a necessary step to help ensure our team continues to improve and evolve. Dave is a good coach and a terrific person. We wish him and his family all the best. We will begin our search for the Kraken's next head coach immediately."

Francis said assistant coach Paul McFarland was also relieved of his duties.

Hakstol, 55, served as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers from 2015-19, compiling a record of 134-101-42 with two playoff appearances.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Monday that Matthews' availability is "yet to be determined." Matthews missed Monday's practice.

"We'll see what tomorrow brings," Keefe said.

Matthews was pulled from Game 4 in the second period by the team's medical staff. He played just 14:16 and recorded a shot on goal and two hits before exiting.

The Maple Leafs are down 3-1 to the Bruins. Matthews came down with the illness after Game 2.

"For whatever reason, it's not one of those everyday types of illnesses that sort of come and go," Keefe said. "This one has lingered, and the effects have lingered and gotten worse when he's on the ice asserting himself."

Matthews had a goal and two assists in Game 2, a 3-2 Leafs' win. However, he managed just four shots on goal over the next two games, both losses.

Matthews had 107 points (69 goals, 38 assists) in the regular season.

Jets coach Rick Bowness confirmed the injury Monday but said Namestnikov has not been ruled out for a critical Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round series on Tuesday night in Winnipeg. The Avalanche lead the series 3-1.

"He's a tough kid," Bowness said.

Namestnikov, 31, was taken to a hospital for evaluation after being hit in the left side of his face by teammate Nate Schmidt's shot midway through the third period Sunday. Trainers eventually helped him off the ice as he held a towel to his face.

"It's scary," teammate Mark Scheifele told reporters after the Jets' 5-1 loss. "You never want to see that much blood, no matter what, no matter who it is. Especially a guy on our squad. That sucks. All you can is hope and pray that he's OK. That's a scary one. Just got to pray for him."

Namestnikov has one goal in four games this series. He registered 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 78 games during the regular season.

He has 298 points (126 goals, 172 assists) in 708 games over 11 seasons with seven teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning drafted Namestnikov in the first round (27th overall) in 2011.

Kaapo Kakko, Vincent Trocheck and Jack Roslovic also scored for the Rangers, who are the first team to advance to the second round this postseason. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves and Mika Zibanejad collected a pair of assists for the Presidents' Trophy winners as the regular-season champs.

New York will face the winner of the series between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders, which the Hurricanes lead 3-1 with Game 5 set for Tuesday.

Martin Fehervary and Hendrix Lapierre replied for the Capitals, while goalie Charlie Lindgren stopped 19 shots. Washington star captain Alex Ovechkin was held without a point in all four games. He played only 15:26 and did not register a shot on goal in the elimination game.

Canucks 4, Predators 3 (OT)

Elias Lindholm scored at 1:02 of overtime to lift visiting Vancouver to a stunning win over Nashville, allowing the Canucks to grab control of the first-round series.

Vancouver leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 and hosts Game 5 on Tuesday. Brock Boeser had a hat trick, including two goals in the final 2:49 of regulation to force overtime. Arturs Silovs, making his Stanley Cup playoff debut in place of injured Casey DeSmith, made 27 saves for the Canucks.

Mark Jankowski, Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators. Juuse Saros made 16 saves.

Avalanche 5, Jets 1

Valeri Nichushkin had three goals for his first career hat trick and Colorado took a commanding lead in its first-round series with a win over visiting Winnipeg.

Colorado has won the past three games to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference best-of-seven series, with Game 5 on Tuesday night in Winnipeg. The Avalanche have outscored Winnipeg 16-5 since losing the first game, 7-6.

Nate Schmidt scored for the Jets, who are on the brink of elimination. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck continued to struggle, allowing four goals on 30 shots before being replaced by Laurent Brossoit to start the third period.

Oilers 1, Kings 0

Stuart Skinner made 33 saves for visiting Edmonton in a win against Los Angeles in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series.

