Sunday, April 26, 2026

The Carolina Hurricanes have punched their ticket to the second round, ending the Ottawa Senators' season in decisive fashion. Facing elimination on home ice, Ottawa fought desperately through a scoreless first period, matching Carolina's physical intensity in a heavy, penalty-filled contest. Taylor Hall finally broke the deadlock late in the second period, but Drake Batherson answered quickly on the power play to keep the Senators' hopes alive heading into the final frame. Midway through the third, Logan Stankoven buried a crucial power-play goal to restore the Carolina lead. Goaltender Frederik Andersen took over from there, stopping 25 shots to earn first-star honors and suffocate the Ottawa attack. Sebastian Aho provided the late dagger at even strength with under three minutes remaining. Though Dylan Cozens quickly responded to make it a one-goal game, Aho found the back of the net again just 34 seconds later to seal the 4-2 victory. CAR wins series 4-0. The Metropolitan Division champions now earn some valuable rest while they await their next playoff opponent.

Matt Boldy waited until the absolute dying seconds of overtime to send the Minnesota crowd into pure delirium. With just 29 seconds remaining in the first sudden-death frame, Boldy took a feed from Jared Spurgeon and fired it past Jake Oettinger to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. The late-night heroics ensure this grueling first-round matchup remains deadlocked, leaving the series tied 2-2. Dallas relied heavily on their lethal power play to build an advantage, getting man-advantage strikes from Jason Robertson early in the first period and Miro Heiskanen in the final minute of the second. But the Wild clawed back through sheer physical will, punishing the Stars with 42 hits. Jesper Wallstedt was magnificent in the Minnesota crease, turning aside 43 shots in a duel against Oettinger, who made 40 saves of his own. Brock Faber provided a crucial goal and an assist, while Marcus Foligno forced the extra session by tying the game late in the third period. Now it becomes a best-of-three, shifting back to Texas for a massive Game 5.

Sidney Crosby and the veteran Penguins core refused to let their season end in Philadelphia. Facing elimination against their cross-state rivals, Pittsburgh stayed alive with a gritty 4-2 road victory. Crosby set the tone late in the first period, converting on the power play off a feed from Erik Karlsson. Rickard Rakell doubled the lead early in the second, but Denver Barkey answered for the Flyers to keep the home crowd roaring. Early in the third, Kris Letang delivered the decisive blow, finishing a passing sequence from Crosby and Rakell. Travis Konecny quickly responded for Philadelphia to make it a one-goal game again, setting up a frantic final ten minutes. Arturs Silovs stood tall in the Pittsburgh crease, stopping 28 of 30 shots to weather the storm before Connor Dewar sealed the win with under a minute remaining. Frustrations boiled over at the final horn, with Trevor Zegras taking a misconduct penalty. Despite Pittsburgh delaying their summer vacation, PHI leads 3-1. The bitter rivalry now shifts back to PPG Paints Arena for Game 5.