Edmonton has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 on Wednesday night in Edmonton. The Oilers will try to eliminate the Kings in the first round for the third straight season.

Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earned the assists for Edmonton. McDavid has 10 points in the series (one goal, nine assists) and Draisaitl has eight points (three goals, five assists). Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller elected to start David Rittich in goal for the first time in the series. He finished with 12 saves in his first playoff start in nearly two years and just the second of his eight-year NHL career.

Edmonton has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 on Wednesday night in Edmonton. The Oilers will try to eliminate the Kings in the first round for the third straight season.

Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earned the assists for Edmonton. McDavid has 10 points in the series (one goal, nine assists) and Draisaitl has eight points (three goals, five assists).

Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller elected to start David Rittich in goal for the first time in the series after Cam Talbot posted a 5.30 goals-against average and .861 save percentage through the first three games.

Rittich finished with 12 saves in his first playoff start in nearly two years and just the second of his eight-year NHL career.

Edmonton, which was limited to four shots on goal in the first period, went on the first power play of the game after Kings defenseman Andreas Englund was called for holding Ryan McLeod at 10:46 of the second period.

The Oilers set up their offense in the Los Angeles zone and McDavid weaved through the high slot before sliding a pass from the top of the left circle to Draisaitl in the right circle.

Draisaitl made a touch pass to Bouchard, who scored with a one-timer halfway between the blue line and the hash marks for a 1-0 lead at 11:49.

The Oilers improved to 8-for-15 on the power play in the series, while the Kings are 0-for-11 with the man advantage.

The Kings outshot Edmonton 10-4 in the scoreless first period and outhit the Oilers 41-27 for the game.

It was Skinner's first postseason shutout in his 16th start.

Kaapo Kakko, Vincent Trocheck and Jack Roslovic also scored for the Rangers, who are the first team to advance to the second round this postseason. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves and Mika Zibanejad collected a pair of assists for the Presidents' Trophy winners as the regular season champs.

New York will face the winner of the series between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders, which the Hurricanes lead 3-1 with Game 5 set for Tuesday.

Martin Fehervary and Hendrix Lapierre replied for the Capitals, while goalie Charlie Lindgren stopped 19 shots.

Washington star captain Alex Ovechkin was held without a point in all four games. He played only 15:26 and did not register a shot on goal in the elimination game.

With the score tied at 2-2, Panarin's power-play goal provided the Rangers their third lead of the game at 3:21 of the third period. Upon circling toward the slot from behind the net, Panarin took a feed from Zibanejad and found the mark for his second goal of the playoffs.

Roslovic's empty-net goal with 51 seconds remaining in regulation iced the affair.

The Rangers swept an opponent in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Kakko opened the scoring just 57 seconds into the clash with the game's first shot. Nick Jensen, who returned from an injury suffered late in the regular season, lost the puck right to Kakko in the slot, and he immediately fired a shot home for his first goal of this year's playoffs.

Fehervary tied the count at 14:54 with his second of the series, burying an offering after Dylan Strome created a turnover and three-way play to the marker.

Trocheck, with his third goal of the playoffs, again put the Rangers ahead with 15.6 seconds remaining in the opening frame. While on the power play, Trocheck neatly kicked a pass to his stick and lifted a top-shelf shot.

However, Lapierre again pulled the Capitals even with his first career playoff goal at 7:48 of the second period. Lapierre gained a step on a defender for a scoring chance and buried his own rebound.

The Dallas Stars are already guaranteed that accomplishment after beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime Saturday in their Western Conference first-round series. But Peter DeBoer's top-seeded squad, which still trails the best-of-seven series, 2-1, would like nothing better than getting another road win on Monday night.

Ironically, the hero of Game 3 for the Stars was a player not allowed to gamble in Las Vegas.

Center Wyatt Johnston scored two goals, including the game-winner 16:23 into overtime. He doesn't turn 21 until May 14.

"What a player. He still can't get into the casino and play cards," DeBoer said. "He's not old enough. That's unbelievable."

Johnston, who was chosen 23rd overall in the 2021 NHL Draft by Dallas, had 65 points in the regular season, including a team-high 32 goals, so his performance on Saturday was anything but a fluke.

Johnston broke down the right wing and cut around defenseman Shea Theodore before firing a sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the right circle over the left shoulder of Vegas goalie Logan Thompson for the game-winner.

"It's one thing being elite in the regular season," Stars forward Tyler Sequin said, "but to do it in the playoffs at his age, that's great."

Especially considering the circumstances. Dallas would have been staring at a 3-0 series hole if it lost Saturday.

"You don't want to go down 3-0 to the defending Stanley Cup champs," Johnston said. "I think it's that desperation coming out and making sure we're doing all those things that make us successful."

The Stars jumped out to a 2-0 lead 5:25 into the second period. But thanks to strong goaltending by Thompson, who finished with 43 saves, Vegas rallied to tie near the end of the second period on goals by Brayden McNabb and Jack Eichel, the latter a short-handed score.

"We knew the situations coming into Vegas," Tyler Seguin said. "We know these guys are defending champs from last year and we know how good they are on home ice. Our message was focusing on your next shift."

"There's no doubt we had to be the more desperate team tonight," DeBoer said. "We wanted to come in and plant some seeds of doubt, hopefully, and the best part for me is I think our game is building here."

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy gave Dallas credit for starting strong on the road despite being down 2-0 in the series.

"They had a sense of urgency that we weren't able to match," Cassidy said. "Sometimes that happens."

Vegas had won six in a row against Dallas dating back to a series-clinching Game 6 victory in last season's Western Conference.

"They took it to us," said McNabb, who finished with a goal and an assist. "We had no business being in that game. L.T. (Thompson) stood on his head and allowed us a chance. We'll learn from it and have a better start in Game 4."

Lindholm scored from the front of the net off a behind-the-net pass from Conor Garland.

Vancouver leads the best-of-seven series 3-1.

Brock Boeser had a hat trick, and Arturs Silovs made 27 saves for the Canucks. The 23-year-old goalie started in place of Casey DeSmith, who did not dress because of an undisclosed injury.

With Silovs pulled for the extra attacker, Boeser connected on a cross-crease pass from Elias Lindholm to cut it to 3-2 at 17:11 of the third period, and he completed the hat trick from the side of the net to tie it 3-3 at 19:52.

Mark Jankowski, Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators. Juuse Saros made 16 saves.

Boeser gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead on its first shot on goal at 2:55 of the first period.

J.T. Miller won the face-off back to Carson Soucy, who then dished it back to Miller backing through the slot toward the right circle. Miller then sent a cross-ice pass over to Boeser alone in the left circle, where he quickly wired a wrist shot that beat a diving Saros short side at 2:55.

Jankowski tied it 1-1 at 5:34. With the teams at 4-on-4, Jeremy Lauzon took a pass from Alexandre Carrier above the circles and fired a shot that Jankowski tipped in front.

Nyquist put the Predators ahead 2-1 at 5:21 of the second period.

Ryan O'Reilly collected a rebound in the corner in the defensive zone and sent a stretch pass to Nyquist in the neutral zone to create a 2-on-1. Nyquist carried it in with patience, waiting until he was in the right circle before sniping it top shelf short side.

Forsberg made it 3-1 Nashville 12 seconds into the third period. Roman Josi sent the rebound of his own shot down low through the crease to Forsberg on the other side, where he easily deposited it into the net.

It was the fastest goal to start a period in Predators postseason history.

Silovs, 23, who went 3-0-1 in four starts this season with a 2.47 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage, was backed up Sunday by Nikita Tolopilo, who has not played in the NHL.

All-Star Thatcher Demko got the nod in Vancouver's Game 1 win but is week-to-week with an unspecified injury. Casey DeSmith started Vancouver's Game 2 loss and picked up his first playoff victory in Game 3. In that win, DeSmith was hit by Predators forward Michael McCarron behind the net.

McCarron was fined $2,000 by the NHL on Saturday.

Silvos, a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft, is 6-2-1 with a 2.62 GAA and an .898 save percentage in nine career games.

Colorado has won the last three games to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference best-of-seven series, with Game 5 on Tuesday night in Winnipeg. The Avalanche have outscored Winnipeg 16-5 since losing the first game, 7-6.

Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen each had a goal and an assist, Nathan MacKinnon had two assists and Alexandar Georgiev turned away 25 shots for Colorado.

Nate Schmidt scored for the Jets, who are on the brink of elimination. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck continued to struggle, allowing four goals on 30 shots before being replaced by Laurent Brossoit to start the third period.

Brossoit had four saves on four shots.

Winnipeg center Vladislav Namestnikov was helped off the ice with 13:03 left after Schmidt's slap shot from the point hit him in the head. The Jets were already without defenseman Brenden Dillon, who was scratched due to a cut on his hand suffered in the scrum after time expired in Game 3 on Friday night.

Nichushkin put Colorado ahead when he deflected Makar's shot from the point at 11:36 of the second. Makar made it 3-1 at 15:03 when he skated from his own zone, through Winnipeg players and beat Hellebuyck with a wrister from the top of the right circle.

Nichushkin capped off a dominant second period when he scored his fifth goal of the postseason at 19:36. He completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 19:47 of the third.

The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead when Lehkonen scored at 8:10 of the first period. It was his fourth of the series and fourth straight game with a goal.

Winnipeg got even later in the first period when Schmidt took a pass from Mason Appleton as he entered the offensive zone and beat Georgiev with a snap shot at 13:56.

Colorado challenged that the play was offsides, but Schmidt's first goal of the playoffs stood upon review.

The Lightning won the rivals' two previous playoff encounters in 2021 and 2022.

Though Florida leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 -- with Game 5 set for the Panthers' home ice in Sunrise on Monday -- the leaders are not overconfident.

That's especially true after Tampa Bay's 6-3 home win on Saturday in the Eastern Conference first-round series.

"We don't expect an easy game (on Monday)," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "It's going to be the same difficulty level it has been this entire series."

Indeed, the battle has been intense between the goalies -- Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky and Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy. They have combined to win three Vezina Trophy awards -- two by Bobrovsky -- and their talents have been on full display in this series.

Panthers broadcasters swear Bobrovsky has made some of the best saves in franchise history in this series, and he has stopped 18 high-danger shots overall.

But Vasilevskiy, despite being down 3-1, has stopped an amazing 28 high-danger shots as per NaturalStatTrick.com.

Vasilevskiy has historically been a great playoff netminder. In fact, he has a .926 save percentage in elimination games.

As a team, Tampa Bay is 8-5 in elimination games, and that's the third-highest winning percentage in NHL history.

Another key in Game 5 could be Tampa Bay's power play, which led the NHL with a 28.6 success rate in the regular season. In this series, however, the Lightning is down to 23.5 percent.

Florida penalty-killers Ryan Lomberg (illness) and Sam Bennett (upper body) have been ruled out for Monday's game.

But not to worry, according to the Panthers.

"It takes depth to win in the playoffs," Ekblad said. "We have proven we have that depth."

It remains to be seen if Tampa Bay can take advantage of those absences for Florida.

"The odds aren't great down 3-zip," Tampa Bay star Steven Stamkos acknowledged after Saturday's win. "Three-one, they're a little better.

"Hopefully, after our next game, it's 3-2, and the odds are better. That's how we're taking it."

The Lightning got a boost in Game 4 when defenseman Mikhail Sergachev returned from a knee injury that had kept him out since February. He missed a total of 34 games.

Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, though, said it's not just about personnel. It's about attitude.

"We came out with the fire we needed (in Game 4)," Hedman said. "(The Panthers) pushed back (with three goals in the second period), but we had a tremendous third. We deserved to win."

The Panthers blamed their poor start for the loss as they fell behind 3-0 in the first period.

"You can't give up three goals in the first," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "We made a valiant effort to come back, but it wasn't enough."

The Panthers had held the Lightning to just 2.33 goals per game in the first three games of this series.

Now that the series has returned to Sunrise, the Panthers want to get back to that type of defense.

"It's predicated on pressure," Ekblad said. "That's obvious when you watch it. We've improved since last year, and our defensive pressure has been a big part of this series."

Dillon sustained a laceration on his left hand in a fracas after time expired in Winnipeg's 6-2 loss in Game 3 Friday. He was tangled up with Avalanche forward Brandon Duhaime at the bottom of a scrum, got up and skated to the locker room with blood dripping from the back of his hand.

The Jets trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Logan Stanley will draw into the lineup in place of Dillon, who recorded 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) and a plus-20 rating in 77 games this season.

Dillon, 33, has 196 points (37 goals, 159 assists) and a plus-66 rating in 892 career games with the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals and Jets.

The Hurricanes lead the best-of-seven series three games to one. Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Barzal redirected Robert Bortuzzo's shot from the blue line for his second goal of the game. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the third for the Islanders. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves.

Seth Jarvis scored in the first period for the Hurricanes and Stefan Noesen tied the score with 5:52 left in the third. Goalie Frederik Andersen recorded 32 saves.

Stars 3, Golden Knights 2 (OT)

Wyatt Johnston scored at 16:23 of overtime to give Dallas a victory over Vegas in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series in Las Vegas.

Johnston roofed a sharp-angled wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle over the left shoulder of Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson for the game-winner and his second goal of the game. Miro Heiskanen had a goal and an assist and Jason Robertson added two assists for Dallas, which still trails the best-of-seven series, 2-1. Jake Oettinger finished with 32 saves. Game 4 is Monday night in Las Vegas.

Brayden McNabb had a goal and an assist and Jack Eichel scored a short-handed goal for Vegas, which had a six-game winning streak against the Stars snapped. Thompson tied his career high with 43 saves, including four breakaways in the second period alone.

Lightning 6, Panthers 3

Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos and Brandon Hagel each tallied twice and the Lightning stayed alive in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with a win over visiting Florida.

Brayden Point netted one goal and had two assists, and NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov had three assists for 166 career playoff points, the third-most among active players. The Lightning broke a six-game postseason home losing streak to force Game 5 on Monday in Sunrise, Fla.

For Florida, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart and Oliver Ekman-Larsson found the net, while Matthew Tkachuk posted two assists. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

Bruins 3, Maple Leafs 1

Jeremy Swayman started back-to-back games for the first time in more than two months and made 25 saves to help visiting Boston take command of the Eastern Conference first-round series against Toronto.

Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Bruins, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Tuesday in Boston.

Mitch Marner scored and Ilya Samsonov made 14 saves through the first two periods for the Maple Leafs before Joseph Woll replaced Samsonov and made five saves in the third period.

Johnston roofed a sharp-angled wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle over the left shoulder of Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson for the game-winner and his second goal of the game.

Miro Heiskanen had a goal and an assist and Jason Robertson added two assists for Dallas, which still trails the best-of-seven series, 2-1. Jake Oettinger finished with 32 saves. Game 4 is Monday night in Las Vegas.

Brayden McNabb had a goal and an assist and Jack Eichel scored a short-handed goal for Vegas, which had a six-game winning streak against the Stars snapped. Thompson tied his career high with 43 saves, including four breakaways in the second period alone.

Dallas took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Johnson backhanded in a rebound from in front of the net for his first goal of the playoffs.

Heiskanen made it 2-0 early in the second period when he finished an odd-man rush with a wrist shot that caromed in off the left post.

Dallas dominated the first 30 minutes, outshooting the Golden Knights 30-10 and finishing the second period with a 21-3 edge in high-danger chances. But Thompson kept Vegas in the game, stopping Tyler Sequin twice in the second period on breakaways.

The Golden Knights then rallied to tie it later in the period with two goals in the span of 3:10.

McNabb got the first when he snapped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle past a screen and Oettinger's blocker side at 10:40 for his second goal of the playoffs. Eichel followed with a short-handed goal at 13:50, finishing a two-on-one rush with a wrist shot past Oettinger's blocker side.

Swayman, who had been alternating starts with Linus Ullmark, won his third game of the series to improve to 6-0-0 against the Maple Leafs this season.

Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Bruins, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Tuesday in Boston.

Mitch Marner scored and Ilya Samsonov made 14 saves through the first two periods for the Maple Leafs before Joseph Woll replaced Samsonov and made five saves in the third period.

Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals during the regular season, also did not play the third period for undisclosed reasons.

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 15:09 of the first period on a goal by van Riemsdyk, who was a healthy scratch the first two games of the series.

Boston rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei forced a turnover by Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves along the wall in the Toronto zone and the puck went to van Riemsdyk in the left circle. He had room to skate into the slot and slide a backhand between the pads of Samsonov.

Lohrei was playing his first game of the series after he was recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League following the hand injury to fellow defenseman Andrew Peeke in Game 2.

Toronto defenseman Max Domi was called for cross-checking David Pastrnak at 7:23 of the second period and Marchand scored with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle on the ensuing power play to stretch the lead to 2-0 at 8:20.

It was the 56th playoff goal for Marchand, moving him past Cam Neely for the all-time team lead.

Pastrnak scored off a pass from Marchand at the end of a 2-on-0 break to make it 3-0 with 42 seconds left in the second period.

Marner recovered the puck and drove to the net before scoring with a backhand from a sharp angle to cut it to 3-1 at 5:43 of the third period.

The win cut the No. 1 wild-card club's deficit in the Sunshine State rivalry to 3-1. Game 5 is Monday night in Sunrise.

Brayden Point netted one goal and had two assists, Nick Paul scored and Victor Hedman managed three assists. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 22 shots as the Lightning broke a six-game postseason home losing streak.

NHL top points scorer Nikita Kucherov had three assists for 166 career playoff points, the third-most among active players.

Returning from a broken leg, Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev recorded an assist in his first game since Feb. 7.

For Florida, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart and Oliver Ekman-Larsson found the net, while Matthew Tkachuk posted two assists. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

The Panthers lost for just the second time in the past nine matches (7-2-0) against the Lightning.

On their first power play, the Lightning scored first for the first time in the series when strong pressure resulted in Stamkos popping in a goal at 8:54 of the first period.

That marker gave Stamkos 100 career playoff points, making the captain the third Lightning player to reach the milestone.

On the Panthers' first power play, Hagel made it 2-0 by potting the series' first short-handed tally. He blocked a shot in his defensive end and fired one in at the near post at 12:09.

Point added on in the explosive first period when he raced by Bobrovsky, around the cage and whipped in his second tally of the series at 15:07 for a three-goal advantage.

In the second, the Atlantic Division champions turned it up a notch with relentless puck possession, resulting in Tkachuk finding Verhaeghe at 4:17 for his third goal of the postseason.

During 4-on-4 play, Florida got in too deep on a rush, and Hagel scored his third at 9:40.

However, Reinhart's putback 90 seconds later, his third of the series, made it 4-2. It was the winger's 60th goal overall this season.

After 3:23 expired, Ekman-Larsson cut it to 4-3 with his third career playoff goal to cap a wild four-goal frame.

Stamkos' second marker, a rocket at 9:34 of the third, was his fifth. Paul's power-play marker, his second, sent the series back to South Florida.

The Hurricanes lead the best-of-seven series three games to one.

Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Barzal redirected Robert Bortuzzo's shot from the blue line for his second goal of the game. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the third for the Islanders. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves.

Seth Jarvis scored in the first period for the Hurricanes and Stefan Noesen tied the score with 5:52 left in the third. Goalie Frederik Andersen recorded 32 saves.

The Islanders had four of the first six shots before forward Anders Lee was whistled for tripping at 7:16 to set up the power play that yielded Jarvis' goal 44 seconds later.

Varlamov got a glove on a slap shot by Brent Burns and the puck bounced off the skate of Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech before Hurricanes center Jake Guentzel got a stick on it. Jarvis collected the puck and fired a shot past a kneeling Ryan Pulock and over Varlamov's stick shoulder.

The Islanders had just seven shots in the 20-plus minutes following Lee's penalty before Barzal tied the score with 9:50 left in the second. Barzal took a pass from Pelech in the neutral zone and skated toward the Hurricanes' goal line, where he couldn't shake defenseman Brady Skjei. Barzal headed back above the right faceoff circle, whirled round to elude Skjei and fired a shot beyond the glove of Andersen.

Sebastian Aho was whistled for tripping in the waning seconds of the middle period, but the Islanders maintained possession of the puck until time expired so they could have a full power play to open the third. Lee won a faceoff deep in the Hurricanes' zone before Pageau put back the rebound of a shot by Noah Dobson at the 1:38 mark.

The teams traded empty power plays before the Islanders' Bortuzzo drew a hooking penalty with 6:26 left. Noesen tied the score 34 seconds later when he got a stick on Teuvo Teravainen's pass into the crease.

The Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 17-9 in the first overtime, though New York had the best scoring opportunity with a little under four minutes left. Kyle Palmieri couldn't finish a wraparound and Brock Nelson misfired on a rebound before Andersen stopped a point-blank shot by Hudson Fasching in the crease.

The Kings trail the best-of-seven series 2-1 against the Oilers after getting lit up 6-1 in Game 3 on Friday night in Los Angeles.

They were in the same boat two years ago after three games of their first-round series against the Oilers, losing 8-2 in Game 3 before storming back for a 4-0 victory in Game 4 to even the series and retake home-ice advantage.

Los Angeles even won Game 5 in Edmonton to take a 3-2 series lead, but ultimately dropped the final two games and the series.

The Kings led their opening-round series against Edmonton after three games last season, but eventually lost that one too.

"What I know for sure is it's two for them, one for us, and you need to win four in the series," Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. "We'll have to play better than we did (in Game 3), just like Game 2."

Los Angeles bounced back from a 7-4 loss in Game 1 on April 22 to win 5-4 in overtime in Game 2 on Wednesday to even the series heading to Los Angeles.

Instead of capitalizing on home-ice advantage, the Kings gave up three straight goals in the first period and were chasing the Oilers the rest of the way.

"We wanted this one, they wanted it, so you just have to take a look at it as if it's one game," Kings forward Kevin Fiala said. "Now, we just have to come back next game and make it 2-2."

The Oilers kept the celebration low-key afterward, knowing they're just one loss away from losing home-ice advantage again.

"It just counts as one win, that's all," Edmonton center Connor McDavid said. "Got to be ready for a big one Sunday."

After scoring six points (three goals, three assists) in his final four games of the regular season, McDavid has maintained his hot streak in the playoffs, totaling nine points (one goal, eight assists) through the first three games.

He hasn't been the only one carrying the offense, however.

Leon Draisaitl (three goals, four assists) and Zach Hyman (six goals, one assist) each have seven points in the series.

Hyman and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights are the only NHL players to score at least six goals in the first three games of the postseason in the past 30 years.

"He's always willing to go there and pay a price, and he's done that so far this playoffs," McDavid said of Hyman.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch also moved Evander Kane up to the second line with Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Game 3 and Kane had a goal and an assist while Nugent-Hopkins had three assists.

It's a line he'll likely keep together for Game 4.

"We've all played with everybody throughout the course of the year, and sometimes things get changed up," Kane said. "It's a nice opportunity to play with two really good playmakers, and I thought we generated some great opportunities."

Edmonton is also dominating the special teams, going 7-for-14 on the power play while holding the Kings to 0-for-10 with the man-advantage.

"We have to think positive," Fiala said. "Obviously, we have to look at some things we have to get better, and we will, so we have to get the second game (at home)."